A good night for stars!

When the temperature gauge in the car shows the flashing frost symbol then it is a good time to go out looking for Woodcock. These evenings are best when no moon is showing. At Abbotsbury Swannery the sky is so dark that the stars are spell binding. This evening was no exception. We set off for our first Woodcock of the winter. In the second field Luke's lamp found a Lapwing. With great stealth the Lapwing was netted and ringed. These are  fabulous birds in the hand.

First year male lapwing

In the third field the lamp picked up a Woodcock. The bird was perhaps a little too alert and despite Lukes careful approach it shot off just a fraction of a second before the net dropped down onto it. The bird flew off into the dark of the night. Next time it will leave with a ring on it!

Hopefully we will get a few more evenings in next week before the moon is 'wrong' again.

A day off and no wind!

The combination of no wind and a day off was too much to resist. Setting up after lunch for a few hours was a must.  Always a chance for an afternoon Dusky Warbler. The withy nets were set first and then two around the feeders. Although not bristling with birds the tops of the Alders were busy with finches and goldcrests. First bird out of the nets at the feeders was a feisty female Great Spotted Woodpecker. Each woodpecker should come with an EU  health warning. Maybe the risk assessment should be updated. My hand had several leaks

During the painful extraction Steve G and Dave looked on smiling. The rest of the session produced several more new Chiffchaffs and the party of Long-tailed tits made contact just after 15.00hrs which boosted the total a little. New Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Robin, and Blue Tits helped. The best bird of the afternoon was a Grey Wagtail caught deep within the withybed. Possibly the wet mud had attracted it as it flew overhead  and it dropped down. Not many Grey Wagtails are caught here at the Swannery

Grey Wagtail

The stunning underparts of the Grey Wagtail

Long-tailed Tits

The session finished as it has started with a Great Spotted Woodpecker. This bird though was a male and had been ringed 9th september 2008. The ring was still as shiny as the day it had been put on. The longest retrap Great Spotted for the Swannery to date. Just under 40 birds at this time of year in two hours wasn't too bad.

News from the BTO

Today news was received of a Willow Warbler controlled at the Swannery back in August and also of two Sedge Warblers ringed there in July

Willow Warbler AYX919
Ringed at Murroes in Angus, Scotland on 25th July this year and controlled at Abbotsbury 20th August.  26 days
This was the first Willow Warbler control at Abbotsbury since 1995 when we started.

Sedge Warblers  Y230119 and Y230132
Two Sedge Warblers- one  ringed at the Swannery 23 July 2011 and the other 30th July 2011were both controlled at Saint Joachim, Loire- Atlantique in France. One 7days after ringing and the other 12 days after ringing. The later ringed bird got there first!  In recent years we have had other Sedge Warblers controlled here.  We do not seem to get so many pass through Etang du Trunvel in Finistere as we used to. Luck of the draw most likely.

You wait all year.....

.... and three come along!  Luke and I were discussing yesterday the dearth of Cetti's Warblers trapped at Abbotsbury this year after the last hard winter when the species disappeared from the site when one turned in the withy net run.  Ten minutes later another net round and another Cetti's in exactly the same place!   But it gets spookier. Another ten minutes go by and another net round check and yes.. another Cetti's again in the same place.

Cetti's Warbler

 

Apart from this the usual fare from the withies at this time of year. Dunnocks, Chaffinchs, Robins, Goldcrests, and a solitary Chiffchaff.

Sunday- a two hour spell again in the withy bed and around the feeders to give  a possible new trainee a taster session. On the second net round in the withies yes..  another Cetti's Warbler ... in exactly the same spot as the three birds were extracted yesterday. The rest of the catch was predominantly Blue Tits and Great tits. Although a new Treecreeper was welcomed and a heavy juvenile female Blackcap.  Fat score of forty on the bird. Probably not going to be hanging around much longer.  Just a single Goldcrest but the wind was billowing the nets considerably just before we left.

Treecreeper being ringed

The finished product

The wind looks like swinging SE during the week and staying mild so a few afternoon visits may be possible.

A gap in the clouds

A break from the rain this morning and being on late shift offered a chance to set the nets in the withy bed for a short while.  Whilst walking to the net ride goldcrests, firecrests, goldfinches, siskins and chiffchaffs were all calling. First bird 'on'  the net was a Firecrest which was in typical crest fashion just clinging to the net. When just a few inches away from extraction it opened its feet and shot off!

Chiffchaff

Anyway a useful session with several Goldcrests, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Treecreeper, Long-tailed tits, Robins and Chaffinch all obliging. The best bird was a male Bullfinch. Not a frequent bird down here. Luckily the camera was in the car.

Couple of retraps included a one  year old female Chaffinch and a  Treecreeper. Weather looks settled next two mornings so a couple of visits are envisaged. Walking back from work earlier Redwings could be heard overhead. The Northerly winds are doing their stuff

Too quiet for too long!

Bird Ringing hasn't stopped at Abbotsbury. Recent visits over the past month have been in the evenings solely for the wagtail roost and this has been covered in Luke's blog. However visible notes taken whilst watching the roosting Pied/White wagtails showed that the reason for small catch numbers despite quite a large roost was the condition of the reed. They did not like the older bent reeds and were favouring the new reed growing from the burnt area done back in the winter months.
With this in mind this morning the roost nets were repositioned in what we hope will give more favourable roost catches. Time will tell.

The withy bed nets were opened during the re-jigging of the nets  and a reasonable catch was made. Highlight being a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Not often caught away from the feeding station this bird could probably be heard in Langton Herring as it was extracted!

The sharp end!

One of several Robins

5.2 grams of Goldcrest

 

Hopefully the wind will ease this week and the new net rides tested. Watch this space!

Increasingly yellow!

 Sorry, more Yellow Wagtail pictures!

  

As last evening the breeze finally dropped at about 18.30 and a hurried trip to the Swannery was made and the Yellow Wags were already arriving. By the end of the evening there were over 380 Yellow Wagtails at the roost. Not seen anything like this for many years. Every time they started settling down a low flying swan would set them all off out across the embayment and then back into the reeds. Forty nine birds were trapped and ringed. The nets were closed early on to avoid too large a catch.

Not a Yellow Wagtail - sunrise this morning