A mixed bag.

Another good week, despite the best efforts of the weather! 100 new birds ringed, the majority being Blue and Great Tit chicks.

Total

Long Tailed Tit - 1

Great Tit - 23

Blue Tit - 42

Reed Bunting - 5

Sedge Warbler - 1

Chaffinch - 5

Greenfinch - 6

Dunnock - 1

Starling - 9

Blackbird - 1

Stock Dove - 2

House Martin - 4

Sedge Warbler

Adult Reed Bunting
Reed Bunting chicks.

Greenfinch chicks

Long Tailed Tit


House Martin

Thanks to Craig Brookes, Ciaran Hatsall and Chris Bridge for their help this week. And well done to Ciaran (below) for finding his first Reed Bunting nest :-)

Goldfinch control.

Some news regarding the Goldfinch that I controlled in my garden the other week. It was ringed by Dave Sowter in the Belmont/Darwen area in January 2009 as a 5 male. Controlled in my garden on 06/05/2009 a distance of around 13kms.

Good week.

Checking the BBC Countryfile weather last Sunday evening, I wasn’t too hopeful for much ringing to be carried out this week. However in between showers and with one or two good days, I’ve actually had quite a good week with 74 birds handled.

Tuesday (05th) saw me checking my nest boxes in Atherton Woods for the Nest Record Scheme. Many boxes are once again occupied by Blue and Great tits with one box holding Nuthatch and several ‘‘Tawny Owl’’ boxes holding Stock Dove. I don’t mind Stock Doves taking use of my owl boxes, I think they are smashing birds and I’d rather have them in the box than it not being occupied at all.

I was aware that one of my owl boxes held a sitting female Stock Dove. Every time I went near the box – with ladders or just generally walking past, she would shoot out of box and into the woodland canopy. However this time round, I crept up to the box with the ladders and a landing net. Gently and quietly I placed the ladders on the tree (without trying to rattle them!) and quickly climbed up and placed the net over the hole. By this time I was expecting her to dart out, but no sign of her, by now I thought she was already out feeding. So next I placed my hand in side and could feel that she was sat on the eggs. I gently lifted her off her two eggs, ringed and placed back onto the nest – wonderful!

I was also aware that a Stock Dove was incubating eggs in my old Tawny Owl hole, so once again climbed that and found 2 warm eggs and 1 cold Tawny egg. As I was coming down the tree, a Tawny flew out of a higher hole – so off I went back up the tree and could instantly hear two young owls bill clapping. I reached down into the hole, collected the owlets, ringed and placed back – but not before the female tried attacking me!! Then I had my little celebratory moment (1000th bird – see earlier post) before carrying on with nest box checking.

The day after, I had noticed that quite a number of the nearby houses had audible Starling young, which had just hatched. I started to bait the garden up with suet bars and mealworms – and before long the adults had found them.

With a few days off during the week I decided to have a few mist netting sessions in the garden, which yielded a total of 47 birds of 9 species – 38 new, 8 recaps and 1 control (i.e - ringed by another ringer elsewhere)

New Recap Control

Blackbird - 5, 2, 0,

Starling - 21, 2, 0,

House Sparrow - 2, 0, 0,

Chaffinch - 1, 0, 0,

Greenfinch - 2, 0, 0,

Goldfinch - 5, 2, 1,

Blue Tit - 1, 1, 0,

Great Tit - 1, 0, 0,

Dunnock - 0, 1, 0,

House Sparrow pair

Other birds ringed during the week –

A brood of 5 Long Tailed Tits – (Their nest had been half predated!), a brood of 2 Wood pigeon and 1 Canada goose.

Total of all birds caught -

Canada goose – 1
Long Tailed Tit – 5
Blue Tit – 7
Great Tit - 7
Goldfinch – 5
Chaffinch – 1
Greenfinch - 2
House Sparrow -2
Starling – 21
Blackbird – 5
Stock Dove- 1
Wood pigeon – 2
Tawny Owl – 2 = 61 new + 12 recaps + 1 control = 74 birds.

*** Happy 100th Birthday to the ringing scheme!!!***

Hello Mr 1000.

I had a little celebratory moment whilst out ringing this evening. Bird GC87820 is my 1000th bird to ring whilst having my C permit!


GC87820 may you have a long and happy life!

That's more like it.

A few more birds ringed this week. A total of 36 birds handled - 34 new and 2 retraps.

Chaffinch - 4

Blue Tit - 7 new + 1 retrap

Goldfinch - 7

Dunnock - 5

Blackbird - 7 new + 1 retrap

Song Thrush - 2

Stock Dove - 2

Stock Dove pulli in nest box on 21/04/2009 and below on 28/04/2009

Song Thrush pulli
Goldfinch, one of seven caught in the garden on 03/05/2009

Recap Blackbird which I caught in the garden potter trap on the 14/06/2008

Black Headed Gull control.

Some details below regarding a Black Headed Gull that Craig Brookes caught/controlled at Lake Windermere back in 2008.

It was ringed by the Severn Estuary Gull group on 24/11/2007 near Wingmore Farm at Stoke Orchard near Cheltenham

Ring number - EL98668

Just 6.

Only 6 new birds this week, I've been quite busy with other things - mainly nest finding! Got several nests lined up that should have ringable chicks next week. Also got many nests with eggs waiting to hatch so should be busy during the next few weeks!

This weeks 6 birds -

Goldfinch - 1
Wood Pigeon - 1
Robin - 4

Herons

After our last failed attempt at ringing some Grey Heron pulli (due to them all being too small) we left it a further two weeks before going back into the heronry. Yesterday (Sunday 19th April) four of us armed with rings, royal mail bags and noses for strong smells headed in!!



Thanks to the expert climbing by Steve Christmas (my trainer) 11 heron chicks were lowered to the ground to be ringed.


Before we went into the heronry, me and my friend/fellow ringer Craig Brookes decided that we would have a look around the site for nests/chicks etc. I decided to check a small shed in the farm yard where Swallows have bred in recent years. As I went in a Swallow darted over my shoulder and out through the door but I could hear another still in there. I can't describe what happened next, due to it all happening too quick! But somehow I raised my hand and caught a female Swallow!!!!!

Other birds ringed in the week 13th April - 19th.

Swallow - 1
Goldfinch - 3 (Including the 100th Goldfinch to be ringed in the garden since December!)
Starling - 6
Collard Dove - 1 (A fledgling from next doors satellite dish!)
Wood Pigeon - 2 (See earlier post)
Mistle Thrush - 2 (See earlier post)
= 15

Pulli season begins!!

The young Blackbirds that were supposed to be ready for ringing today had been predated, so therefore I thought I would check a Mistle thrush nest that I found containing 4 eggs on 01st April. Two of the eggs had hatched (leaving two addled eggs in the nest) and the young were just ready to take rings....

Quiet Week

Another quiet week on the ringing front. Not much done, mainly due to being away from home a lot this week. Managed to get the nets up in the garden once or twice, catching 13 new birds -
7 Starling
3 Goldfinch
1 Siskin
1 Chaffinch
1 Dunnock.

Should have a brood of three Blackbird ripe for ringing either tomorrow or Tuesday.