At last some decent weather

Last Saturday (11th January) was almost calm by recent standards and with just two nets open 51 new birds and 32 retraps were caught at Mullock.
A good mixture included the usual mandatory blue tits but good numbers of new house sparrows and chaffinch (nearly all females) and a few blackbirds, robins, dunnocks and great tits but only a single greenfinch.  Sadly the lack of greenfinch is typical as their numbers have declined due to the trichomonosis  disease.
Of the retraps an blue tit first ringed as a juvenile in 2009 was a long lived record and as usual in the winter at feeding sites there were a number of retraps of birds from two or three years ago still together as a foraging group.
While we were ringing there was the noise of a pheasant shoot in the valley half a mile away and sadly a jay, ringed at Mullock in December 2009, was also shot.  Credit to the organiser for saving the ring and passing it on.

Skokholm - Accreditation as a Bird Observatory

The 44th BOC Annual General Meeting took place at Portland BO this weekend.

Richard Brown and Giselle Eagle the wardens, with Wendy James and myself representing the committee attended the meeting and the accreditation was awarded.
An enormous THANK YOU to all involved. Skokholm last held Bird Observatory status in 1976.

Richard Dobbins
On behalf of Skokholm Bird Observatory.

November update

It’s been a few weeks since the last posting and this has largely been due to a lack of ringing activity in October – a month that has a reputation for being an exciting one in the birding calendar but this year here in Pembs it was a month of strong winds, rain and not many birds. Several attempts at lamping produced depressing results, averaging a bird per night and the only two species ringed were meadow pipit and skylark. Mist-netting attempts for redwings and waders had to be aborted due to weather.  Only 20 birds were ringed, with the highlights being a teal and a little stint.

woodlark

November has been more productive and a few days of calm weather have allowed mist nets to be used. John has ringed over 60 meadow pipits at his site at the Pembroke refinery, and one of the sessions was livened up when a woodlark appeared in one of the nets. In addition he ringed a stonechat, 7 redwings and 4 firecrests there last week.

The tail pattern of woodlark is diagnostic

The first woodcock of the winter was also ringed last week (by Paul), and over the current full moon period it is expected that they will arrive en masse, especially if temperatures drop further east. This year we are hoping to look at snipe in more detail, and so far 7 have been ringed together with the first jack snipe since 2010.

Snipe can be aged on their median coverts - this is an adult (I think!)

At Ty Rhyg, the only species present in any number is goldcrest and 2013 has been a good year for this species with 105 ringed between July and early November, compared to a previous maximum of 68 in 2011. A few reed buntings, chaffinches, redwings and a brambling formed the tail end of the autumn passage on the final visit of the season to this site. 

When ringing goldcrests, the ratio of 1st year to adults is so high that you start to doubt the ageing criteria, but the difference is obvious (1st W on left with sharply pointed tail feathers, adult right with rounded tail feathers). The reason why so few adults are caught is perhaps because adults remain in their breeding territory while 1st W tend to disperse, and perhaps because they are very short-lived, or a combination of both.

Fattening up

The recent ringing sessions at Pwllcrochan and Ty Rhyg have witnessed a change from summer to autumn. At Ty Rhyg where the bulk of the catch is usually Willow Warbler and Blackcap in July and August, numbers of these species have reduced to just a handful in September. Meanwhile at Pwllcrochan near the coast in the south of the county numbers of Blackcaps are at their peak, attracted by a crop of ripe blackberries and elderberries. Some of the those ringed were weighing in at over 25g, compared to a typical Ty Rhyg weight of 16-18g during July. Their fat stores will probably get them to southern Spain without the need to stop and refuel. A late sedge warbler at Pwllcrochan on 25th Sept was also very heavy at 16g and fat stores were visible across it entire underside. Sedge Warblers are thought to cross the Sahara in one non-stop flight from northern France/southern Britain. With migrating birds, fat is good, but not all will find enough food to fuel up before the journey - a juvenile sedge warbler at Ty Rhyg in late September only weighed 9.6g and had a fault bar across the outer tail feathers where poor nutrition has retarded the feather growth during the fledging period. The chances of this one getting to Africa and back are not that good.

A fat and healthy juvenile Sedge Warbler ready to fly south

Sedge Warbler tail showing fault bar damage from a starvation
 period in the nest

Chiffchaffs are the latest of the warblers to migrate and are still around in good numbers

Goldcrest migration is more of a random dispersal during late September and October

Firecrests are autumn and winter visitors, with this one at Ty Rhyg on 29th Sept

Maybe the last Willow Warbler of the year (29th Sept)

Paul, John and Paddy

Whimbrel migration

In May we were catching and colour-ringing Whimbrel as they headed north as part of a larger project set up by Tony Cross (see ruffledfeathers)  with the aim of trying to find out more about the migration of this transient species. So far we have only had one report of the 34 we ringed in Pembs in spring, a bird which unfortunately died after colliding with electric cables before managing to leave Pembs. Whimbrel have recently been passing through on their way back from their breeding grounds further north and during four routine ringing sessions at the Gann Estuary near Dale since early August 4 individuals have been caught. This total is surprisingly low given that 1498 were counted passing Strumble Head on 18^th August (see Strumble blog).

Although the sample size is small it was noticed that the autumn birds were heavier than those in spring (average of 486g compared to 410g), presumably implying that although they pass through in good numbers in autumn, they don’t need to feed up, so many must carry straight on without stopping. Anyway, if anyone is out watching Whimbrel then it is worth looking for a numbered yellow colour-ring above the knee on the right leg and a green one below, as in the photo below.

Adult Whimbrel with colour-rings

6 Curlews have also been ringed and weighed this autumn and their weights were quite a bit lower than that expected for this time of year  with an average of 646g compared to the national average of 770g in autumn (BTO website), but  the sample size is still too small to draw any confident conclusions.

The Whimbrel study has had a very interesting ‘bycatch’ with the most recent session producing 40 waders of 10 species. Half of these were Oystercatchers which generated much discussion on how to age them correctly - in the end we think we sussed it! (see photos below). Also ringed were; 4 Curlew, 4 Dunlin, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Redshank, and singles of Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper and Ruff.

Oystercatcher age code 3 - born this year

Oystercatcher age code 5 - born last year

Oystercatcher age code 7 - born two years ago

Oystercatcher age code 8 -  at least 3 years old

Male and female juvenile Bar-tailed Godwits - the female has the longer bill

Juvenile Black-tailed Godwit

Greenshank

male Ruff 

Juv Common Sandpiper

Paddy J and Paul W

Ty Rhyg

This upland conifer plantation is now in its sixth season as a netting site and it is great to be able to compare results between years. Last weekend over 240 birds of 24 species were ringed during the ringing course hosted by Teifi RG (for more details click here). The main species were Lesser Redpoll (37), Bullfinch (33), and Chiffchaff (28). Of these the total for Bullfinch is remarkable in that it equals the highest ever previous annual total for this site, and it brings this years total to 60. The reason for the Bullfinch invasion here is perhaps the result of a good breeding season, but may also be due to the abundance of food. Most individuals showed signs of having been feasting on bilberries, though some of the adults had bills half full of grass seeds. Whilst the numbers of Redpolls are not at record levels they are certainly the best since 2010. Other highlights were six more new Willow Tits, Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler and only the second ever Lesser Whitethroat for the site.

Juvenile Bullfinch

Lesser Whitethroat

juv Siskin

Male Redstart

A few Swallows

Its the time of year when the swallows start to roost in reedbeds and maize fields before they head off south and at Winterton Marsh the roost has already reached between 300 and 400 birds.
Last night we caught 64 Swallows and a Sand Martin in a single net just before dusk- all except 4 were chicks from this season.  The birds did not arrive over the marsh until 2105hrs and by 2120 we had made the catch and taken down the net and the whole flock were in the roost before 2130hrs.

June and July update

The combination of a hectic period of work and weather too nice to spend sitting at a computer has meant six weeks have suddenly flown by without an update - so here goes.

Late June

As usual, this time of year is dedicated to checking out the chicks. Here are some highlights:-

Four broods of whinchats were found all with five or six healthy young

25 kestrel chicks were colour-ringed ringed from 7 nests

four red kite chicks were tagged and ringed

July

Although the season got off to a very late start, some recent trips to Ty Rhyg conifer plantation to catch and ring warblers clearly show that many species have had a much better breeding season than last year. In particular, the number of willow warblers at this site is higher than ever, with up to 48 being ringed in a morning. Many are now just completing their post-juvenile moult and so will be heading south  very soon.

Juvenile willow warbler in fresh plumage ready to fly to Africa

 Willow tits are a special bird at this site with half of the Welsh ringing total coming from this site over the last few years, and after only catching a single juvenile in 2012, it is reassuring to have caught six recently fledged birds this month.

One of six juvenile willow tits this July

four juvenile redstarts have been ringed so far 

Brutes when they're cute

This time of year is dedicated to monitoring nests and in particular those of raptors. Of four goshawk nests found in April, three hatched eggs but one nest was (believe it or not) predated when the chicks were about 3 weeks old. The two nests that are still on the go have broods of 2 and 3, and with help from staff and students from a local college, all five chicks were ringed yesterday. Although the male chicks were more advanced, one only weighed 660g compared to his younger sister at 1090g, almost twice the size.

a brood of three with two females on the left and a male on the right

the eyes start off pale grey and gradually turn orange/yellow

The least well studied raptor in Pembs is also the commonest - the buzzard. Paul has been keeping an eye on   a few nests and one pair produced a brood of two, compared to the usual single chick.

Two healthy buzzards at 4 to 5 weeks old

Red-backed Shrike

An even bigger surprise than the recent run of sunshine at the wheatear study plot on Mynydd Preseli was this red-backed shrike which found its way into one of the traps set for wheatears at the weekend.

female Red-backed Shrike

News was withheld initially as turning up inland during June meant it may have been intending to breed, and this schedule 1 species is a target for egg-collectors, but it can now be confirmed that it was just a passage bird. The shrike was not made welcome by the local resident birds with meadow pipits, stonechats and wheatears all mobbing it. After being ringed  it slowly worked its way west along the Preseli ridge. If only the wheatears were as easy to catch!

Paul and Paddy