tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1672328670341777472023-11-16T17:48:08.440+00:00Justin's Ringing BlogA journal of bird ringing and nature observations throughout the yearJustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-76887731695513392562013-12-16T23:01:00.001+00:002013-12-16T23:01:11.939+00:00Winter Med GullsSince returning from Canada the autumn has been distinctly unfavourable for ringing with a series of lows bringing high winds from the west culminating in a dangerous combination of low pressure, high winds and spring tides that brought extensive flooding to coastal areas in East Anglia with tide heights greater than that experienced in the catastrophic floods of 1953.<div>
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Much of the October and November weather was dominated by westerly systems with very little in the way of the easterlies that are needed to power the large winter thrush migration typical of the late autumn. As a result my ringing trainer, Paul who usually rings a good sized sample of Redwing each Autumn has had very few birds of any species visiting his rural Norfolk garden, least of all winter migrants. This has been echoed in Thetford where most garden ringers are reporting much lower numbers than would be typical for this time of year. I suspect that the unseasonably high autumn temperatures may have increased the availability of amount of natural food so perhaps a few cold snaps will see more birds using garden feeders.</div>
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After such a disappointing autumn it was good to be involved with a few ringing sessions in the past week. Firstly the BTO hosted a group of students from the University of East Anglia who attended a short ringing demonstration as part of their visit. This was the first time that the Nunnery scrub site had been ringed this year and the feeders managed to attract around forty birds, most of which were tits but a few Lesser Redpolls, Chaffinches and a Greenfinch were also ringed.</div>
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Male Lesser Redpoll Blue Tit</div>
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At the weekend Claire and I went to visit Paul in Burgh Castle and whilst he had warned us that there weren't many birds around it was a nice surprise for Claire to be ringing her first Fieldfare as I was processing a re-trapped Kingfisher, not bad for a garden ringing session although given that a Woodpigeon brought new birds to a total of two this bore witness to the low number of birds visiting his garden this winter.</div>
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AHY female Fieldfare HY male Kingfisher<br />
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On Great Yarmouth beach our luck with the local Mediterranean Gulls fared somewhat better with Paul's generous helpings of bread and KFC chips tempting a small flock down to the waiting spring traps and we were soon running to extract five Med Gulls, four new birds and a re-trap that was already wearing a colour ring fitted on a recent catch. Interestingly this and the four new gulls were all adults or second winter birds.<br />
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The Med Gull colour ringing project being carried at Great Yarmouth has already ringed 10% of the UK total for this species and given that resighting efforts from the site have already yielded birds from a number of European countries it will be interesting to see if colour ringed birds from the population wintering at the site will be seen on their breeding grounds.<br />
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Adult (3W) Mediterranean Gull</div>
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Claire proudly holding her third new species for the day</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-32532763382598977272013-10-24T01:24:00.001+01:002013-10-24T12:18:07.773+01:00A Canadian Fall<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Banding ...</span></i><br />
It's strange how two English speaking countries can have a different word for the same activity and as a British ringer it can take quite a long time to get used to talking about banding and the different codes used to record the species, age and sex of birds in the hand. Last week found me back in Ontario with my Canadian friends banding birds at Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory (PEPtBO), which is a participating member of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network. I was really lucky to spend two and a half months as the long term fall assistant at this banding station in 2012 and was looking forward to going back and meeting the new team this autumn.<br />
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After a smooth and uneventful flight from Heathrow where I'd heard my first Redwings of the autumn zitting over as I parked up in long stay it was odd to find myself walking out of Pearson International Airport at Toronto into a bright and sunny Canadian afternoon 10C warmer than that being experienced by the UK I'd left behind. Pamela Stagg, one of the volunteers at PEPtBO, a Canadian birder and my kind host for the week was waiting to drive me the two hours north east back to Prince Edward County.<br />
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The PEPtBO banding lab taken last fall</div>
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My stay was to be split between spending time at the bird observatory helping with the fall banding effort and birding some local hotspots although my first lifer for the trip was seen flying over a county road on the way back from the airport; three Sandhill Cranes were a nice start although augmented only by an elusive American Coot later on in the week near Presqu'ile Provincial Park.<br />
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Eastern White-crowned Sparrow (left), Blue-headed Vireo (centre)</div>
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and Brown Creeper (right) </div>
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A male Golden-crowned Kinglet!</div>
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As it happened the days I chose to visit PEPtBO were the most productive during the week of my stay with high winds and the odd rain shower forcing nets to remain unopened on a few occasions. The bulk of the birds moving through at this time of October are Golden-crowned Kinglets, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Brown Creepers but these were joined by some straggling Hermit Thrushes, some late Blackpoll and Black-throated Blue Warblers and surprisingly a Black-throated Green warbler. Interestingly the Brown Creeper is migratory unlike it's distinctly sedentary Treecreeper counterpart in Britain.<br />
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Female Black-throated Blue Warbler (left), HY Myrtle Warbler (centre)</div>
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and HY Blackpoll Warbler (right) </div>
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Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows were just starting to arrive in numbers, joining the greedy Eastern White-crowned Sparrows that take advantage of the cracked corn used as bait for the various walk-in ground traps. Later on in the week four Eastern Phoebes were also caught, typically the last of the flycatchers to come through.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">HY Eastern Phoebe (left), </span><span style="text-align: left;">Black-capped Chickadee (centre)</span></div>
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and HY White-throated Sparrow (right)</div>
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Before making the trip I'd been keeping an eye on the reports from a number of the Ontario hawk watches and given that migration had slowed down dramatically it wasn't surprising to catch just a single Sharp-shinned Hawk, with very few moving over. This changed for my last morning at the obs on Friday with favourable winds funnelling a large kettle of Turkey Vultures down to the point. These were accompanied by a few treats such as a Red-shouldered Hawk, a juvenile Golden Eagle and a stunning adult Bald Eagle; a handful of Red-tailed Hawks were also moving through. </div>
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The quintessentially north american Blue Jay</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>... and birding</i></span><br />
The week wasn't just about banding however and I was starting to build quite a few eBird lists including a few from Pamela's backyard adding species such as Cedar Waxwing and Merlin along with Pileated Woodpecker which eluded me in Canada last year. Great trips were made to Frontenac and Presqu'ile Provincial Parks each amazing in different ways.<br />
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Frontenac is on the southern perimeter of the Precambrian Canadian shield which extends as far north as Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the edge of Greenland. The scenery is shaped by igneous rocks over 570 million years old and the landscape is quite distinct even when viewed from an airliner at 38000 feet. Frontenac shares much of it's beautiful habitats with the more well known Algonquin Park and both are characterised by extensive mixed forest surrounding wide lakes and extensive wetlands that are home to a wealth of wildlife and the woodland looks simply stunning in the reds, oranges, yellows, and browns that make up the familiar fall colours of the northern Untied States and Canada in the fall.<br />
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One of the many lakes at Frontenac</div>
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Downy Woodpecker amongst fall foliage (left)</div>
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and it was still warm enough for a Garter Snake (right)</div>
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Chipmunks were still active in the unseasonably mild fall</div>
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Presqu'ile, bordering Prince Edward County to the west is a small provincial park that juts out into Lake Ontario. Part of the park was once an island but as sand was deposited by glacial meltwater a feature known as a tombolo now forms a wide, stable and vegetated connection to the mainland. Presqu'ile is the best place to see shorebirds (waders in English!), near Prince Edward County and a flock numbering upwards of a hundred eventually yielded a couple of late White-rumped and Baird's Sandpipers amongst the Dunlins and Sanderling; a few Pectoral Sandpipers were also present and easily spotted amongst the other Calidrid species. Walking back along a woodland trail accompanied by a few Sulphur butterflies, several dragonfly species and Fringed Gentians flowering amongst the autumnal Poison Ivy foliage, it was clear the fall was an uncommonly mild this year - enjoyed by people and wildlife in equal measure.<br />
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The lakeshore at Owen Point, Presqu'ile</div>
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Pectoral Sandpiper above Dunlin at Owen Point (left)</div>
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and Fringed Gentian one of the few plants in flower (right)</div>
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Presqu'ile is also home to the largest protected wetland on the northern shore of Lake Ontario and is a fantastic spot to see wildfowl, herons and raptors such as Northern Harriers and Merlin. Given the timing of my visit I was to early to witness the large rafts of sea ducks that build up in the lake offshore and too late for the main warbler migration but I was happy enough to find a Sedge Wren from the marsh boardwalk and watch Black-capped Chickadees helping themselves to insects from the Cat-tails.<br />
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View over the marshes at Presqu'ile</div>
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It was a short week but birding and banding was productive, the weather kind enough to wear sandals everyday, new friends were made an old friends laughed with, you know who you are!<br />
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I guess there's just one more thing to mention; how cute are Northern Saw-whet Owls? I've spent the last twelve months missing these birds! PEPtBO participates in Project Owlnet and operates a six week owl banding program in the latter half of each fall. The owls are frequently caught by other banders in the flyway and a good amount of data is being collected about their migration and ecology, helping to make positive conservation effort possible.<br />
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Northern Saw-whet Owl</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-74089820273277216452013-10-08T00:31:00.001+01:002013-10-08T00:32:56.327+01:00October 2013 Wash trip<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Hmm, neglecting my blog readership in favour of my Facebook friends has found these pages embarrassingly out of date. Please keep coming back to check for catch ups including an account of my first trip helping out with the Delaware Shorebird Project as well as the trials and tribulations of endeavouring to hold down a full time job while ringing with three CES's this summer - yes, it can be done!</div>
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It had been a balmy October evening when three cannon nets
were set on Snettisham beach and after arriving under the cover of darkness on
a cooler Saturday morning the assembled team waited patiently albeit with eager
anticipation for the waders to arrive. Crackling radio commentary between base
camp laying in the marram grass and the hide team viewing the catching area
from the sea wall giving the only clue to progress. In, out, twinkle please,
switch in net two, hearts beat faster and bang! Feet were instantly carrying us
down to where the edge of net and water met and after guiding the birds safely
above the rising tide the rest of our morning began.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOUxT9dn5y0KKNmM5N3Zj6doGI6TjHJbibm_T2JDyikDay5Nm9Jyedhg9Ae5Ez1w5urFVSmiqqUCXh2ieLjTSwoblc2ktgApFgVUgTVLnejlKczXE5SuyXvXM-r9ZHW24XricTwzTy4Pc/s1600/20131005_the_team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOUxT9dn5y0KKNmM5N3Zj6doGI6TjHJbibm_T2JDyikDay5Nm9Jyedhg9Ae5Ez1w5urFVSmiqqUCXh2ieLjTSwoblc2ktgApFgVUgTVLnejlKczXE5SuyXvXM-r9ZHW24XricTwzTy4Pc/s400/20131005_the_team.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Keeping cages on the right allow birds time to settle down after the catch</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZ4UUxnDBoXIEJZjZfZSw7H5ZkeCvo_Weinl8dEMDOYlApnE30iwqYMnColPVVFk54d3vJ052bOEYWM1spsIx1f2LFj0XEO-Q_iTnJ3H8eiUGIPzyz6-_dDRPRmeS9cD-wfgFSQ3d2um4/s1600/20131005_dunli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZ4UUxnDBoXIEJZjZfZSw7H5ZkeCvo_Weinl8dEMDOYlApnE30iwqYMnColPVVFk54d3vJ052bOEYWM1spsIx1f2LFj0XEO-Q_iTnJ3H8eiUGIPzyz6-_dDRPRmeS9cD-wfgFSQ3d2um4/s400/20131005_dunli.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Dunlin </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWggNXb_1EsjFxoJ0LHI2tbjppBIlZnZ5TD57XuiORs-0je7SkMPtz4mn2IFIwI_lfaqBJ97d1RqGCZJsoUqu68ydxcCmYgiDtyKYt7IdjSH9eUVU2VNX54HVv48qTjPn6kjPj2xlFyhiO/s1600/20131005_knot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWggNXb_1EsjFxoJ0LHI2tbjppBIlZnZ5TD57XuiORs-0je7SkMPtz4mn2IFIwI_lfaqBJ97d1RqGCZJsoUqu68ydxcCmYgiDtyKYt7IdjSH9eUVU2VNX54HVv48qTjPn6kjPj2xlFyhiO/s320/20131005_knot.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw340szBt9cdZIdwJYtpwK2pbTUEfuDn2-dcs-VSnMLSE89f9d4cF3KlCqukWDz7D88nscV83nMRq8uGN7mI-JEPTvSNrViX9Xjz_nystrYp4DaFZoOLUauqhJCbHiNcqp5tz97s5562ax/s1600/20131005_knot_cr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw340szBt9cdZIdwJYtpwK2pbTUEfuDn2-dcs-VSnMLSE89f9d4cF3KlCqukWDz7D88nscV83nMRq8uGN7mI-JEPTvSNrViX9Xjz_nystrYp4DaFZoOLUauqhJCbHiNcqp5tz97s5562ax/s320/20131005_knot_cr.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Juvenile Knot Colour ringed Knot</div>
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Over 500 birds were caught of four species. The larger part
of the catch was Knot and Sanderling with two Grey Plovers and eight Dunlin
also processed – rings fitted to new birds, ring numbers recorded for those
that had already been ringed and a sample were measured and weighed to give an
indication of their health. Quite a few of the birds were actively moulting suggesting
that they are likely to use the Wash over the winter. It was nice to see a
number of new team members gaining their first close up encounters with some
wader species.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqC1EH3r8DGCbZnqIskpUO6UErzDAza5jRgR7A2yAyocgkybvvIx-LK-DruLh6Ss_h8flH_a5IjFTbeGmZI5NblK-Lro7SOY21Mc_Cwn40oCjKZv2nWBzixSymDO4oJVcqr69QAY7ecqrH/s1600/20131005_sande_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqC1EH3r8DGCbZnqIskpUO6UErzDAza5jRgR7A2yAyocgkybvvIx-LK-DruLh6Ss_h8flH_a5IjFTbeGmZI5NblK-Lro7SOY21Mc_Cwn40oCjKZv2nWBzixSymDO4oJVcqr69QAY7ecqrH/s200/20131005_sande_3.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_0OIKy8HcNwuQbUye-6uZPO6ceuEWCjccyEX8PjW-mW9T9NSfX5c1kqlN-IrVAeHUYUHgdRc2RHoJPy_MVTbOp7BgIs9Zt8i4sK7MeT5S8q7p5BL-Iy8yfIrqSyV-92JCFkhu65J7gmt/s1600/20131005_lucy_y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_0OIKy8HcNwuQbUye-6uZPO6ceuEWCjccyEX8PjW-mW9T9NSfX5c1kqlN-IrVAeHUYUHgdRc2RHoJPy_MVTbOp7BgIs9Zt8i4sK7MeT5S8q7p5BL-Iy8yfIrqSyV-92JCFkhu65J7gmt/s200/20131005_lucy_y.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93keg-M1hjFq78ioPTn3kv-tsD30VbG-ZqLobe32ga3Om-3Ph4rJDV0hupHKuiRGoi_Tb8XhtYWDWtDq05RpDBAB16IPzNxRzntkrCyhIriE3sO4gu35-GbVNf0pYohsOBbJPuJOv-mtV/s1600/20131005_sande_cr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93keg-M1hjFq78ioPTn3kv-tsD30VbG-ZqLobe32ga3Om-3Ph4rJDV0hupHKuiRGoi_Tb8XhtYWDWtDq05RpDBAB16IPzNxRzntkrCyhIriE3sO4gu35-GbVNf0pYohsOBbJPuJOv-mtV/s200/20131005_sande_cr.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Juv. Sanderling Assessing moult Colour ringed Sanderling</div>
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Unbelievably the October weather was warm enough to work on the beach in shorts barefoot, talk about an Indian summer! Incredulously other folk were trussed up in coats and hats - bizarre.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwqo4Ups2RzKR5zqv1L5RDvmxT_N0bOuM3-qCI2HaMjMkNWhifIPrk8fHsJ86OAC5ioRf2xFrYsHGavrLr98SkkRxPP69aZ66HW3WY0aPep29zF5QW1WjQcGlGXTXRXyII_JOtZ9EJEH2/s1600/20131005_sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwqo4Ups2RzKR5zqv1L5RDvmxT_N0bOuM3-qCI2HaMjMkNWhifIPrk8fHsJ86OAC5ioRf2xFrYsHGavrLr98SkkRxPP69aZ66HW3WY0aPep29zF5QW1WjQcGlGXTXRXyII_JOtZ9EJEH2/s320/20131005_sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Beautiful sunset over the Wash.</div>
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On Sunday morning the team split up with smaller groups visiting
a number of sites to look for birds that have been colour ringed. Noting down
the combinations of the different colours or reading the codes on small plastic
leg flags means that data about movements of individuals can be recorded
without the need to re-capture the bird. It was a glorious autumnal morning and
over the weekend ninety colour ring combinations had been noted and flags read.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4wnINJf3x9lt_9Jrlm2tvCnDS5UzfQI-btGo0Skd_cS0IUMm589ZOZ4_EjC7Ow37p_54BIi318fZnQXKZXXPZTxcIanSxd9t-0NdvCMhhN0cx36Z-20JvShWMi_TXTPth4o6kP9CVjK0/s1600/20131006_litst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4wnINJf3x9lt_9Jrlm2tvCnDS5UzfQI-btGo0Skd_cS0IUMm589ZOZ4_EjC7Ow37p_54BIi318fZnQXKZXXPZTxcIanSxd9t-0NdvCMhhN0cx36Z-20JvShWMi_TXTPth4o6kP9CVjK0/s320/20131006_litst.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Little Stint - 2 were seen amongst the thousands of other waders</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
roosting in Snettisham Pits.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiojvybwnuh_fQqL-X0xD42FV-6kgPiPlCL8N2SqqWNm7Coej39q_zmHKnvHJWmSt_30ykBEv49H4Sh15BynSLOCBQfwN_xk2m_eTFgYG4a3wPc-oc5xZIHXYBGb4vfNQLyTSsUK5eAjSb3/s1600/20131006_snetts_pits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiojvybwnuh_fQqL-X0xD42FV-6kgPiPlCL8N2SqqWNm7Coej39q_zmHKnvHJWmSt_30ykBEv49H4Sh15BynSLOCBQfwN_xk2m_eTFgYG4a3wPc-oc5xZIHXYBGb4vfNQLyTSsUK5eAjSb3/s320/20131006_snetts_pits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The black smudge to the left is 15,000 Oystercatchers!</div>
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One Sanderling was ringed in Iceland in 2011 and has spent
the last two winters in Spain, 3 Knot were seen that had been ringed in Norway
with another from Iceland but the real highlight was a total of 48 Curlew which
is more than the group would usually expect to re-trap in an entire year. This
really demonstrates the enormous value of colour ringing as a valuable tool that
can be employed to increase the amount of really useful encounter data that can
be acquired just using a pair of binoculars or a telescope, helping us to
increase our understanding of wader ecology and how these fascinating and
beautiful birds use the Wash; an understanding that will ultimately assist with
the conservation of the birds and their habitat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm off to Canada at the end of the week so</div>
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this maybe my last Comma for the year.</div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-3055988031506827502013-03-16T14:40:00.000+00:002013-03-16T14:40:27.097+00:00First Wash of 2013Obviously this post title is referring to the first trip this year with the Wash Wader Ringing Group and despite the length of my straw thwarting my opportunity to ring a Greylag Goose I was looking forward to meeting up with friends that I'd not seen for nearly a year and of course, ringing some waders. I have ringed a few waders since my last Wash trip but they were predominantly Golden Plover captured whilst working as a research assistant with the RSPB in Sutherland last summer.<br />
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Saturday evening was suitable for mist-netting so two teams erected the usual layout of nets on Terrington Marsh while a glorious sunset occurred. After a fantastic dinner the bulk of the team left about half an hour after the tape lures had started playing as it has been recently observed that a large proportion birds are being caught well before high tide. After finding our way out to the nets in the estuarine darkness we started extracting birds immediately. Quite a few Black-tailed Godwits were caught and being prone to stress volunteers were required to take them back for immediate processing; seeing as I knew my way off the marsh I was one. This meant that I would soon be finding myself ringing a couple of Black-tailed Godwits and joining the processing team to take head and bill measurements of the Godwits and the many Dunlin that were caught. Oh, and to the disbelief of the Wash regulars I managed to ring a new species for me - Redshank!<br />
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Putting the nets up around the 'E' pool.<br />
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On Sunday morning a single cannon net was set on the beach between Snettsiham and Heacham with the intention making a catch of Oystercatchers which had been seen there during the recce on Saturday morning. It was a quick early morning set and the team was briefed and in position in good time. The only slight issue was the lack of birds with just eleven being caught when the command to fire was issued. This, however, was the perfect opportunity for less experienced and new members of the team to have a go at extracting waders from a larger mesh cannon net in which birds can become quite entangled. The small catch also allowed these folk to take their time processing the birds as well as giving the chance for a few more experienced Wash regulars to have their biometric measurements checked by highly experienced lead processors.</div>
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6i Oystercatcher</div>
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On Sunday evening there was the option to try mist-netting at a new site that Aron has acquired permission for at Gedney near Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire. The pools weren't far from the seawall but the mud was exceptionally sticky and a number of the small team slipped up, some more than once!</div>
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After a fish and chip supper the tape lures were set and we waited for the birds to arrive. The first round was quiet although two Black-tailed Godwits were a pleasant surprise. Then we found ourselves extracting a good catch of Dunlin after which high tide peaked and we took down before heading back to join Lucy and Carole who had already made a start on processing the Dunlin along with another two Black-tailed Godwits.</div>
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As the temperature dropped it was with much excitement that Lucy announced that amongst the modest catch of 36 Dunlin was a control from Helgoland. Coincidentally this was the final bird to be processed and everybody in the small team was able to get a look at the foreign ring.</div>
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Dunlin being weighed</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-41966484913539192442013-03-15T13:10:00.001+00:002013-03-15T13:11:00.836+00:00Thetford Dipper and Wild Goose ChaseAfter having settled into my rented accommodation in Thetford and completed my first week working for the BTO I was looking forward to the first wader ringing trip of the year with the Wash Wader Ringing Group.<br />
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There were no plans to catch on the Saturday morning, instead the team was split, perhaps a little unequally, between carrying out recces at regular cannon netting sites and travelling to Thetford in an attempt to catch some Greylags on the BTO Nunnery Lakes reserve. These would be fitted with darvic neck collars, each engraved with a three letter combination allowing individuals to be identified in the field.<br />
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This meant that I managed a lay in and met the rest of the group on the reserve. A single cannon net was quickly set and we retreated to our vehicles and waited for the geese to arrive. All eight of them! After a lot of deliberation and unproductive wild goose chases around the lakes (no more were located), Nigel and Phil decided to fire on this small group. Somehow several escaped leaving just ith two Greylags and a Mallard. One goose was a retrap so just needed a neck collar and straws were drawn to ring the remaining goose and the Mallard. While the birds were processed the net was packed away and we were ready to head back to the Wash - via the Nuns Bridges to look for the Black-bellied Dipper.<br />
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After the thrill of seeing a pair of Otters, a bit of pleasant strolling up and down the rivers saw us heading west with a 'circus' of twitchers towards a sluice where the Dipper has been seen before. From the gathered throng it was clear we we were in the right place and the bird - which had, for a Dipper, made an epic journey from Europe - was bathing in the media limelight.<br />
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Black-bellied Dipper in Thetford</div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-54122900249988998332013-03-10T11:12:00.001+00:002013-03-15T13:11:00.838+00:00Last few garden sessions and new job<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Having received the good news that the BTO have offered me the the position of Oracle database developer I spent the last fortnight in Lound sorting and preparing to move as well as attempting to catch at least one of the Siskins visiting the nyger. </div>
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Over a few mist-netting sessions a number of interesting birds were caught including the first Goldfinch seen in the garden for a while, another Lesser Redpoll bringing the total caught to 7 and a stunning male Siskin. On the same Saturday afternoon that the Siskin was caught I received a call from my ringing trainer Paul to ask if I'd like to come over and help ringing a Siskin flock that was taking advantage of his feeders with 39 being ringed in total.</div>
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Adult (6) male Siskin (left) and male Goldfinch (right)</div>
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It was interesting to catch a Wren that had been ringed as a first year bird (3), in October 2011. This individual now an adult (6), clearly showed the staggering in the wing bars as discussed in the recent article by Rachel C. Taylor recently published in Ringing and Migration. A large tick was firmly attached just below the eye of this Wren yet when re-trapped again a few days later the tick was gone and the bird seemed none the worse for wear, weighing more than when it was caught carrying it's burden. Another interesting retrap was an adult Blue Tit that was re-captured on the same date and within ten minutes of first capture last year.</div>
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Adult (6) Wren showing staggering in the wing bars</div>
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Unfortunately in the week before I started in my new role the weather was less favourable so I decided to build and deploy a small ground trap with a view to catching some of the Blackbirds that are so adept at avoiding my mist net. After a bit of tweaking and an escaped Blackbird, a slow but steady stream of birds were caught with species trapped and ringed including Blackbird, Song Thrush, Starling and Robin. A valuable tool when the weather is unsuitable for mist-netting.<br />
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After a reasonable start to the year in Lound hopefully there will be plenty of ringing opportunities as I settle into my new role and home in Thetford.</div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-66185848879976049332013-02-11T22:35:00.000+00:002013-02-11T22:50:08.767+00:00More Garden RedpollsAn early window of opportunity on Sunday morning in a day of otherwise unfavourable weather saw the capture of another five Lesser Redpolls in the Lound back garden. Given that the garden is only marginally large enough to accommodate a 30' mist net and that this is the first winter that Redpolls have visited then to catch five is a real treat but discovering that one was already ringed and that it wasn't mine, was particularly special as it makes this bird my first garden control. It will be interesting to find out where L526502 has come from.<br />
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Lesser Redpolls - adult male control (left), 5 male (right)</div>
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Male Lesser Redpoll</div>
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This morning (Monday), a pair of Siskins - another garden first! - were seen checking out the Nyger feeder and will hopefully be back when the wind has dropped.</div>
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On Saturday only four birds were caught but a Great Tit had an interestingly deformed bill.</div>
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Great Tit showing curiously deformed bill</div>
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<b>Saturday Totals - </b>3 news, (1) retrap</div>
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Robin - 1</div>
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Blackbird - (1)</div>
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Great Tit - 1</div>
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Starling - 1</div>
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<b>Sunday Totals - </b>7 new, (1) control</div>
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Dunnock - 1</div>
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Blackbird - 1</div>
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Blue Tit - 1</div>
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Lesser Redpoll - 4, (1 control)</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-34672820559033711622013-02-03T21:34:00.003+00:002013-02-03T21:34:58.962+00:00Waxwing!Well, what can I say? We arrived on time, in the dark, set our mist nets up around the only trees with berries on that we knew they'd been feeding in virtually all week and we stood and waited. Their shrill contact trills gave away their presence and in they came over the top of the nets as expected and away again. A fleeting visit by five or six Waxwings where in the week there had regularly been over fifty.<br />
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In the icy cold we waited and again they came and again pausing for the briefest of moments. Then Ron announced that he'd seen a bird hit a net but all that we could see was a feather that on closer inspection was a tiny Goldcrest peering down at us from where the Waxwings should have been by now. It was extracted and ringed, meaning that we wouldn't leave having ringed nothing this morning.<br />
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Again more trilling and they sneaked in where our nets weren't but again stopping just long enough to pluck a few berries before departing. Then one seemed to stay longer than the others and Paul crept forward with the hope of flushing it out low into the waiting nets but astonishingly the bird flew below the bottom shelf and away leaving three shivering ringers standing looking at each other with incredulous surprise.<br />
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Then was we moved forward to start taking down the shortest of the three nets Paul motioned us back and pointed to a Waxwing that had flown out of nowhere to feed in solitude. We waited until it started making it's way further down through the twigs and branches towards the low hanging fruit and then Paul inched forward for the flush and a streak of pink rocketed straight into a net and hung there, our prize waiting to be extracted. I took that honour already knowing that I would let Rob ring it, Norwich to Gorleston is a long way to travel only to leave 'empty handed' He was pleased, as were we all at seeing a piece of Russia in Norfolk. It's just a shame that there weren't more of her compatriots with her this morning. What had she done to find herself away from the flock?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFEmnJzfizH1kVPXey_x7grdFrT17nTsdBOtie7luOb318ld9IL9YGl_l464kF3PEsGs4Z3RLusW9BtAx_dCOp_RvfF-61fnS5ABhILbnRMDnuTN2Ly4Rm9CWBg8Iu5E-oQo4QwzLMw9L/s1600/20130203_waxwi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFEmnJzfizH1kVPXey_x7grdFrT17nTsdBOtie7luOb318ld9IL9YGl_l464kF3PEsGs4Z3RLusW9BtAx_dCOp_RvfF-61fnS5ABhILbnRMDnuTN2Ly4Rm9CWBg8Iu5E-oQo4QwzLMw9L/s320/20130203_waxwi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Adult female Bohemian Waxwing</div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-1712094012086518172013-01-28T22:55:00.001+00:002013-01-28T22:55:51.695+00:00Kessingland revisitedLast Friday I made the decision to get up early and meet Colin Carter and Derek Beamish on Pakefield Beach where they have been successfully whoosh netting some Turnstones and Sanderling that have been taking advantage of some well placed bait. It was a cold and icy morning then when I arrived to find Colin and Derek already in place so as Derek got up to talk to the first dog walker I made my move to join them not knowing that Colin had already fired on some Turnstone. As luck wouldn't have it only two birds were caught thanks to a small piece of bladder wrack that had stopped a large part of the net from unfurling. I manned the re-set net while Derek and Colin went back to the cars to ring the birds but all that came near were the omnipresent feral doves. While having a catch up and just before packing up Colin called 'fire' and Derek pulled on a Black-headed Gull which I was delighted to ring.<div>
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Next stop was one of Colin's main sites, Kessingland sewage works for some more whoosh netting. When we arrived a large number of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits were noted feeding on the filter beds so while Derek and I were setting up the whoosh net Colin started putting up some mist nets. It wasn't long after I'd gone back to help Colin that Derek phoned to say that he'd caught a Common Gull which I was quite excited about as this would be a new species for me and besides Canadian birds, the first since last summer in Sutherland. I duly went to fetch the bird and help reset the net. When ringing the it I discovered to my surprise that these beautiful gulls are much smaller than expected.</div>
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Common Gull <i>Larus canus</i></div>
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Once the rest of the mist nets were in place it wasn't long before they started catching and amazingly the haul consisted mostly of Meadow Pipits which Colin was surprised about as he has not previously noted this species at the site during winter. It would be interesting to learn where they have arrived from, particularly as local breeding is only likely to occur at low densities. Perhaps the control will provide some clues, maybe a bird originally trapped in Scotland.</div>
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Meadow Pipit <i>Anthus Pratensis</i></div>
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Only one Pied Wagtail was caught although a Grey Wagtail was nice to see and being a bird originally trapped at the site in November 2012, must be over wintering here.</div>
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A return to the sewage works on Saturday morning found us arriving in the dark and soon to be falling snow. The whoosh net was set and baited and we retreated to the ringing hut to drink coffee and wait for Mike Swindells to arrive. Mist nets were set with a view to catching one or more of the Redshanks present and to be ready for the Meadow Pipits when they awoke. Mike arrived to find us chatting and Derek left to man the whoosh net hoping that the gulls had found the bait but was horrified to discover that whilst we were keeping warm they'd already been through and eaten it so off to buy some bread he went. In the mean time the Redshanks did a great job of avoiding the nets and only a handful of Meadow Pipits were caught. </div>
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Derek handed the whoosh net baton to me and despite a dozen or so Black-headed and Common Gulls having a look in there were no takers for the white bread that Derek had so considerately provided. A couple of Moorhens eventually decided they'd try it and I pulled on four catching two which considering the amount of effort that had been put it in was a bit of a let down but who can refuse a Moorhen? The net was quickly reset and I took my catch back for ringing. </div>
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The accolade of bird of the day must surely go to the Woodcock that found a mist net just as Colin and Mike were taking others down. Colin's run found Mike ringing a fantastic bird and we all updated our memories on the art of Woodcock ageing.</div>
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Mike getting to grips with Woodcock ageing</div>
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Overall it was a great of couple of days ringing with Colin and his team with a really interesting variety of species across several sites using a couple of different catching methods. Friday was the better day with more favourable weather but Saturday provided Moorhen and Woodcock so it was definitely worth going on both days despite ending up with a seriously bad cold.</div>
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<b>Friday Totals - </b>24 new, (3) retraps including a control</div>
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Turnstone - 2</div>
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Black-headed Gull - 1</div>
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Common Gull - 1</div>
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Meadow Pipit - 16, (1)</div>
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Pied Wagtail - 1</div>
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Grey Wagtail - (1)</div>
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Blackbird - 3, (1)</div>
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<b>Saturday Totals - </b>13 new, (2) retraps<br />
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Moorhen - 2</div>
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Woodcock - 1</div>
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Meadow Pipit - 8, (2) both from Friday</div>
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Pied Wagtail - 1</div>
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Blackbird - 1</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-63895626693625660192013-01-21T23:12:00.001+00:002013-01-21T23:13:14.907+00:00A snowy start to garden ringing in 2013Well after a lengthy absence I thought that the first birds ringed in the garden this year deserved a mention. This morning saw a much welcome break in the harsh easterly winds that have been driving snow across most of Britain for the last few days so a mist net was hastily erected to capture a sample of the birds that have been making use of the food provided in the back garden.<br />
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A couple of Lesser Redpolls have been seen at the Nyger on a number of occasions recently and being a new species for the garden it was a pleasant surprise to find myself ringing one, particularly one with a very conspicuous moult limit which isn't always the case for Redpolls.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XL0vkK-klRccXREZE-6HZUATwZRoeXLfKoq4aDSvZWOhsfZHrFRsNdgsslFS40eDdng5CqTHbnj05FFGsrOL4FNH-JKTFLcpfZ82DtFIDeFl-E2S-N33Fjhw9kIR2zAExeJN7JmcT0t1/s1600/20130121_lesre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XL0vkK-klRccXREZE-6HZUATwZRoeXLfKoq4aDSvZWOhsfZHrFRsNdgsslFS40eDdng5CqTHbnj05FFGsrOL4FNH-JKTFLcpfZ82DtFIDeFl-E2S-N33Fjhw9kIR2zAExeJN7JmcT0t1/s320/20130121_lesre.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_wx_STAOsiFcpIr_jXW5FZGCAsLu9dvjmkFXdgDb8ELwh0cRY_-QzOm69xeBT8HqX7_dVA9HKyvFruKzDSWzuLyLejp53FQ_9Gwb51c2GIRrKYL6MJ1gj3_NH1pRtFWROk_SSl3vdHM3/s1600/20130121_chaff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_wx_STAOsiFcpIr_jXW5FZGCAsLu9dvjmkFXdgDb8ELwh0cRY_-QzOm69xeBT8HqX7_dVA9HKyvFruKzDSWzuLyLejp53FQ_9Gwb51c2GIRrKYL6MJ1gj3_NH1pRtFWROk_SSl3vdHM3/s320/20130121_chaff.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Lesser Redpoll Chaffinch </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxkxW4gHAMIjh28F0ebHTaf7bzveUl_0R_huzlvsp5iWJGbaQiwFRafGhjTGUOCOwD1N90_rjKimlZHKhSQtuFWGTVtlZia_z6nf6RGx5GBmmi4zWV-BP6rQqHR5hjQtKxqQougQOwOt8/s1600/20130121_wren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxkxW4gHAMIjh28F0ebHTaf7bzveUl_0R_huzlvsp5iWJGbaQiwFRafGhjTGUOCOwD1N90_rjKimlZHKhSQtuFWGTVtlZia_z6nf6RGx5GBmmi4zWV-BP6rQqHR5hjQtKxqQougQOwOt8/s200/20130121_wren.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKTdgXrxyFhcPxRnEC6hWtVO9bi7hmbJPFYzNQOTTpudagkHR5Hy3gPjqob-1cP63M5ZPEu4Dx5a8HS40JqzvSzRHNCrMnOr2puSXT0hmAHvYyFwEeXcRVAP1eFYd4blO25HEu8RWf0cy/s1600/20130121_robin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKTdgXrxyFhcPxRnEC6hWtVO9bi7hmbJPFYzNQOTTpudagkHR5Hy3gPjqob-1cP63M5ZPEu4Dx5a8HS40JqzvSzRHNCrMnOr2puSXT0hmAHvYyFwEeXcRVAP1eFYd4blO25HEu8RWf0cy/s200/20130121_robin.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3g-xAroeGG1B3vf6TFv32pTCrZyGGdmwBr12Q_Coa0bCw4ACmPY0xDKQ80GefZOVGqQYz4bem4R7DjxJP3LHmeqRNJ68ppgxQ8SrPIEvHwCUnpL2ed3HyfCm2MKHsz3TRp8aFVdevqpP/s1600/20130121_starl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3g-xAroeGG1B3vf6TFv32pTCrZyGGdmwBr12Q_Coa0bCw4ACmPY0xDKQ80GefZOVGqQYz4bem4R7DjxJP3LHmeqRNJ68ppgxQ8SrPIEvHwCUnpL2ed3HyfCm2MKHsz3TRp8aFVdevqpP/s200/20130121_starl.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
Wren Robin Starling<br />
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All birds caught seemed to be very active and were all of good weights with some individuals showing good fat reserves indicating that for these birds at least, food isn't in short supply during the current cold snap.<br />
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Coal Tit Blue Tit Great Tit<br />
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It is my sincere hope to post a number of catchups further documenting my work in Scotland last summer and my trip to Canada in the Autumn (or should that be fall?), of 2012. However, trawling through and editing 2000+ photos is proving to be a somewhat onerous task so I thank readers in advance for bearing with me. In the meantime, I shall endeavour to keep posts as regular as time and activities permit.<br />
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<b>Totals - </b>18 new, (2) retraps<br />
Wood Pigeon - 1<br />
Robin - 2<br />
Blackbird - 1<br />
Wren - 1<br />
Great Tit - 2, (1)<br />
Coal Tit - 1<br />
Blue Tit - 6, (1)<br />
Starling - 2<br />
Chaffinch - 1<br />
Lesser Redpoll - 1<br />
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Not bad for the first garden ringing of 2013 and an interesting species mix it would have been nice to have had an overwintering Blackcap but I've not recorded one yet in five years.<br />
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A brief trip into Great Yarmouth in the afternoon provided the opportunity to snap some twilight snow scenes as the night fell.<br />
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Looking west towards the Breydon Bridge</div>
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Eastwards from where the rivers Yare and Bure meet</div>
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-85523459976354481642012-05-14T20:30:00.000+01:002012-06-25T23:34:19.471+01:00A thorny issue!After a busy week surveying on the wind farm the Sutherland weather looked favourable for some garden ringing on Sunday morning. So with the the 30' net ready and feeders filled all that was needed was a brew and some birds. The House Sparrows, Chaffinches and Greenfinches were first in as usual and after the first few rounds I was surprised to hear shrill thrush like alarm calls coming from the general direction of the net. Upon checking two Song Thrushes and a Jackdaw were caught; I'm not sure what was upsetting the thrushes most, being trapped in the mist net or the proximity of the Jackdaw. The Song Thrushes were both young of this year clearly showing thorny median and greater coverts while the Jackdaw was an adult with a striking pale blue iris and wide rectrices - at least I now have an idea as to why the bird food (and my salary!), is disappearing so quickly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49UDKXJGPO85kyErwCpaiNskeg49sDmvjYmyAyh1ItAayBEPN5d7DHVqbnPD2D1t07PO3EwwHsxK9aEyt70PLfOwLixjC-VCuIZYRX3VjzPwKKXTWadrjPRFe5VOBvRDYylYhkZrYhb2o/s1600/20120512_sonth_3j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49UDKXJGPO85kyErwCpaiNskeg49sDmvjYmyAyh1ItAayBEPN5d7DHVqbnPD2D1t07PO3EwwHsxK9aEyt70PLfOwLixjC-VCuIZYRX3VjzPwKKXTWadrjPRFe5VOBvRDYylYhkZrYhb2o/s320/20120512_sonth_3j.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBnCbJwijKveD8SnarQh2Ym-7xXg7JvFlPsu4iLvQeC8UdArKrgwJa91y6SJAVHHSTBtNatELRZx2my-WHFvKlOQE04fmekAmj7U2eiS0leRs6Vaoa7oA0ppopLFgJG4jn5IzrDO3twgy/s1600/20120512_jackd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBnCbJwijKveD8SnarQh2Ym-7xXg7JvFlPsu4iLvQeC8UdArKrgwJa91y6SJAVHHSTBtNatELRZx2my-WHFvKlOQE04fmekAmj7U2eiS0leRs6Vaoa7oA0ppopLFgJG4jn5IzrDO3twgy/s320/20120512_jackd.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Juvenile (3J) Song Thrush, (left) and adult (6) Jackdaw, (right)</div>
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Siskins were again present in good numbers with eleven new birds being and another control captured. It will be interesting to see where these birds are going from.</div>
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<b>Totals - </b>26 new, (5) retraps including a control</div>
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Song Thrush - 2</div>
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Coal Tit - 1, (1)</div>
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Jackdaw - 1</div>
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House Sparrow - 3, (1)</div>
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Chaffinch - 3</div>
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Greenfinch - 5</div>
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Siskin - 11, (3) inc a control.</div>
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After lunch a quick trip was made to Brora Harbour, with spring traps this time, to see if any Wheatears were still lingering before heading inland. The weather wasn't as favourable as the previous week with a cool breeze keeping insects low to the ground. It was quickly apparent that there weren't many birds around but a couple of Wheatears were spotted and after a few failed attempts I got lucky with a trap well placed in the rotting seaweed in the tide line. A large female was trapped and the biometrics were supportive of it being a member of the Greenland race <i>leucorhoa</i>.</div>
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2CY(5) female Greenland Wheatear</div>
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On the way to the beach a short stop was made to catch and ring a Lapwing chick that has recently hatched out in a field beside the A9. It has has survived a few days already but given the number of gulls loafing around I don't fancy it's chances but then again ...</div>
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Lapwing chick</div>
<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-12124620643570271492012-05-07T20:00:00.000+01:002012-06-05T21:52:52.918+01:00Greenfinch Invasion and Siskin ControlsAfter an intensive week of surveying on the wind farm and the two control sites the weekend is time to relax, except of course when one gets up at 05:30 on Sunday morning to put a 30' mist net up in the garden and start ringing. Although with a Cuckoo calling nearby and Willow Warblers singing from scrub behind the cottage it was definitely rising early.<br />
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The first few hours were fairly productive with birds keen to take advantage of the freshly filled feeders. Greenfinches were particularly abundant with ten new individuals caught and two retraps from previous weeks. Siskin numbers still seem to be building and two controls were definitely the highlights of the session; it will be interesting to find out where they've come from. A fellow ringer from Thetford is sure that one of them may have been ringed in Brandon, Suffolk and will therefore have travelled a similar distance as myself to get here.<br />
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2CY(5) male Siskin </div>
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It's been interesting to note that Goldfinches and Siskins don't know that they're supposed to be eating Nyger seed and seem more than happy to avail themselves of the sunflower heart rich seed mix and and peanuts.<br />
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Goldfinches enjoying peanuts</div>
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In the afternoon a visit to Brora harbour and beach found a number of Pied Wagtails, Meadow Pipits and a Wheatear taking advantage of an abundance of insects swarming around the rotting seaweed on the strand line. Three Twite were feeding in the car park and a pair of Linnets were observed repeatedly entering a block of Gorse over which the male was persistently singing indicating a nest site.</div>
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<br /></div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-90527312787709210382012-05-05T22:00:00.000+01:002012-06-24T10:55:00.137+01:00Nests and wind farm wildlifeWith some warmer weather this week more migrants seem to be arriving with Cuckoos being heard most days, Wheatears becoming increasingly numerous and moving up the valleys to their nesting habitat, Swallows and Sand Martins pursuing insect prey around the trees in Strath Brora and Common Sandpipers chasing each other along the river. Walking though low cloud over the blanket bog one morning with Dunlins shrilly screaming their arrival, Golden Plovers uttering their plaintive peep and Greenshanks singing their distinctive bubbly song was highly evocative and captivating for a birder mainly used to seeing waders in the winter or on passage.<br />
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The Golden Plovers amongst other species are finally settling down to nest after the period of cold and unsettled weather in April. It is highly probable that a number of pairs would have failed with birds being forced to lower altitudes and unexpectedly high numbers observed feeding on the semi-improved grassland that serves as their usual off duty foraging grounds. It was pleasing, therefore, to have finally found our first nest for this year of the project and measuring the length, breath and mass of the eggs allows the density to be calculated and hatch dates predicted which for this nest will be towards the end of May.<br />
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Golden Plover nest on blanket bog</div>
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A Skylark's nest was also found whilst surveying one of the control sites for the project with the bird flushing just metres away allowing the nest to be easily located in the centre of a small grassy tuft.</div>
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Skylark nest</div>
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Insects are also becoming more active with a few species occurring in increasing numbers on the warm sunny days. The Common Heath <i>Ematurga atomaria </i>is a common day flying moth found in abundance during periods of prolonged sunshine. Male and females can be identified by their differing antennae with those of the male being characteristically feathered.</div>
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Common Heath</div>
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<i>Carabus glabratus </i>and <i>Carabus problematicus</i> are reasonably numerous large carabid ground beetles seen in the blanket bog habitat in which the wind farm is sited. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOZkKKHMnbFEZNxIzMiFy3lUug7tEHU2uKfBfc6Tij2NZgTaiCsLLVTwg3ce_N1FBtmIMBY8d73lE_QlhSHtCRhE_t-Teaf8reLO5y3JTupH0iGCZJ_T9yOj-XRGcb5bKs3bQOsin38mi/s1600/20120502_carabus_glabratus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOZkKKHMnbFEZNxIzMiFy3lUug7tEHU2uKfBfc6Tij2NZgTaiCsLLVTwg3ce_N1FBtmIMBY8d73lE_QlhSHtCRhE_t-Teaf8reLO5y3JTupH0iGCZJ_T9yOj-XRGcb5bKs3bQOsin38mi/s320/20120502_carabus_glabratus.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaLETVDb4XLUsl_aYgMZXPINRTcvqCY3Ck7Y2Lkko_yqCHhH97nL3WcHx_hmCIZtFMSANfMmlO1meKnrnk8OpXyhpUyTWLCXQF-xAgGjmTGo-56e4ClC0ja8O8bSkzAuSHDCKv8sf97qV/s1600/20120504_c_problematicus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaLETVDb4XLUsl_aYgMZXPINRTcvqCY3Ck7Y2Lkko_yqCHhH97nL3WcHx_hmCIZtFMSANfMmlO1meKnrnk8OpXyhpUyTWLCXQF-xAgGjmTGo-56e4ClC0ja8O8bSkzAuSHDCKv8sf97qV/s320/20120504_c_problematicus.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i> Carabus glabratum Carabus problematicus</i></div>
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</div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-85140197911655091942012-05-01T22:05:00.000+01:002012-05-31T22:11:11.460+01:00Sunshine in the handDespite having been snowed on again up on the wind farm last week the weather this weekend was favourable for ringing and the usual 30' mist net was erected in front of the garden feeders. Despite the weather being warm birds were thin on the ground so considering that a few Willow Warblers have been singing in the vicinity it seemed like a good opportunity to try a tape lure. It was clear that none of the nearby birds were interested in my woodland warbler medley so a quick play with the Xeno-Canto website and Audacity and within five minutes I found myself extracting this stunning Willow Warbler - a ray of sunshine in the hand.<br />
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Willow Warbler</div>
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<b>Totals - </b>8 new, (4) retraps</div>
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Willow Warbler - 1</div>
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Coal Tit - (2)</div>
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Blue Tit - 2, (2)</div>
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Great Tit - 2</div>
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Starling - 1</div>
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House Sparrow - 1</div>
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Chaffinch - 1</div>
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In the afternoon a leisurely drive down Strath Brora produced more Willow Warblers and the first Cuckoo of the year was heard. Stopping near a pine woodland a bright male Crossbill was heard calling in the manner of Scottish Crossbill; plenty of Siskins were fervently singing from the tops of the pines too. Other migrants heard and seen in the Strath included Common Redstart and Grasshopper Warbler. </div>
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Wheatears are gathering in the Strath before pairing off to breed and several have been seen every day feeding on some grassland beside the wind farm entrance. I'd brought a couple of spring traps along just in case one was seen and as two were present traps were baited and set. After a few minutes spent herding the more compliant of the birds towards the waiting traps a Wheatear was trapped and ringed. The first on my own A's.</div>
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2CY (5) male Wheatear.</div>
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<br /></div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-43794873081962127922012-04-23T23:48:00.000+01:002012-05-22T23:48:37.770+01:00Garden ringing in SutherlandThe weather in the first few weeks since arriving could not really be described as suitable for mist netting but last weekend and the before provided good opportunities to see what has been eating the food from the newly purchased feeders.<div>
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Last weekend I positioned the 30' net in front of and parallel to, a line of tall mature trees - conifers and a single beech - that serve as the southern boundary to the garden and within which the feeders hang. I had been hoping to catch House Sparrows approaching the feeders as they fly through the garden from the neighbouring guesthouse run by our landlord Geoff and his wife Liz. </div>
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This was met with a small success for the target species with seven trapped but not much else was caught as most birds approach the feeders through the trees thus requiring the net to be set perpendicularly to the tree line. So this weekend, after a quick chat to Geoff's son Ross a pair of loppers changed hands and light pruning commenced. A rudimentary ride was created allowing the 30' to be erected such that birds filtering through the trees would be intercepted.</div>
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With the new net placement the catch was almost double and several new species were caught including five Siskins, a species which is being seen in increasing numbers at the feeders. Several smart Greenfinches were also trapped on their way to the feeders.</div>
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Adult (6) male Greenfinch (left) and 2CY (5) male Siskin (right).</div>
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The ringing was split between the morning and evening so in the afternoon I took a trip down to Brora harbour to see what would be using the rocks at high tide and was pleased to find a small flock waders including 18 Purple Sandpipers, five of which were wearing coloured leg flags fitted as part of a study by members of the Highland Ringing Group who have gone on to fit a further sample of this species with light level geolocators. Two Turnstone and a couple of Knot were also present.</div>
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Roosting Turnstone, the bird on the right </div>
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is coming into breeding plumage</div>
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<b>15 April Totals - </b>12 new</div>
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Coal Tit - 1</div>
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Blue Tit - 2</div>
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Great Tit - 1</div>
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House Sparrow - 7</div>
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Greenfinch - 1</div>
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<b>22 April Totals </b> - 20 new, (3) retraps</div>
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Dunnock - 2</div>
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Robin - 1</div>
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Coal Tit - 1, (1)</div>
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Blue Tit - (1)</div>
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Great Tit - 3</div>
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House Sparrow - 4</div>
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Chaffinch - 1</div>
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Greenfinch - 3</div>
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Siskin - 5, (1)</div>
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<br /></div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-65209615629636474612012-04-17T22:24:00.000+01:002012-05-15T22:25:44.830+01:00Wind farm updateSurvey work at the wind farm continues apace despite the odd day of really bad weather. As can be seen from this vista over the wind farm snow is still a feature in the landscape and despite capping the surrounding hills with a beautiful white blanket that contrasts spectacularly with the crystal clear blue sky, the recent spell of wintery weather seems to be badly hampering the breeding efforts of the Golden Plovers. Many are still being seen in pairs indicating that nesting has not yet taken place as the incubation is shared, with the male taking the day shift. In previous years of the project several pairs would have been on nests by this time with most starting to settle. Time will tell what sort of impact the weather will have had on their breeding success.<br />
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View looking north over the wind farm</div>
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Common Lizard basking on my Weatherwriter</div>
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<br /></div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-57626728730003793232012-04-09T21:43:00.000+01:002012-05-15T21:46:35.485+01:00And Caithness...On Sunday a small expedition was mounted to explore the nearby town of Helmsdale and venture across the border into Caithness. Once a fish and chip lunch had been consumed in the snappily named 'La Mirage' we journeyed on the A9 out of Sutherland and into Caithness heading to the small fishing village of Dunbeath. We were looking to discover small pockets of seabirds and weren't disappointed with seeing Black Guillemots from the end of the jetty, their red feet clearly visible as they dived under the waves in search of food. Meanwhile an early Wheatear was seen hopping around the top of the beach as we set off towards the cliffs to check for Fulmars and Razorbills that had been seen coming in off the sea.<br />
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Fulmar on cliffs at Dunbeath</div>
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A loosely arranged colony was found with birds starting to pair up and some vigorous squabbling was in full swing. Razorbills were also on the cliffs but in the next bay and as the tide was high we couldn't easily get round so will save that for another day.<br />
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Other birds of note included three Red-throated Divers on the sea by Brora harbour.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-50220079448786100162012-04-04T22:30:00.000+01:002012-05-14T00:21:41.015+01:00Arrived in SutherlandAfter a week spent near Aviemore attending hill skills and 4x4 driving courses in preparation I have finally arrived in Sutherland ready to start my summer job working as a research assistant with the RSPB looking at the impact of a wind farm upon breeding Golden Plover. The role will involve lots of surveying in the wind farm and two neighbouring control sites as well as catching adult Golden Plovers and their chicks and fitting them with tiny radio transmitters to allow their foraging behaviour to be tracked.<br />
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Since arriving the recent spell of unseasonably mild weather has broken bringing extremely poor wintery weather meaning that we have had to delay surveying as many birds and the Golden Plover in particular are spending their time feeding at lower altitude where the weather is not so harsh. Snow was not expected and will have certainly prevented the Golden Plovers from establishing their territories on the blanket bog where the wind farm is located and flocks numbering 50-60 birds have been observed feeding on sheep fields in Strath Brora though which the River Brora runs.<br />
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The down time has however, given us time to familiarise ourselves with the local area and birding hotspots. An interesting selection of species have been seen within the first week of being up here with a couple of locations being particularly productive. Brora harbour and the surrounding beaches have been good for sea birds with small flocks of Long-tailed Duck being present most days along with varying numbers of Common Eider. There was talk of a male King Eider having been seen in the area but it proved elusive. Sandwich Terns have started arriving whilst Gannets can usually be seen offshore. A few Razorbills can often be spotted bobbing on the waves with the odd Fulmar almost touching the sea as it glides between the white horses. On one visit a large flock of over 100 Knot were seen using the rocks just north of Brora harbour mouth as a high tide roost, endlessly jostling for position as the high tide lapped the rocks they stood on. One day a Peregrine was seen hassling the Redshanks which come into the harbour mouth at high tide.<br />
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Looking north from Brora beach</div>
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Loch Fleet a few miles south of Golspie on the A9 is a National Nature Reserve and a component of the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet SPA and RAMSAR sites. The reserve consists of a fresh water lagoon separated by a sluice from an estuary with extensive tidal mudflats used by waders and a population of grey seals. The lagoon has been packed with birds on recent visits with highlights being Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Pintail and the first Osprey for the year. The river flowing through the estuary has held over 30 Red-breasted Mergansers and numerous Goldeneye.<br />
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View towards the mouth of Loch Fleet</div>
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Ringed Plover on the beach at the mouth of Loch Fleet</div>
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A variety of inland sites have provided gems such as Black-throated Diver, Raven and Dippers which can be found on many small burns throughout the area. One of the first wind farm visits produced a female Goshawk but with small flocks of Fieldfare being seen at lower altitudes as well as the Golden Plover being seen foraging in the sheep fields in Strath Brora, it is clear that sadly, the cold snowy weather is not over just yet. It does seem odd though to be seeing Fieldfare in the same view as newly arrived Wheatears. Hopefully we have seen the worst of this brief return to wintery weather and we'll be able to start surveying up at the wind farm<br />
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-28093642584129450532012-03-17T19:30:00.000+00:002012-05-13T21:32:12.544+01:00Final garden sessionYesterday I opened the net in the back garden for the last time before heading up to Scotland to commence my summer job with the RSPB. The first bird in was a Woodpigeon which perhaps surprisingly, is a new species trapped and ringed in the garden, although given the amount of holes in the 30' that have already been caused by bouncy, scratchy Woodpigeons I'm not sure how many more I'd want to catch! It was nice to get another House Sparrow bringing the total caught since garden ringing commenced to 67 with 13 retraps; a reasonable haul for a plot the size of a small handkerchief - the 30' net only fits diagonally!<div>
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Adult (6) Woodpigeon</div>
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The real highlight was retrapping a Long-tailed Tit that had originally been caught in the woodland ringing ride at Lound Lakes. This individual was one of the first birds caught during a busy ringing session on a very cold morning in October last year, so it was uplifting to know that it had survived the winter and had undertaken an epic movement of 1.3 kilometres. </div>
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A well travelled Long-tailed Tit</div>
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I will miss garden ringing sessions this summer and particularly the population of local House Sparrows for which I was planning to start up a RAS (Retrapping Adults for Survival), project. I am however, looking forward to experiencing a completely different habitat with different species and of course surveying and radio tracking the Golden Plover adults and chicks to examine any possible impacts of the wind farm upon their breeding success.</div>
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<b>Totals - </b>8 new and (1) retrap</div>
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Woodpigeon - 1</div>
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Long-tailed Tit - (1)</div>
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Blue Tit - 2</div>
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Great Tit - 2</div>
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House Sparrows - 1</div>
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Goldfinch - 2</div>
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<b>Garden Totals, July 2011 - March 2012 - </b>182 new, (27) retraps</div>
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Woodpigeon - 1</div>
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Wren - 3</div>
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Dunnock - 9, (4)</div>
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Robin - 11, (3)</div>
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Blackbird - 15</div>
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Goldcrest - 1</div>
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Long-tailed Tit - 2, (2)</div>
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Coal Tit - 1</div>
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Blue Tit - 33, (3)</div>
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Great Tit - 9, (1)</div>
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Starling - 12</div>
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House Sparrow - 67, (13)</div>
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Chaffinch - 2</div>
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Goldfinch - 16, (1)</div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-22417883521106988902012-03-05T20:00:00.000+00:002012-05-10T23:59:41.999+01:00Sheepish Starling...On Sunday morning I decided to open the garden net as well as having another go at catching a Blackbird in the front garden using a spring trap. The male bird in question refuses to visit the back garden and as a result remains unringed. Interestingly, he does seem to have taken up territory at the front and never moves far even when approached. <div>
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With the trap set and the mealworms doing their best at wriggling all that was left to do was to put the kettle on and extract anything from the 30' in the back garden. Two Goldfinches later, including the first retrap for the garden and the spring trap had made a catch. It wasn't however the target species that had been caught but instead I was faced with removing a very sheepish looking Starling that had obviously been eyeing the bait from roof in which they've been busily building their nest this year.</div>
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Spring Trap ready complete with bait</div>
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Rather sheepish looking female Starling</div>
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Although the morning wasn't exactly awash with birds a further four Starlings were mist netted along with two Chaffinches trapped together in the bottom shelf and were a new species for the garden. A female Blackbird was caught in the mist net, the spring traps failing to catch another bird.</div>
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Chaffinches - 2CY (5) male left, adult (6) female right</div>
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<b>Totals - </b>14 new and (1) retrap</div>
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Blackbird - 1</div>
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Blue Tit - 5</div>
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Starling - 5</div>
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Chaffinch - 2</div>
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Goldfinch - 1, (1)</div>
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</div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-33076547705719747102012-03-04T21:00:00.000+00:002012-05-08T23:09:19.261+01:00Mini ringing demo at Lound LakesSaturday was the last volunteer session at Lound Lakes before I head north to take up my summer job as a Research Assistant with the RSPB. It was also to be the final session being supervised by Bob Hindley the departing temporary warden. Upon arriving it was clear that Bob hadn't been expecting that many volunteers to turn up and as a result there were far too many of us for the work that he had planned. Given that the weather was good I had brought the ringing gear with a view to doing a bit after the planned volunteer session. With no set task I quickly decided to set the 30' in the usual gap in the hedgerow across which birds fly to an assortment of different feeders. A few volunteers remained to weed the wildlife garden whilst Bob took the others for a short walk around the reserve.<br />
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After a few minutes birds were being caught and ringing commenced with a small number of interested onlookers keenly looking at the wriggling bird bags. The first couple of rounds supplied the usual Blue Tits, Great Tits and Dunnocks and the wildlife gardeners patiently watched while I processed the catch, explaining ageing and sexing criteria as I worked.<br />
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Adult (6) male Blue Tit</div>
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It was not long before the rest of the group returned from their walk and were also eager to learn a bit more about our common woodland birds. The gathered group were not disappointed when a Greenfinch was caught and excitement levels were raised as I went dashing towards the net when not one but two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were caught inches away from each other at the far end of the net.<br />
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It was a good morning and while the catch wasn't overwhelming I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to the Lound Lakes volunteers about bird ringing and to show them a few species in the hand. The stars of the show however, were undoubtedly the two female Great Spotted Woodpeckers who did a great job of causing a commotion, with one of them screaming incessantly throughout the ringing process and taking it's 'pound' of my flesh while I held it for photos. Interestingly both had early stage brood patches - BP1.<br />
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2CY (5) female Great Spotted Woodpecker</div>
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I shall miss working with the friendly group of dedicated volunteers who are committed to helping to improve and manage the habitats on the reserve at Lound Lakes for the benefit of wildlife. As I write this management of the site - owned by Essex & Suffolk Water - is in the process of being passed from the Broads Authority to Suffolk Wildlife Trust so I wash them well for the coming summer and year ahead.</div>
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<b>Totals - </b>11 new, (9) retraps</div>
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Great Spotted Woodpecker - 2</div>
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Dunnock - 2, (1)</div>
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Long-tailed Tit - (1)</div>
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Blue Tit - 3, (5) including 2 ringed by East Norfolk Ringing Group</div>
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Great Tit - 3, (2)</div>
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Greenfinch - 1</div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-17762639912871073032012-03-02T04:30:00.000+00:002012-05-07T22:17:45.453+01:00Goldfinches - finallyAfter having tried nyger in the garden on several previous occasions this attempt finally seems to have paid off and several Goldfinches seem to be using the feeder on a regular basis. Interestingly none have tried to feed when the garden mist net is in use so it was a pleasure to find myself extracting a Goldfinch in the garden for the first time today followed by another four throughout the morning. Let's hope that there are more to come!<br />
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Adult (6) male Goldfinch</div>
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<b>Totals - </b>13 new (2) retraps</div>
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Blackbird - 1</div>
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Long-tailed Tit - (1)</div>
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Blue Tit - 4, (1)</div>
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Great Tit - 2</div>
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Starling - 1</div>
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Goldfinch - 5</div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-82568905425251116622012-02-28T04:00:00.000+00:002012-04-26T20:31:39.689+01:00The last of Burgh Castle for a while...Given that I shall be starting my summer job as a Research Assistant with the RSPB in mid March this would most likely be my last opportunity to do some ringing with my trainer Paul and his trainee Rob. First light is becoming increasingly early and this combined with the late night before after catching Dunlins with the Wash Wader Ringing Group meant that Rob struggled in about an hour after Paul and I opened the nets.<div>
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The warm temperature and gentle breeze should have made ideal catching conditions but as has often been the case this winter there were not many birds around which whilst not being great did give a good chance for Rob to practice his mist net extractions. Interestingly a few Jays and Magpies were seen flying around the garden and the trees bordering the neighbouring grazing marsh so it was not a total surprise when a Jay was caught during one net round with Paul and I watching on smiling whilst Rob found himself extracting a bird 'capable of causing pain'. </div>
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Not an ad for expensive photography wear but </div>
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a photo of a glove wearing wimp holding a 2CY Jay.</div>
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Greenfinches were also a feature of the day with a good of total of eighteen trapped after taking advantage of the top quality sunflower hearts that Paul dutifully provides with a good mix of 2CY (5) birds and adults (6). It was a nice steady session with a good breakfast provided as always by Paul's wife Tracey. I shall miss them during my summer in Sutherland.</div>
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Pair of adult Greenfinches</div>
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<br /></div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-6412911665217489192012-02-26T22:00:00.000+00:002012-04-26T15:29:48.015+01:00Gedney DunlinsOn Saturday afternoon a small team from the Wash Wader Ringing Group met at the Old School House to get kit ready for an evening mist netting session at a new site near Gedney in Lincolnshire. We were soon on our way and upon arrival split the netting equipment between two teams and set out across the salt marsh to put up nets in readiness for the high tide later on in the evening. Once the nets were set we headed back to the cars to set up base camp and order a fish and chip supper before returning to the nets with the tape lure systems. At this point darkness had started to descend and one or two birds, all Dunlin, had found the nets. We set the tapes going and went back to base camp to deliver our catch and tuck into the tasty food that had arrived in our absence.<br />
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A further two net rounds produced more Dunlin bringing the total to 31 - all new birds. A small team was assembled to process the birds after they'd been ringed. For some people on the trip it was the first time they'd had the opportunity to handle a wader species so the small catch enabled them to become familiar with Dunlin ageing. Fortunately the night wasn't too cold and we were pleased with a small but successful catch at the new site.<br />
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Taking biometric measurements from a Dunlin</div>
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167232867034177747.post-40608245745517320452012-02-14T04:00:00.000+00:002012-03-01T10:06:42.202+00:00Knot spectacularFriday evening saw a very cold team return from setting cannon nets on Snettisham beach. Four small mesh nets were set with a view to catching some of the large Knot flock that had been seen there on the morning recce. Given that all the usual grot was covered with snow it was decided to use the snow itself to conceal the net set, making for very cold hands for some grotters.<br />
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Upon arriving at the beach on Saturday morning car temperature gauges were reading an unbelievable minus fifteen degrees Celsius, after a few minutes sitting at base camp behind the sea wall it definitely felt like it. I was quick to volunteer when the hide team requested a twinkler and soon warmed up a little on the 100 metre run behind the sea wall. The attempt was futile as birds just flew out and then landed back in the same spot so I endured lying prostrate in the snow while we waited for a Turnstone to climb off the net that promised the best catch. As it wouldn't move the decision was taken to fire the adjacent net over far fewer birds but mid conversation the bird took flight and the preferred net was fired over a large quantity of Knot.<br />
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Extracting Knot <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Alice Tribe</span></div>
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Small mesh nets have the advantage that should an excessively large catch be taken a corner can be lifted to allow some birds to escape. As shown in the photo birds do not become entangled. In this instance, however, it was decided to start extracting as soon as the net was lifted away from the edge of the rising tide. It quickly became evident that the catch was very large indeed and box after box was filled with Knot and taken back to the team erecting the keeping cages on the very icy beach. Once the keeping cages were starting to fill up a couple of ring and fling teams were recruited to crack on with the mammoth task of ringing several thousand Knot. Given the size of the catch only a small sample of were Knot passed to the assembled processing teams. Other species were fully processed with Bar-tailed Godwits receiving leg flags as part of the group's on going colour mark project.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh7eueTzA3FLzhZ54OwiVYIHln-XVRv_DUMucQvqyaoxFFC3I9ACbvaqDXZX1KvxBGF-bvL02FmRiglcO_EM5RRLfOa0eq9Ebc5Pp_5XBlSsdTT7hvE2UkIuvHRjNTUx1hTcL0tc-3oZ-/s1600/20120211_knot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh7eueTzA3FLzhZ54OwiVYIHln-XVRv_DUMucQvqyaoxFFC3I9ACbvaqDXZX1KvxBGF-bvL02FmRiglcO_EM5RRLfOa0eq9Ebc5Pp_5XBlSsdTT7hvE2UkIuvHRjNTUx1hTcL0tc-3oZ-/s320/20120211_knot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Knot <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Alice Tribe</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOClmYftYRZn81PbIOcJrTRmd523vKWYT1uUq0PrOUj0PWrepieflHoiZYFcU5EzX0CsTNKljZ0UsMkJLVzWBCs8gljA0NdXF0o-vHwv_rzzYVn9d-wDWh8HY4IPvx7yYLSq5R1WUtZfX/s1600/20120211_batgo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOClmYftYRZn81PbIOcJrTRmd523vKWYT1uUq0PrOUj0PWrepieflHoiZYFcU5EzX0CsTNKljZ0UsMkJLVzWBCs8gljA0NdXF0o-vHwv_rzzYVn9d-wDWh8HY4IPvx7yYLSq5R1WUtZfX/s320/20120211_batgo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bar-tailed Godwit <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Alice Tribe</span></div>
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In debrief the team leaders remarked upon how efficiently the catch was dealt with and that all the birds seemed to be in good condition considering the recent spell of harsh weather. It should be noted that it was still minus five when we left the beach but being involved with such a spectacular catch made the frozen toes and bruised knees truly worth it. Such large catches are very rarely made and this was the largest for forty years. Controls hailed from Norway (5), Iceland (1), Holland (2), Germany (1) and Britain (13). Interestingly the oldest retrap was 19 years old and will have survived many a cold winter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJirw33e9yaBx1F2lKs5Cx2CVvXck4sq2A7l3yKjron7x_65GfXMaWHfuCffuXeBmywKFS1rw2cuKfsGVk4Cj4K8h3a9C5sjtaVrejyXqlFPVeLHu9SmVnCa0F7BatnepSf5_sD9oGwJz8/s1600/20120211_ringing_on_beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJirw33e9yaBx1F2lKs5Cx2CVvXck4sq2A7l3yKjron7x_65GfXMaWHfuCffuXeBmywKFS1rw2cuKfsGVk4Cj4K8h3a9C5sjtaVrejyXqlFPVeLHu9SmVnCa0F7BatnepSf5_sD9oGwJz8/s400/20120211_ringing_on_beach.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ringing Knot on Snettisham beach <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Rob Robinson</span></div>
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<b>Totals - </b>2831 new, (95) retrap</div>
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Oystercatcher - 11, (3)</div>
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Knot - 2680, (77)<br />
Sanderling - 1<br />
Dunlin - 35, (2)<br />
Bar-tailed Godwit - 104, (13)<br />
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Needless to say the mist netting planned for Saturday evening was cancelled due to the large cannon net catch but also the freezing fog that had kept temperatures low in the morning was still lingering over the salt marshes and would render the nets highly visible.<br />
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Sunday morning saw a number of teams depart to various locations around the Norfolk side of the Wash to do some colour ring resighting and general birdwatching. My team headed to RSPB Snettisham Pits and were rewarded with extremely close views of Goldeneye and a beautiful drake Red-breated Merganser. A flock of Snow Buntings were flying up and down the beach and both Short-eared and Barn Owls were seen. The only birds lacking were those wearing colour rings but a good morning and weekend were had by all.</div>
</div>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01949559061223917772noreply@blogger.com0