Autumn Migration Underway

Now that autumn migration is in full swing our focus has switched back to Portstewart Strand and we have made a couple of visits in the past week. I was out on Sunday the 24^th and John visited on Tuesday 26^th and combined, we processed a total of 88 birds of 17 species, 69 of those on Sunday and 19 on Tuesday.

On Sunday, the conditions were absolutely perfect for the nets so I headed down before first light and set up 108 metres of net and three spring traps. The nets started to catch at once including 7 Blackcaps in one net on the first round in West Ride.

Stonechat

The open ground seemed much quieter to start but as the heat got going birds started to move including 100+ Goldfinches, c100 Linnets, 200+ Meadow Pipits, 10+ Stonechats, a few Pied/White Wagtails and c20 Skylarks. I picked up the Long-eared Owl roosting in the scrub once again, this time right beside a net ride two/three feet above my head. John had a search through on Tuesday and found a number of pellets and droppings along the net ride.

Long-eared owl Pellet

My best round of the morning was the final one but unfortunately, I had to be away by 12.30, so had to take down the nets. In total, I managed a total of 60 new birds and 9 retraps. The catches of Blackcap, Dunnock and Stonechat all represent the best daily catches at the site and, along with Bullfinch, were all species that have been short in numbers this year up to now. The Bullfinches are breeding late again this year with another two fairly fresh juvenile birds. The spring traps chipped in with one new Stonechat and a same day retrap.

 

Stonechat

On Tuesday morning things were much quieter for John with thick fog until around 11am when he started to pack up.  There was an arrival of Goldcrests seemingly with a good scattering throughout the scrub and 9 new birds trapped, all in the single 6m ‘Mid Net’ ride which sits in a single tree wide strip between our main trapping areas.

Bullfinch

Amongst the Goldcrests was a new species for the site in the form of a Treecreeper. Although the habitat isn't particularly suitable for them, it is a species I have been waiting to see in the estuary over the past 4/5 years but at least I do know they appear!  

Treecreeper

Portstewart Strand/Grangemore  24-26/09/2017                          

                                       New       Retrap   
Blackbird                        1
Blackcap                         9               2
Blue Tit                           1               1                
Bullfinch                         3            
Chaffinch                        1                                          
Dunnock                         11             1
Goldcrest                        15             1
Goldfinch                         3
Great Tit                                           2                       
Lesser Redpoll                1                                  
Linnet                               2              2        
Meadow Pipit                  9
Robin                               7               3
Song Thrush                   1
Stonechat                        7
Treecreeper                    1
Wren                                3               1              

Totals                                    75                13                         

Blackbirds are still thin on the ground and it looks to have been a poor breeding year but the vanguard of migrant thrushes are hitting the northern Scottish isles as we speak, so the first flush will be here within the next week or two!
With a bigger team assembled we may start to target the finches and pipits in the coming weeks but the focus will be on the scrub in the chances of turning up something rare - watch this space!

 

With the strong winds on Saturday I ditched the nets and headed to Ballintoy Harbour to target Rock Pipits and Wheatears with spring traps. The Harbour is ga eological paradise with a couple of bays full of cliffs, boulders and islands of basalt and chalk in some exotic shapes such as Elephant Rock.

Rock Pipit

I've only ringed at the site once before but that is usually because it is really busy with hoards of tourists, particularly since Game of Thrones filmed at the site which now means we have bus loads of tourists dressed in costume with weapons & banners descending on the site daily. I thought today might have been different but unfortunately the Ultimate Causeway Coast Marathon was on but I was away before the main run of competitors passed by. 

There are two spots in the area where the kelp piles up the shore and that is where you find the majority of the birds. I opted for the one closest to the car park today and there probably around 50 Rock Pipits, 2 Pied Wagtails, 1 Meadow Pipit, 20 Starlings, 28+ Twite and a few rats feeding along the shore plus a very late Swift overhead. 
I managed a catch of 16 Rock Pipits but none of the other species showed any interest in the meal worms. 

Twite

My patch birding in the Bann Estuary has stepped a gear now that we are in September and I have matched my 2015 total of 117 species and only six shy of 2017 with one/two guaranteed species to come. The additions since the last post are Little Stint and Ruff.

Little Stint

My trip to Copeland Bird Observatory this weekend looks in doubt with the boat home off the island on Sunday looking unlikely but the forecast is improving so fingers crossed. It is a brilliant time of the year to be at a coastal observatory so I'm very keen to get out as it looks to be my only chance this autumn. The first run of Yellow-browed Warblers hit the Irish Sea Observatories yesterday with 10 on Bardsey, 1 at Hilbre, 1 at Walney and 1 on the Calf of Man, so hoping for one at CBO soon!  Firecrests were also on the move with up to 7 birds across a couple of the listed Observatories.  

Colour ringed Oystercatcher from south-west Iceland

 

Copeland Bird Observatory 28-30th October

On Friday evening Richard, David, James, Laurence and I (Steve) were joined by 2 non-ringers Andy and Pat to begin our journey to Copeland Bird Observatory from Donaghadee Harbour. Of course we could not begin our trip without grabbing our usual pre-CBO feed from the local chippy – delicious!  The journey across on The Mermaid is much slower than on the Observatories RHIB but it did give us a chance to observe Turnstones, Cormorants/Shags, Red-breasted Merganser and many gulls off Big Copeland.  The weather was good, with a slight South Westerly breeze, we were fairly optimistic that the weather would remain calm and fine for the weekend ahead.

Yellow-browed Warbler   (DS)

On reaching the island at dusk, we set about getting the mist nets up in the usual net rides at mid garden, NW Garden, Heli 60’, Heli Extension, Thicket, Pond 60', Withy, Millennium Wood, the Ditch and a new net ride at Bluebell.  We also set the four Heligoland traps, the Crow trap and a few Potter and Spring traps.  The Potters were baited with sardines as they have been producing the goods with Water Rail recently.  It was well into darkness by the time we got finished so all nets were furled as we went, ready for a busy day on Saturday.  While erecting the last net c30 Greylag Geese came in to roost on Mew Island – and what a racket they made!

Fieldfare

The next day Richard and I got up earlier than the others to prepare the nets and tape lures before dawn.  Being so late in the autumn, the main migrants passing through were thrushes with Blackbird, Song Thrush and Redwing.  The species that really caught our attention though were the Fieldfare.  Two of the Fieldfares wound up in mist nets and both, with beautiful speckled markings on their orangey throats.  This set the mood for the rest of the day. The first weekend of October 2015 saw us with high hopes of catching a Yellow-browed Warbler; a bird ringed less than 10 times before in Northern Ireland.  Being so late, the chances of getting one were slim but by 10am, I had a Yellow-browed Warbler in my hand and it was beautiful.  Lesser Redpoll numbers tend to dwindle around late October but we still had a few passing through, including a Goldpoll (a Redpoll with a golden crown in place of red) and a BTO Control (ringed somewhere else in the UK or Ireland).

Lesser Redpoll   (DS)

Song Thrush (top) and Redwing (bottom)   (DS)

Later that morning a flock of c120 Starling and a mixed flock of c150 Redwing, Fieldfare and Song Thrush passed over the island.  As well as the Yellow-browed Warbler we added another new species for the year in the form of two Wigeon amongst a flock of over 90 Teal off Mew Island. In the evening we caught a glimpse of a female Sparrowhawk but it made its way back towards big Copeland and a Buzzard was perched on the Mew Lighthouse.  A Short-eared Owl was spotted on Big Copeland although not by us unfortunately, as this would have been a nice addition to the CBO year list.

Redwing

The next day the Yellow-browed Warbler was relocated in Bluebell Gully where it had been last heard on Saturday afternoon.  There were a few more Lesser Redpoll, Redwing, Song Thrush, Goldfinch, Linnet and Blackbird on the move.  The Gully heligoland trap performed well producing a six Meadow Pipit but with the trap being unfinished it could have possibly caught more.  There were a good number of Grey Seal pups scattered around the island, snuggled in amongst the rocks with their mothers close by.  The glorious weather on Sunday, which felt like earlier September, produced a late migrant butterfly - a Red Admiral. 

Grey Seal Pup   (SF)

Ringing Totals for Copeland Bird Observatory 29-30th October

                                             New    Retraps  Controls

Blackbird                               3           5

Blackcap                               2

Chaffinch                              4

Dunnock                               5           4

Fieldfare                               2

Goldcrest                             1            2

Goldfinch                              2

Linnet                                    1

Lesser Redpoll                    24                          1

Meadow Pipit                      6

Redwing                               14         1

Robin                                     1          8

Song Thrush                         5           1

Wren                                      3          4

Yellow-browed Warbler    1

Total                                     74        25             1 __      

As this was the last visit of the season we were set with a list of end of season chores.  After these were completed we were able to relax and wait for the boat to arrive.  We brought five lawnmowers ashore for servicing and it must have been quite a sight watching us lift the heavy machines off the boat and carrying them up on the steps of the harbour walls on our return to Donaghadee.

 The team ready for home

Fully packed boat home

As we left Copeland Bird Observatory behind us, the sun was dropping behind the mainland and brought a close on a very successful weekend and yet another brilliant season at Northern Ireland's only bird observatory.  Bring on next year as I'm sure everyone who has been to the island is desperately longing to return.

The Observatory building locked up and ready for winter

 Sunset over Donaghadee

Myself (Steve), Richard and David

Richard will be back at the weekend with an update about the goings on back at home over the last week. 

Steve Fyffe