Greenfinch Invasion and Siskin Controls

After 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.

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.

2CY(5) male Siskin 

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.

Goldfinches enjoying peanuts

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.

Nests and wind farm wildlife

With 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.

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.

Golden Plover nest on blanket bog

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.

Skylark nest

Insects are also becoming more active with a few species occurring in increasing numbers on the warm sunny days. The Common Heath Ematurga atomaria 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.

Common Heath

Carabus glabratus and Carabus problematicus are reasonably numerous large carabid ground beetles seen in the blanket bog habitat in which the wind farm is sited. 

  Carabus glabratum                                     Carabus problematicus

Sunshine in the hand

Despite 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.

Willow Warbler

Totals - 8 new, (4) retraps

Willow Warbler - 1

Coal Tit - (2)

Blue Tit - 2, (2)

Great Tit - 2

Starling - 1

House Sparrow - 1

Chaffinch - 1

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. 

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.

2CY (5) male Wheatear.

Garden ringing in Sutherland

The 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.

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. 

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.

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.

 Adult (6) male Greenfinch (left) and 2CY (5) male Siskin (right).

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.

Roosting Turnstone, the bird on the right 

is coming into breeding plumage

15 April Totals - 12 new

Coal Tit - 1

Blue Tit - 2

Great Tit - 1

House Sparrow - 7

Greenfinch - 1

22 April Totals  - 20 new, (3) retraps

Dunnock - 2

Robin - 1

Coal Tit - 1, (1)

Blue Tit - (1)

Great Tit - 3

House Sparrow - 4

Chaffinch - 1

Greenfinch - 3

Siskin - 5, (1)

Wind farm update

Survey 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.

View looking north over the wind farm

Common Lizard basking on my Weatherwriter

And 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.

Fulmar on cliffs at Dunbeath

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.

Other birds of note included three Red-throated Divers on the sea by Brora harbour.

Arrived in Sutherland

After 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.

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.

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.

Looking north from Brora beach

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.

 View towards the mouth of Loch Fleet

Ringed Plover on the beach at the mouth of Loch Fleet

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