Ringers Report - July 2015

Ringers Report - July

Kieran Lawrence, 19 - Whitburn CP, Durham

July 1st saw the start to my 2 month storm-petrel ringing season, ringing each night at Whitburn CP, Durham with help from NGB Daniel McGibbon and ex-NGB Tom Middleton. By the end of the month we had amassed a respectable 126 new birds and 3 controls, 1 of which having been caught at Eyemouth the precious year but yet to find out about the other 2! During this time an NGB trip was organised giving around a dozen NGBs the chance to experience these amazing seabirds up close, all of which who were ringers being able to ring one themselves.

The grounds of the National Trust Souter Lighthouse contain a Wildlife Garden with a feeding station. This along with the erection of around 100 nest boxes have seen a boom in the population of Tree Sparrow. We were therefore able to put up a single 20' net next to the feeding station every so often. Tree Sparrows, as you might expect, made up most of the catch, along with multiple Blue Tits, Great Tits, Goldfinch and Greenfinch.

However my stand out bird of the month, by far, came in shape of a Leach's Petrel trapped and ringed on the night of the 29th at 11:30pm, just 1 hour into Tom's first 'stormie' session! I've seen multiple Leach's, including one in the hand at Whitburn in 2013, and even had the privilege of ringing 3 myself on Fair Isle during 2013 but to catch one myself , during my own project, on patch was just amazing. It certainly got me in a sweat and Tom even thought I was going to have a heart attack!
Roll on August!

Sophie Barrell - South-west Lancashire

I haven’t been ringing recently due to moving for work but had some excellent opportunities to ring some great birds this summer. Firstly, my trainer found this young tawny owl at the side of the road who had fledged a week too early, which I was lucky enough to ring. It was placed back up in a tree near where it was found.

We’ve also been ringing kestrel chicks; one nest with five chicks and another with three. Unfortunately many of the previously occupied kestrel and barn owl boxes were taken over by Jackdaws and Stock Doves this year. Barn Owls in particular are having a very late breeding season. However in one of the boxes we checked (with a cherry picker!) we managed to catch 2 fully grown adults which was a treat to ring.

We’ve also been concentrating on our RAS on Blackcaps and Swallows, and I believe the re-trap rates are quite high so far.  

 Amy Robjohns - Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

Ringing at Titchfield Haven got off to a slow start in July, with totals struggling to reach 50 birds – a sign that the migration is delayed. What’s more, only one grasshopper warbler was trapped and ringed over the month, which is unusual. Unusually for me, I only managed to attend one ringing session in July, but the personal highlight for me were two Bearded Tits; a species I’d not ringed at Titchfield Haven before.

Josie Hewitt, 17 - Skomer Island, Wales

Josie is currently on another Welsh island at the moment. She had previously travelled to Skomer island which is off the Pembrokeshire coast for a week of ringing,  I can safely say that Josie had an amazing time and ringed so many adorable birds! These were mainly young birds and the species being plenty of gulls, Razorbills, Manx Shearwater and of course the cutest of all.. Puffin!

Dan Rouse, 18 - West Glamorgan

After proving my worth by fixing all the nets, I have been approved to ring on one of the group's CES sites. This proved to be an amazing opportunity for me when two juv Kingfishers flew into one of the nets! Yes, okay we are in the wooded area of the reserve but these two were lucky to fly into our net, myself and another member of the group had one each and they were just the most amazing birds to see up close.

I was kindly invited to go ringing with one of the group's A ringers to his site. This area is known for getting regular Green Woodpeckers and Spotted Flycatchers and those were the birds we were hoping for that morning. Being a very windy day the swallows were flying very low to the ground but still managing to avoid every net, but after checking the "hide" a few weeks before, we knew there was at least a Swallow chick that we could ring. Myself and my trainer made our way up the hide to check the nest and found not one, but two Swallow chicks sitting in their nest. We quickly ringed the little ones and popped them back in since the adult was diving in and out of the hide clearly not happy with us. 

NGB Patchwork Challenge - June 2015

A very quiet month in the NGB league thanks to a mixture of people forgetting to submit their scores and many patchers being away from patches at their universities. There's no change in the top 3 in the comparative league with the top 2 both being away from patch for the entire month.

The main change in the points league sees Jonathan Farooqui move up into second place on his Druridge Bay patch, a Cuckoo being a highlight there. Cathal Forkan had the best month in the league at Galway Bay where he managed to rack up 16 points and move up into the top 10 with seabirds dominating including Balearic Shearwater, Storm Petrel, Little Tern and Little Gull.

July sees migration starting up again so expect a few higher scores coming in this league in the next couple of months.

Ringers Report June 2015

Ringers Report, June 2015

Dan Rouse - A Rocha Bird Observatory, Portugal

Been a great week out in Portugal at the observatory, despite having gone to Portugal a number of times it was only this time did I actually do some ringing. The heat was the biggest issue of the day, the first bird pulled out the bag was a Juv House Sparrow and the birds continued to be less interested until there was one bag left, one of my favourite birds of Portugal: Azure Winged Magpie! As much as I love them, they don't half hurt when they get you good. More common birds continued to fill the nets until a Sardinian Warbler flew into the net in front of me and then a Short-Toed Treecreeper were both major highlights for me!

Zac Hinchcliffe & Jonnie Fisk - Spurn Bird Observatory 

Jonnie Fisk had the pleasure of ringing a Marsh Warbler at Spurn. Zac, having managed to avoid them so far controlled a Sparrow Hawk which was first ringed at MigFest at Spurn the year before.

Josie Hewitt - Hampshire

In my garden, June saw the arrival of lots of fledged Starlings. I hadn't really done many Starlings before now so my aim was to catch and ring as many as I could. Using one potter trap over 3 weeks in June I managed to trap 26 Starlings, both adults and juveniles. I think their eyes are fascinating and there is so much variation with them that I decided to take some photos so that if I re-trap any of them as adults then I can see if the iris colour is any indication of sex. I decided to do this because I have been told conflicting things by different people as to whether you can or cannot sex juvenile Starlings based on iris colour. Hopefully I'll re-trap some of the birds once they've done their post juvenile moult and so I can use other criteria to try and sex them.

NGB Patchwork Challenge - May 2015

James Common remains in pole position in the NGB comparative league thanks to a May clearing up on the later returning migrants at Stobswood including Wood Sandpiper and Garden Warbler. He is the first person in the league to break the 100% barrier, a great effort considering more than half the year is left! My own Lancaster patch isn't too far behind in second position, with May seeing a first for patch Little Ringed Plover take up residence at the reservoir. Several competitors in this league are now away from patch for the summer so there will be less movement over the coming months.

 

With Anthony Bentley leaving his Frampton patch for the time being and thus not registering any new species, Joe Stockwell has extended his lead at the top of the NGB points. Following his mega April he showed no signs of slowing down on his Weymouth patch adding a Purple Heron at Lodmoor (a Dorset tick to boot) and his second self-found Bee-eater of the year! Anthony being out of the running has allowed Jonathan Farooqi to close the gap to second place to just 1 point. A productive May at Druridge included 4 Temminck's Stint, a Spoonbill and a patch lifer in the form of a Black Redstart. A whole host of late summer migrants made up the highlights from the rest of the league, species such as Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat, Grasshopper Warbler and Little Stint making several appearances.

June has seen some mega species turning up across the country with at least 1 appearing on a patch in this league, so expect some big scores at the end of this month!

Spurn 2015 - Trip Report

Spurn Trip Report 2015

Spurn bird observatory on Yorkshire’s South East coast is well known amongst birders as a mecca for migrant birds in spring and autumn. The national nature reserve, managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, consists of large sand and shingle spit protruding out into the mouth of the Humber River and contains a huge variety of habitats including wetlands, mudflats and coastal scrubland. The range of habitats as well as the reserves geographical position meant that it’s had a huge number of bird species recorded there, making Spurn an ideal location for the NGB's annual group meeting in 2014.

As last year’s event was such a great success, who could resist doing it all again? Therefore on the weekend of the 30^th-31^st May 2015 over 20 next gen birders met up together to bird, socialise and explore this incredible nature reserve. The following is what happened over the course of what was an absolutely fantastic weekend…

Saturday

The morning was off to a slow start after what was for a few, one or two drinks too many at the Crown and Anchor Pub the night before. Although, who could blame them? It is always very exciting to meet new young birders and reunite with birding friends from across the country, and surely that is the main point of these trips (as well as the birds).

The weather was predominantly westerly winds and sunny, so less than ideal for migrant birds but nevertheless this did little to dampen the spirits of us very keen young birders. The usual migrants began to be picked out including Cuckoo, Spotted Flycatcher and Yellow Wagtail. A few of the resident species also put in appearances including the ever popular Barn Owls. While most NGBs stuck to birding around the warren and wetlands in the morning watching newly hatched Avocets, an adventurous few decided to trek out to point itself and they were well rewarded with a Golden Oriole! This species is a real treat to see these days and Spurn has a good reputation for attracting a few migrating individuals each spring. It was a lifer for many so was a very welcome bird in what was generally a slow day for migrants. The point team also came across a Jay, an unusual species for Spurn. The odd Wheatear and Little Gull was also found in the morning.

The afternoon sunshine brought out the butterflies on mass. Green Hairstreak, Holly Blue and Wall Brown were among the list of species we managed to find. Moth caterpillars were also abundant to including Garden Tiger, Pale-brindled Beauty and the somewhat irritating Brown-tips. Both Roe Deer and Grey Seals also showed well. The afternoon also signalled the time of the annual NGB Spurn football match. A good short break from birding and overall it was a very close game, ending 5-4 between the two teams. Both teams showed some rather questionable skills but nevertheless it was brilliant fun. By the time the football match had finished it was nearly high tide and wader watch began. Little Stint, Greenshank and Whimbrel were found alongside the more usual migrant waders including plenty of Tundra Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Sanderling. The Little Terns and Sandwich Terns also showed well.

The evening was also eventful as the Westmere Farm owners were kind enough to let us have a BBQ on their land. This was a great opportunity to catch up with other NGBs about the day’s events as well as to organise tactics for pub quiz at the Crown later in the evening. Unfortunately none of the NGB teams won the pub quiz and as it turns out, most of us know very little about kings and queens, alcohol or the life history of the quiz master! The raffle was more of a success with one particular NGB winning no less than 3 prizes. The rarity sweepstakes were also a success for another couple of people (unlike me who was given Great Reed Warbler, a species which has only ever been recorded 3 times at Spurn), a great way to end a fantastic day!

Sunday

The day’s weather looked a lot more promising for migrants with south easterly winds and rain overnight, easing by late morning. The early morning was thought by most to be a total wash out so many of us used the opportunity to have a lay in. However, at about 9am, those of us sleeping in the warren were awoken by the shouts of “American Wigeon, a first for Spurn!” A few NGBs sleeping at the campsite that braved the early morning rain were well rewarded with a sighting of the drake, with a female Eurasian Wigeon, before it flew out of sight. What a brilliant record for the reserve. A few waders were also seen in the early morning including Curlew Sandpiper and another Little Stint. The morning also brought some more impressive numbers of auks including Guillemot and Razorbill past the warren. A large number of Swifts were also recorded flying though which is great to see. As the rain began to clear a few more birds began to show themselves including the Golden Oriole and Jay which remained on the point, luckily for me as I had missed the Oriole the day before and it was much to the delight of the person that got this species in the rarity sweepstakes.

A spot of moth trapping also took place before the majority of NGBs made their way back home. After a fairly quiet day for mothing, Sunday produced a lot better results with common species like Angle Shades and Flame Shoulder in the warren trap, as well as a few more unusual species including a Spurn speciality; the Sand Dart. A Heart and Club was also caught at Spurn and the moth recorder brought it along to show us which was much appreciated. All in all it was a very successful trip. It is always a pleasure to meet and spend time with other young and enthusiastic birders. There was also some excellent birding to be had with some exceptional species being seen. I truly hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as I did and cannot wait for the next trip. Bring it on!

Photo credit - Drew Lyness (Avocet) Danni Gilroy (football, Garden Tiger Caterpillar),   Jake Gearty (golden oriole), David Nicholls (spurn landscape), Tim Cowley (American Wigeon).

By Drew Lyness

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Ringers Report: May 2015

 

Ringers Report!

'Ringers Report' is a new blog series where the ringers of NGB can showcase all that they have ringed and what has turned up in the nets over the past month. June's 'Ringers Report' will be going up on the first week of July, reminder will be posted in the 'Young Ringers' Facebook group.

Daniel Wade - Kvismaren Bird Observatory, Sweden.

Though currently my role at the observatory is mainly census and survey based I have been getting hands on with some ringing in relation to a couple of ongoing projects including the colour ringing of 2 Savi's Warblers, 2 Ortolan Buntings and a female Great Reed Warbler. It's been great to experience some new species in the hand and learn about more scientific practices such as blood sampling for DNA and RNA analysis. We also controlled a Gdansk ringed Robin a couple of weeks back, which was very welcome!

I can only anticipate what fun lies. Ahead as I enter my last fortnight at the observatory!

Dan Rouse - Gower Ringing Group, Wales

No rarities to report in the nets but amazing numbers have turned up at our CES site, Lesser Whitethroat and Mistle Trush being highlights so far this year. At our Oxwich site, which I have shamefully on been to once this month, we've had great numbers of finches and warbler with Cetti's, Reed, Gropper and Sedge all being present. Again, another Mistle thrush rocked up making that the group's 6th of the year! In Wales last year there were only 10 caught (2 pulli), so we're off to a great start with the species!

Amy Robjohns - Farlington, Hampshire

I've been ringing a couple of times in May down at Farlington Marshes (Hampshire). Some sessions have been rather quiet with a few birds ringed although our latest session (20th May) yielded almost 50 birds. We've mostly been ringing warblers, particularly reed warblers, whitethroats and blackcaps. Highlights this month have been a skylark, great spotted woodpecker, lesser whitethroat, and more recently fledglings!

Jonnie Fisk - Spurn
Just got back a control Blackcap I ringed 16/-4/15 found dead (hit window) 163km away in Beccles 02/05/15. Spurn to Suffolk in 16 days.