Waders and Swallows - Take 2

After the success of last Wednesdays wader and Swallow roost catches we went for a repeat performance on Monday evening (http://causewaycoastrg.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/wader-bonaza-and-roosting-hirundines.html).  The prospects were a little better with high tide peaking roughly an hour after full darkness and we were a little closer to peak Swallow time in the estuary.  We had a team of five this time around with John, Ken, Siobhan, Steve and myself and the nets opened for around 7.30pm.  The evening was a scorcher with full sunshine and temperatures hitting 25°C at 7pm and although it clouded over a little, it was still a muggy 20°C on departure after 11pm.   

Snipe

The Swallow tapes worked immediately and attracted in c25 birds within a few minutes and over the next half an hour birds continued to trickle in and swarm overhead totalling around 1000 birds.  The commotion stirred up the resident Water Rails with 4/5 calling all around the reedbeds.  With the lower tide we were able to set two separate 18m nets slightly further in amongst the reeds. 
As with the last attempt, a number of waders and Teal etc. were flushed out of the pools when setting up the nets with the majority not returning.  We opted for the same set up but with an extra 18m three shelf net in the other pool without a tape.  The drier weather of late had dried out the pools a little, but as I write, it is raining cats and dogs, so I don't think it will be an issue on our next visit. 
There were a few other bits and pieces around the estuary with a Grey Seal, Otter and a couple of pipistrelle bats.

Sunset over the estuary

Given the number of Swallows that we had attracted in and the number that had dropped into the nets early we had to switch off the tapes.  The big flock circled overhead while we processed the other birds and eventually settled into the reebed just before dark.  Half had dropped in a bit earlier but a bird of prey (which we didn't get a proper look at) had flushed them back up. 
We caught a total of 73 Swallows, 4 Sand Martins and a single Sedge Warbler.

Last couple of Swallows being processed

For the waders, we again had to wait for complete darkness before the birds appeared and hit the nets.  We had an initial good catch but only a few birds in subsequent rounds.  The catch was quite different from the previous with some larger species in Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit and Curlew and only a single Dunlin. 

Black-tailed Godwit (left) & Bar-tailed Godwit

Grangemore Ringing Totals 05/09/2016

                                        New               

Bar-tailed Godwit              2

Black-tailed Godwit           3

Curlew                               1

Dunlin                                1

Redshank                         18

Snipe                                 1

Sand Martin                       4

Sedge Warbler                   1

Swallow                             73

                           

Total                                 104             

Curlew

We are planning on heading to Portstewart Strand on Saturday morning with another attempt at Waders/Swallows at the start of next week if we can match up the weather and tides!  The stormy blast from the south this evening is probably good news for the guys on the south coast and the islands of the east and west but it might just produce a little bit for us - fingers crossed!
 
There are a few nice birds around the north coast at the minute including a couple of Little Stint and two Little Gulls at Magilligan Point pictured below. 

Little Stint

Little Gulls

Wader Bonaza and roosting Hirundines

On Wednesday evening (31st of August) Ken, Steve and I attempted a double roost catch, targeting hirundines and waders.  We had earmarked our Grangemore site as having great potential for both species groups, so thought there was no time like the present to test it out!

The conditions were ideal with 10-15mph westerlies blowing over the open saltmarsh while remaining cloudy and dry.  The reedbed, where we were targeting the hirundines, was much more sheltered by the deeply eroded river banks.  The timing of high tide wasn't perfect, coming at 19.45ish, roughly an hour and a half before darkness.

Curlew Sandpiper (Left) and Dunlin

We haven't quite worked out where all the estuaries waders, gulls, terns etc. go to roost.  There are 1000's of birds at low tide but the vast majority head out the mouth of the river at high tide.  The most likely location are the Skerries Islands off Portrush, which are 8-9km away and it is almost certainly where the gulls head; including the hundreds from further up river.  The nearest shores of Lough Foyle are 13km away and are a possibility for waders, although it would be the turf fields of Myroe which would be most suitable for roosting, but the 20km seems unlikely (why bother return the Bann Estuary twice a day?).  We have no idea about the Terns but the beaches of Magilligan Point (11-12km) or perhaps the Skerries would fit the bill.
What we do know is that perhaps up to 500-750 waders remain to roost in the estuary at this time of year, mainly Curlew, Black-tailed Godwits, a few Redshank and perhaps a couple of hundred Calidrids (a number seem to roost on the piers at the mouth of the river).  The oxbow lake (very shallow, partially exposed mud) holds the main concentrations (when not disturbed) and seems to appeal to a wider range of species, perhaps due to the water being less saline and the more consistent levels.  The oxbow lake is cut off from both rivers, sitting a few feet above high tide and surrounded by salt marsh and wet meadows.

Wader nets

We opted for two 18 metre wader nets in a 'V' shape over the open water of the oxbow lake, which is no deeper than 25cm.  On arrival there were 200/300 birds on the pools already with all but a few Dunlin, Teal and Snipe flushing.  We placed a tape lure in the middle playing the infamous Redshank tape from the Wash. 

Trying for roosting hirundines was a first for the site but the habitat (reedbeds) is much better than our usual site plus it is in close proximity to our Grangemore Sand Martin colony.  I had created a net ride through the reedbed earlier in the year for Sedge Warblers, which was around 50 metres long but the high tide meant we could only use the last 12m.  We added another 18m net running at the edge of the reeds to create another 'V' shape'.  A Swallow and Sand Martin tape lure were placed in the centre.

Net locations

A few Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwit showed a little interest early on when it was still bright but the nets were a bit obvious.  Four/five Dunlin did fly into the nets but only one stuck with the rest bouncing out and a few others going under.  We altered the nets a little making the pockets a bit deeper and slightly lower, but still high enough to keep a big bird out of the water. 
  
The hirundines built around sunset and we managed a catch of 15 Swallow, 6 Sand Martin and 2 Sedge Warbler.  There didn't appear to be many more birds about, so a decent catch.  While keeping an eye on the other nets, we ringed and released the birds straight from the nets (still light) and closed up. 

Ruff

Just after dark, perhaps 300 waders appeared and descended on the pools giving us an initial big hit.  We turned the tape off straight away as we were not equipped for too large a catch.  The result was really pleasing with 20 birds in the nets of five species.  The majority of birds were Dunlin (14) plus 2 Redshank and 1 Black-headed Gull but the real big surprise was 2 Ruff and a Curlew Sandpiper.
These two species were new ones to us and very unexpected.  The Curlew Sandpiper is the first to ringed in Northern Ireland since at least 1977, possibly ever.  In the same period there were only 4 Ruff ringed in Northern Ireland with the last one coming in 1983.

Dunlin

Grangemore Ringing Totals 31/08/2016

                                        New              

Black-headed Gull            1

Curlew Sandpiper             1

Dunlin                              14

Redshank                          2

Ruff                                   2 

Sand Martin                      6

Sedge Warbler                  2

Swallow                           15                                  

Total                                43                     

We plan to get out to Portstewart Strand at the weekend and are hoping for an arrival of some new birds.  The next attempt at wader and hirundine roost catches will probably be next week if we can muster the manpower and work the weather and tides!

Redshank

Black-headed Gull

Curlew Sandpiper (right, top, bottom) and Dunlin

Recovery streak - Portuguese Sand Martin & 2nd BTO Sedge Warbler

On Saturday morning, a mear 4 hours after getting home from Storm Petrel ringing, I was down at Grangemore for visit three at the Sand Martin colony.  I was joined by David S from Copeland Bird Observatory, who had come up from Belfast direction.  The conditions were dry, cloudy and a little breezy.  The main focus was on ringing Sand Martins but we also put up a couple of nets in the small reed bed and marsh.  The wind direction was ideal for the Sand Martins as the bank was well sheltered from the south but the other nets were a little more affected.

Grasshopper Warbler

The site is currently coming down with birds with large flocks if marauding Linnets & Goldfinches plus plenty of Meadow Pipits, Reed Bunting, Skylark and Stonechat.  Again there were two reeling Grasshopper Warblers from the off but Sedge Warblers were much less conspicuous.  I also managed a total patch tick in the form of a juvenile Moorhen which we flushed from an area of reeds.  I was sure they breed in the estuary as the habitat is perfect but I've somehow never encountered one in the past 4/5 years... until now!   

I had the two 12m nets up in front of the Sand Martin colony pretty quickly and immediately caught a number of birds as they exited their burrows.  We caught quite well in the first few rounds and opted to the close the nets when we started to catch a couple of same day retraps.  In total we caught 54 new birds, 11 retraps and also 3 controls.  The best of the bunch was a Portuguese Sand Martin bearing a CEMPA SEA LISBOA ring and equals only my third foreign passerine recovery/control.  We also managed a couple of local controls from Macfin which is 12.6 kilometres away (14.1km following the river) and the interactions between the two colonies was the main reason we started ringing here.  Now we have a basis of ringed birds in both colonies it will be interesting to see the future exchanges between them.  The majority of the catch seemed to be adult females and very few juveniles, so I presume that brood two are well on the way and it may be worth a final visit at the end of the month to catch a few of the juveniles.
The other nets weren't overly productive but we did catch the first Grasshopper Warbler of the year plus 2 Stonechat, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 new Sedge Warbler and another British/Irish Control Sedge Warbler.     

Movement between the Sand Martin colonies

Grangemore 16/07/2016

                                        New     Retraps     Controls
Grasshopper Warbler        1
Meadow Pipit                   1
Sand Martin                     54           11              3
Sedge Warbler                  1                              1
Stonechat                          2

Total                                59            11              4

On Friday night John, Geoff and I headed down to Rinnagree Point for our second attempt at catching Storm Petrels for the season.  It was much darker and milder this time around but a stiff westerly was just about workable.  We had the net open and tape on for 23.00 with the first birds appearing 15 minutes later.  The windier conditions seem to suit the birds and there was a constant stream of birds with 4/5 birds at a time and probably a few hundred birds over the two hours.  The wind was a real hinderance as the birds approached from the outside of the billowing net and the vast majority of birds bounced/turned.
We still had a decent catch and managed 21 new birds and one retrap.  If the wind had been a little lighter the catch could have been much greater, although perhaps not as many birds would have been attracted in.


The number of birds visiting the feeders in Kens garden are beginning to build as we approach the end of the breeding season so Ken held the first ringing session of the autumn season.  He was accompanied by Tyrone who is now approaching his application for his C permit.  The weather was a little hit and miss but the sheltered garden and the proximity of the nets to the house meant that the nets could be closed quickly during a short shower.
For mid July the catch was pretty decent with the finches already starting to gather in decent numbers.  House Sparrows were a species usually absent from the garden in the past 5/10 years but they seem to have taken up residence since the winter.  I'm not suggesting population increase/spread but they have certainly homed in on the plentiful food source! 


Kens Garden 12/07/2016                                                                      
   
                               Captures         
Blue Tit                        4
Chaffinch                    11

Coal Tit                       5

Dunnock                      2

Goldfinch                    7

Great Tit                     3 

House Sparrow           1        

Robin                           4

Wren                            1               

                   

Total                            38                          

I hope to get the data sent off to the BTO later this week and it shouldn't be too long before we receive the information on the three controls! (with the exception of the Portuguese Sand Martin).
We plan to get visit three at the Macfin Sand Martin colony at some point this week, maybe our first evening attempt and probably Portstewart Strand on Sunday morning.

Sedge Warbler

Reed bed tester

Kingfisher

Unfortunately the planned ringing on the north shore of Lough Neagh was cancelled today, so rather than waste a public holiday with decent weather, I tested out a new(ish) site.  I had been looking forward to the trip to Lough Neagh to catch good numbers of Sedge Warblers (of which we generally catch few), plus to get to grips with Reed Warblers, which is a bird I've yet to see in the hand.  Reed Warblers are still relatively scarce in Northern Ireland and Lough Neagh is probably at the northern end of their range in Ireland. 
Well, with Acro's in mind I thought I would test out a few new spots in the Bann Estuary that I have been eyeing up for quite a while, particularly for Sedge Warblers.  The habitat in the marsh at Grangemore (where we also have a Sand Martin colony) is fantastic and is a network of wet meadow, flooded channels, small reed beds, a tidal stream, patches of brambles, surrounded by some of the oldest dated sand dunes in Ireland.  I arrived around 06.30 and was greeted with the sound of two reeling Grasshopper Warblers, a flock of 60+ Linnet, half a dozen Sedge Warblers, 10+ Stonechats and a single Whitethroat.

For the keen eyed you will notice two nets in the two strips of reeds below and blog regulars will recognise the main areas of scrub at our Portstewart Strand ringing site across the river.



I put up one 18 and one 12 metre net in the small patches of reeds above and a further 40 metres in a larger patch of reeds by the edge of the stream. 

Sedge Warblers were the dominant feature of the morning with the first 10 birds being of this species.  The 40m net produced the best round with 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Stonechat, 1 Reed Bunting and a Kingfisher, which flew in as I was extracting a bird below.  The total of 12 new Sedge Warblers was really pleasing and probably close to the number I have caught in the past 3/4 years.  It got even better as I caught a control Sedge Warbler with a BTO ring meaning it will have been ringed elsewhere in Britain or Ireland.  The Kingfisher was also a nice surprise as the reeds were on dry ground, plus it is the first I have seen/heard in the patch this year!   

  Grangemore 12/07/2016                                 

                                   New       Controls          
             
Kingfisher                   1

Reed Bunting              2

Sedge Warbler           12              1         

Stonechat                    1

Wren                            1               

                   

Total                           17               1             

Sedge Warbler (British control - Adult female)

The site certainly has great potential and I would suggest I caught only a fraction of the Sedge Warblers on site, not to mention the countless others that may pass through from other areas of the estuary.  We will hopefully squeeze in another visit or two before the warblers head back south. 

Stonechat (Juvenile)

Sedge Warbler (Adult male)

Sedge Warbler (Juvenile)