Shifting Shores

The time has come again when we shift shores from the east (north) shore of the Bann Estuary to the west shore at Castlerock Golf Club. As usual the focus here are the nets set amongst the millions of Sea Buckthorn berries which support a nice mix of finches and thrushes.
This year we have finally set up a feeding station with mixed seed and nyjer on offer.
The first two visits were only sample catches whilst we prepared the net rides and set up the feeding station, with the later two visits being more focused on ringing. We have still got two of the net rides to clear but the catches have been steady that we haven't found the time as yet.

Snow Bunting

The star bird so far was a Snow Bunting which was caught at first light not far from the feeders. This is the first to be ringed in Northern Ireland since 1998 with possibly as few as 13 ringed in all of Ireland since 1952. 

Snipe

There is a fantastic small marsh close by which I've recorded as holding up to 69 Common Snipe and 5 Jack Snipe. On one of the visits we set some nets along the edge of the pool in the dark hoping to catch some of the Snipe on return to the pool after feeding in the nearby fields at night. We only caught a single Snipe and flushed another 7/8. There were at least 3 Jack Snipe present also and with a little net rejig, we have more luck next time. 

Fieldfare

The other catches have been healthy with lots of Bullfinches and good numbers of Song Thrushes present. What has been noticeable in their absence are the Fieldfares with just one seen and caught when the wintering population can number up to 600 and is normally around 100 birds daily. Chaffinches too are absent with one caught and not many more present, usually there are 30-40 and regularly caught.

The feeders have attracted in some Goldfinches and Linnets with a few caught and they will hopefully continue to attract more birds into the spring - perhaps not too many tit species! 

Castlerock Golf Club - November - 1st December 2019

                      New      Retrap

Blackbird          6           2

Blue Tit             3           1

Bullfinch          15          6              

Chaffinch          1

Dunnock           4           1

Fieldfare            1

Goldcrest           2

Goldfinch         12          1

Greenfinch        6

Linnet               10

Robin                 4           1

Snipe                  1

Snow Bunting    1

Song Thrush      9

Wren                   3

Total                  78        12                

Slow Start to 2019

The first three months of 2019 have been a slow one on the ringing front with seemingly continually bad weather any time we have some availability. Ringing at exposed coastal sites presents lots of problems with wind, usually some 10+ mph stronger than in Coleraine.

We haven't been totally idle and did manage three visits to Castlerock Golf Club and a single session at my work place in Magilligan.

Blackcap

The visits at Castlerock took place on the 5th Jan, 19th Jan and 24th Feb producing 41 new birds and eight retraps.

Species	New	Retrap	Total
Blackbird	5	1	3
Blackcap	1		1
Blue Tit	5	2	7
Bullfinch	7	4	11
Chaffinch	4		4
Dunnock	2	1	3
Fieldfare	5		5
Greenfinch	4		4
Robin	1		1
Song Thrush	6	1	5
Wren	1		1
Totals	41	9	45

Fieldfare

The run of Fieldfares continued with another five, taking us to nine for the winter at the site. I still reckon we could up this substantially with a bit more tweaking and effort but certainly a big improvement. Another wintering Blackcap is always nice and it continued to a bumper winter for Song Thrushes.

Song Thrush

Magilligan Field Centre

I haven't touched on my work place previously but I work at the Magilligan Field Centre where I had been feeding the birds through the early winter. The facility is set amongst improved farmland on the flat lands of Magilligan and has a decent number of trees and hedges around the perimeter.

The main lure is the wintering flock of Tree Sparrows which also breed here in sealed nest boxes around the small nature garden.

Tree Sparrow

I have been doing the odd bit of ringing here and there through the autumn/winter up until the 4th of January catching 166 new birds and 48 retraps.

	New	Retrap
Blackbird	7	2
Blue Tit	14	12
Chaffinch	41	4
Coal Tit	2	4
Dunnock	1	1
Goldcrest	3
Goldfinch	37	4
Great Tit	8	8
Greenfinch	5	1
HouseSparrow	18	3
Pied Wagtail	1
Robin	7	3
Song Thrush	1
Starling	1
Tree Sparrow	17	3
Wren	3	3
	166	48

Greenfinch

I was particularly pleased with the number of Tree Sparrows and also the House Sparrows, a species I don't ring all that often. I had intended to continue feeding in to the mid-late winter but I let it slip. I did have the odd Lesser Redpoll and Siskin begin to visit but once the nyjer disappeared so did they. In the snowy conditions we had Fieldfare, Redwing, Skylark and Snipe all appear in the grounds but no attempts were made to catch them.

House Sparrow

Pied Wagtail

Spring looks to have arrived finally and so too has our drive to get out ringing (I hope). With the loss of our main site at Portstewart Strand we will need to do a bit of testing out to get a proper migration site up and running.

Last Sunday morning I headed down to Portstewart Strand, to prep the site for the coming autumn season.  We had done a bit of 'whacking' a month ago or so, but there had been plenty more growth in this period, so the net rides were in need of a little TLC.  I brought a strimmer plus a blade head, so I was able to blitz the net rides into good condition and hopefully they won't need any further work until next summer.  I didn't finish the western net rides but hope to do those soon.

Lesser Redpoll

I also took the opportunity to set up a feeding station around the 'East Ride' net run.  We first used feeders at the site this spring from April-May and they worked well to attract Goldfinch and Linnets but they should be more prolific through the autumn.... if we can keep them topped up.  I have scrapped feeding in the garden and will focus solely on Portstewart Strand - the cost of running two feeding stations, the chance of oddities at PSS, plus the hundreds of tits in the garden make the decision an easy one.  I had a couple of nets open while on site catching only a handful of birds - included in the totals below.   

'East Ride'

Yesterday morning (Saturday) presented the first opportunity to ring at the site with John, Dineka and myself present.  We arrived on site at 06.30 in calm, sunny conditions and set up the Gorse Nets, East Ride, the first 24m of WR plus a new 12m net by the feeders.  It was clear to see that the feeding station is having the desired effect with near empty feeders and plenty of droppings.

The new feeding station

The catch was decent but we were very dependant on the feeders which caught the majority of the 15 Goldfinches and 6 Lesser Redpolls plus the 2 Chaffinch, Reed Bunting and Great Tit.  All but one of the Goldfinches and Lesser Redpolls were juveniles.  There were still a couple of singing Willow Warblers about but only one juvenile was caught plus a complete absence of Blackcaps.  The feeding station should only get better over the next few months and hopefully attract a few more species.   
The clouds started to gather around 10am, so we packed up and it was a wise choice as the heavens opened just as we were finishing off. 


Portstewart Strand 06/08/2016 (+ 3(3) from 31/07/2016)                                      
                                       New     Retraps

Blue Tit                                            1     
Bullfinch                          4
Chaffinch                         2
Dunnock                          1
Goldcrest                         1
Goldfinch                        14             1
Great Tit                           1
Lesser Redpoll                 5              1
Linnet                               1
Meadow Pipit                   1
Reed Bunting                   1
Robin                                3             2            
Willow Warbler                  1
Wren                                 2

Total                                37             5        

Goldfinch

News has come in about one of the colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwits sighted in the Bann Estuary back at the start of May.  As suspected the bird was indeed Portuguese having been ringed at Alhos Vedros (South Tank), Tagus Estuary, Setúbal, Portugal on the 12th of November 2008 as an adult female.  The bird was subsequently recorded 18 times over the next five winters between October and mid-March in and around the Tagus estuary.  She was also recorded on the way north last Spring on the 17th of April at Bovenkerkerpolder, Amstelveen, Noord Holland, Netherlands.
The other CR Black-tailed Godwit has been confirmed as a French bird but exact details have not been received as yet.

Black-tailed Godwit recovery

 

John, Jeff and Dineka were out again on Monday night catching Storm Petrels at Rinnagree Point.  The conditions were ideal but it was quite yet again with 9 new birds and a single British controlled bird.  The birds disappeared before 1am with the net taken down half an hour later.  Overall numbers caught are down but the first few weeks of August can still produce catches of over 50 birds, so we plan to get 3/4 more attempts in before the month is out. 

Storm Petrel

Steve was out ringing in his garden last Sunday and caught a nice mixed bag of species.  As of this week he is now a married man so the shackles are on!

Steve's Garden 31/07/2016                                      
                                       New     Retraps
Coal Tit                                           1
Chaffinch                          1
Dunnock                           1
Great Tit                            2
Greenfinch                        1   
House Sparrow                 5    
Robin                                1
Willow Warbler                 1    
Wren                                 1     

Total                                13            1          

Greenfinch

 



Dodgy phone scoped Common Sandpiper

Some of the 115+ Sandwich Terns roosting in the estuary with at least 7 bearing rings



River ringing, Portstewart Strand and Colour ringed Greylag

This morning we spent a couple of hours ringing on some of the small local rivers, hoping to catch some of the riparian species.  John and I were joined by two new potential ringers  - Dineka and Nicholas, who were keen to see what it is all about.  We had opted for some river ringing because of the blustery forecast, managing to find a few sheltered locations.

Dipper

We spent around half an hour at three locations, catching a single Dipper at each.  The first spot was in the University campus, with a couple of Dippers present.  The bird trapped was a retrap from last year.  Location two was on the River Rhee and had two Dippers and two Grey Wagtails present.  Both Grey Wagtails went into the net straight away, but one bounced (twice) and the second had been lightly caught and flipped out before extraction.  The Dipper captured was a new bird , while its partner slipped under the net.  The third site was roughly one kilometre down stream and had a single Dipper and Grey Wagtail present, with the former being trapped.    

Site 2 which usually produces Dipper and Kingfisher

On Good Friday I took the day off work and headed down to Portstewart Strand for a short session.  The weather did as forecast and got a little breezy around 9am, meaning I had to take down all but the two most sheltered nets.  There was little change in the birds from the 17th and nothing new for the year but I did have my first sighting of one of the Otters since November.  The down time wasn't so bad as I was able to work on driftwood bird perches close to the network of nets through the Gorse.  Hopefully it will produce a Wheatear in the coming weeks or perhaps a Merlin in the autumn.  Another plus was that the National Trust arrived down mid morning and took away the heap of rubbish I had collected throughout the month.     

Linnet

I caught a total of 11 birds through the morning, three of which were retraps.  The single net in front of the feeders caught 9 of those with six Goldfinches, two Linnets and a Dunnock.  A pair of Goldcrests were trapped at the other net.

   

Goldfinch

Finally, the first summer migrants have made it to the North Coast of Northern Ireland, when I recorded my first two Sand Martins by the house on Friday the 25th.  The numbers climbed to 4 on Saturday and c15 today.  They will hang about over the river for the next few weeks, then disappear to the breeding sites a few miles away and I probably won't see any here for another year! 
The forecast looks decent for Easter Monday and Tuesday and we hope to get out on both mornings.  With any luck the first Wheatears will appear and perhaps a Chiffchaff or two, which only appear at the site on passage.



I have spotted up a few ringed/colour ringed birds at the Myroe Levels in recent weeks but unfortunately I wasn't able to clinch the details on the two Whooper Swans (although most likely Icelandic).  I did get the full details of a Greylag Goose with a neck collar, which was in the company of 18 Greenland White-fronted Geese and 27 other Greylags.
 

Dodgy record shot taken on my phone through the telescope - Greylags plus one White-front

The bird had originally been ringed at Lough Eye, in the Moray Basin in Scotland back in November 2005.  The bird is of the Icelandic breeding population has wintered in the north of Ireland and Scotland in most years since ringing - the birds sighting history is listed below.

L.Eye	06/11/2005
Batchen, Miltonduff, Elgin	14/11/2005
Toome, lough Beg	05/03/2006
Toome, lough Beg	09/03/2006
Toome, lough Beg	29/03/2006
Inch Is, Co Donegal	11/11/2007
Inch Is, Co Donegal	19/01/2008
Inch Levels, Lough Swilly, Donegal	21/11/2010
Inch Levels, Lough Swilly, Donegal	22/11/2010
Inch Levels, Lough Swilly, Donegal	23/11/2010
Shiskine, Isle of Arran	30/12/2010
Loch Askog, Isle of Bute	19/12/2011
Loch Quien, Isle of Bute	16/04/2012
Inch Lough	12/01/2013
Inch Levels, Lough Swilly, Donegal	28/11/2014
Inch Levels, Lough Swilly, Donegal	21/01/2015
Inch Levels, Lough Swilly, Donegal	30/01/2016
Myroe Levels, Co.Derry	12/03/2016

Early December Ringing

This morning Steve, Thom and I met up with a group from Copeland Bird Observatory at a winter ringing site near Antrim.  The site has been used in previous winters for training sessions and this time around there were five trainers and four trainees.  It was a frosty morning with the mercury hitting -2 °C but there were plenty of birds about.  The site has a wealth of fruit trees and berry bushes, which attracts Thrushes in decent numbers with c50 Redwing, c40 Blackbird, c10 Song Thrush, c10 Fieldfare and a couple of Mistle Thrush around this morning.  The feeders brought in plenty of tits and finches but the a real draw was an area of winter cereal cover which held c35 Linnet, c30 Chaffinch, c25 House Sparrow, c15 Lesser Redpoll plus a few other bits and pieces - a proper net combination here should work well in the next sessions. 

                             Sparrowhawk                           SF

 



It was a productive morning with 84 birds processed of 16 different species.  One of the first birds to hit the nets was a nice male Sparrowhawk flying low around the feeding station.  A Grey Wagtail amongst the Apple trees was unexpected but gladly welcomed by one of the trainees.  All four trainees managed to get new species, including two who got multiple new birds.  We only managed to trap two species of Thrush but 11 new Blackbirds is very good, a few of which were certainly of a continental origin.  We wrapped up at 12.30 just before the rain started. 

Ringing Totals 13/12/2015                                     
                                      
                                        New       Retrap           

Blackbird                        11              2 

Blue Tit                            8               2

Chaffinch                        22              1         

Coal Tit                            2               3              

Dunnock                          2

Goldcrest                         1

Goldfinch                         1

Great Tit                           6               3

Grey Wagtail                   1

Lesser Redpoll                4

Linnet                               7

Long-tailed Tit                                 1

Redwing                           1                                                             

Robin                                2               2

Sparrowhawk                  1

Wren                                1

Total                                70              14  

On Tuesday morning Ken hosted Steve for a bit of training in his back garden and were joined by John later in the morning.  The morning was an ideal weather window with dry, calm conditions, plus it wasn't freezing for the ringers! 

They caught a large number of birds and had to close a couple of nets in order to cope - hence Johns arrival.  A total of 102 birds were processed, with perhaps 35% of these having been caught before.  There are a few nice birds in the garden at the moment including two Brambling and two wintering Blackcaps.  Unfortunately the former weren't caught but they might stick around with the c50 Chaffinch.  The Sparrowhawk ringed last time out has continued to visit daily and was retrapped. 

                                                               Sparrowhawk                                                           SF

Ringing Totals 08/12/2015                                     
                                      
                                   Processed           

Blackbird                        3

Blackcap                         2

Blue Tit                          11

Chaffinch                       32             

Coal Tit                           9                             

Dunnock                         1

Goldcrest                        1

Goldfinch                       24

Great Tit                         18                                                             

Sparrowhawk                  1

Total                               102     

 

 

Irish Ringing Data - Goldfinch and Greenfinch

Over the past few months I have been compiling all Ireland ringing information into a single data set.  I have been taking information from various sources, including the BTO online ringing reports for the period of 2007-2014 and Irish Bird Journals covering back to 1975.  Before this date the data is very patchy and I have only been able to incorporate bits and pieces.  I have extracted the odd record from old Irish bird reports but these tend to be where there is mention of scarcities/rarities being trapped. 

Another source of information I am currently seeking is old Bird Observatory reports - pre 1977.  Thus far I have only managed to source reports for Rathlin Island BO and Tory Island BO from the 60's and will get Copeland BO records in the next week or two.  I have yet to get any feedback for Saltee BO, Cape Clear BO, Loop Head BO and Malin Head BO, so if you have any contacts, please let me know. 
As the data, pre 1975, is limited, I will only focus only scarcities and rarities in that period.  The current Irish ringing species list I have accrued stands at over 270 species but I expect this to rise a little further with the addition of a few more yanks.

The data of course is not perfect with overlooked late submissions, altered records, missing data, mistakes by previous editors and my own mistakes.  This is unlikely to change for the foreseeable, until the BTO finally track back and digitise all the historic ringing data.... which might take a decade or two. 
The data should therefore be taken at face value - it isn't perfect but is representative and fit for purpose.

I plan to filter the information out, post by post on the blog, covering a few species at a time.  I will try and graph the 'All Ireland' totals from 1975, with North and South separate from 1977.  At this stage I will focus on passerines, near passerines and birds of prey.  I will also map the recoveries of these groups coming into and out of Northern Ireland (but no inter Irish movements).  I have restricted myself to the North at the moment because the dataset is much smaller and my spare time isn't limitless! 

The data will go in someway to present the population trends in some species but for some species it is flawed.  Changes in techniques, improved equipment, the use of tape lures, the number of ringers & their effort, the closure of Bird Observatories, BTO periodic species targets (i.e. Swallow Roosts, Sedge Warblers in Ireland) and changes in birds behaviour (Finch species visiting feeders for example) etc. all have a huge affect, meaning it is not truly representative. 
The BTO has national standardised programmes in place such as Constant Effort Site (CES) scheme and Retrapping Adults for Survival (RAS) scheme which are fantastic for assessing population dynamics, along with the Nest Record Scheme (NRS). 


Goldfinch

As a ringer in my mid 20's and in the game for c4 years, I have always known Goldfinch to be a common bird and one that is caught in big numbers.  But this wasn't always the case and many ringers still remember when it was a nice catch.  The graph below really highlights the large increase in birds being caught, which is generally a reflection of the increase in the population.  In 1982, only 6 Goldfinch were ringed in Ireland, compared to the best year of 1538 birds in 2013. 
Over 10,000 have been ringed since 1975 and this figure should rapidly increase with todays yearly totals. 

The controls/recoveries of Goldfinch into and out of Northern Ireland also show a similar trend in terms of dates.  The majority of these mapped below have occurred after 2007.
With the exception of the one bird coming in from Scotland, the rest show a very similar migration route.  The Calf of Man Bird Observatory is central to the route with 2 controls coming during spring migration.  Copeland Bird Observatory is also key as a staging site for the birds heading south east, accounting for four birds in late autumn. 
Those displayed are the only ones available to me at this time. 

Goldfinch movements into (green) and out (red) of Northern Ireland

Greenfinch

The Greenfinch unfortunately is experiencing an opposite trend, with a large reduction in population.  The finger can firmly be pointed to the disease Trichomonosis for the crash.  Greenfinch were formerly one of the most common species ringed, which is represented in the map below.  These days however, they are much reduced - in 1991 2474 were ringed In Ireland and only 313 in 2014.
Over 46,000 have been ringed since 1975.

The mapped recoveries below do not show any particular trend but do highlight that many more birds are recovered in Britain, with the much greater density of ringers.  The dates and age stages of the recoveries are very interesting and in general show a similar theme of Greenfinches coming to winter in Ireland and returning to Britain to breed.  They are also the opposite to Goldfinches in that the majority of these recoveries are from the 80's and early 90's, with only one in the 00's (2007/2008).
The Calf of Man BO is again focal, with three different birds being trapped there on migration. 

Greenfinch movements into (green) and out (red) of Northern Ireland

I must also add a quick thank you to people who have assisted me in getting information - Dr Ken Perry, for access to his extensive ornithological library, Niall Tierney (the current editor of the Irish Ringing Report) and Niall T Keogh from Birdwatch Ireland, Neal Warnock (RSPB NI) for the Rathlin data and Peter Phillips for the Tory records. 
NTK, Neal and Peter are all big patch birders and you can check out information for the former two at http://patchbirdingireland.blogspot.co.uk/  and the later on his Tory Island Bird Blog - http://toryislandbirdblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Check out http://dublinbaybirds.blogspot.co.uk/ for some of N Tierney's ringing exploits in the South.

I have not given permission for any of these pictures, graphs, diagrams or the data itself to be copied.  If you are interested in something in particular, please get in touch.

Richard D

Mid October Update

Over the past week or so we have managed to get a few visits to Portstewart Stand and the university river site, boosted by John having some time off.  Ken has also kicked off the winter ringing in his garden.  The weather has been fantastic yet again and it is hard to believe that it has lasted so long!

Redwing

As we progress through the autumn, you notice the subtle changes in migration, day to day.  Earlier in the week, Skylarks were on the move in big numbers but by the weekend, the main wave had passed and the Thrushes took over.  On Saturday alone, seven Song Thrush and four Blackbird were caught, plus five Redwing over the weekend, with many more present.  Goldfinch and Chaffinch numbers are also building and Twite have made a first appearance for the autumn/winter.  A new species for the dune system came in the form of two stunning male Yellowhammers.  Duck numbers on the estuary are also on the rise, with plenty of Mallard, Teal and Wigeon. 

Blackbird

The sessions at Portstewart Strand have been productive and we have caught some nice birds.  The best of these would be three Skylark, five Redwing and three Reed Bunting.  The totals include a short visit from the 1st of the month, which I had missed on the last update.  It included probably the last Chiffchaff of the year and the only Blackcap so far this month, although I expect a few more in the remainder of the season. 

                                                       Skylark                                                (JC)

PSS Ringing Totals

                                        New        Retrap           

Blackbird                         5                 2  

Blackcap                          1                 1

Blue Tit                            2

Bullfinch                          1                 1

Chaffinch                         5

Chiffchaff                        1

Coal Tit                           2                                      

Dunnock                          1                 6              

Goldcrest                         1

Goldfinch                       32

Great Tit                         3                  

Linnet                             5

Meadow Pipit                8                  

Redwing                         5

Reed Bunting                 3 

Robin                              3                   1                                                                               

Skylark                           3

Song Thrush                  8                                                                      

Wren                              1                    2             

Total                              90                 13                

 

 

 The river site remains quiet, although there has been noticeable migration overhead and in the nets with Blackbird, Chaffinch and Robins moving.  The best bird caught was a Treecreeper, accompanied by a couple of Goldcrest.  We wouldn't ring in many woodland sites, so only handle one or two Treeceepers a year.  It may potentially have been a bird in search of pastures new, as the habitat contains only a few trees with a trunk girth greater than 7/8 inches. 

 

                                                       Treecreeper                                              (JC)

 

 

University River Site Ringing Totals

                          

                                       New        Retrap           

Blackbird                          2                 

Blue Tit                             1                1

Bullfinch                           1        

Chaffinch                         8                            

Goldcrest                          2                                 

Great Tit                           4

Robin                                4                                                                              

Treecreeper                      1     

Total                                 23               1                

 

 

 Redwing

 

 

On Friday morning Ken had a session in his garden for Siobhan to continue her training.  The sunflower hearts are really starting to pull in the birds, including very large numbers of Coal Tits.  Of the 70 birds processed, 29 of those were Coal Tits, which is much higher than the norm.  At this time of year they can become a bit of a pest at the feeders, as they only eat a fraction of the food and continually return and stash food around the garden.  They make good training for extracting small birds from mist nets though!

 

 

Ken's Garden Ringing Totals 16/10/2015

 

                                        Total              

Blackbird                          1                 

Blue Tit                             4

Chaffinch                         15

Coal Tit                            29

Dunnock                            1             

Goldfinch                         10

Great Tit                           9              

Greenfinch                        1

Total                                 70                       

 

 

 

 

All in all in it has been a very productive month thanks to the very settled weather and hopefully we can squeeze in another couple of sessions.  So far we have processed 268 birds of 25 species.  The obvious highlight being the Yellow-browed Warbler and I doubt that will be topped this year.  If the weather allows it, we should be back in action next weekend.