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

Copeland Bird Observatory 2nd - 4th October

After our routine pre-CBO 'chippy', John, Ken, Steve and I were ready to jump into the RHIB and set sail for Lighthouse Island.  We met up with Island regulars David, Philip and Ian at the harbour in Donaghadee, who were accompanied by Olli, on his first trip.  As forecast, the winds were very light and the sea was flat calm for a change.
On arrival on the island, we set about readying the nets and traps.  With 6 ringers on hand we set a few extra nets than the norm, covering most of the north and east of the island.  In total we set 10 mist nets, with the 4 in situ Heligoland traps, the crow trap, plus 7 spring & potter traps.     

Lesser Redpoll

When setting up it was evident there were a few birds knocking about and we caught a couple of Blackcap, Goldcrest and Song Thrush before sunset around 7pm.  After dark, a few us headed out in search of a few Manx Shearwaters but with little hope.  It is very late in the season and the majority of the chicks should have fledged and be on route to the southern hemisphere.  Luckily we managed to find 12 new chicks within half an hour and the following night added 5 more. 
  The CBO team along with Oxford University were successful in retrieving 3 geolocators from adult birds over the summer.  These had been attached 3/4 years ago when the birds were chicks in their burrows.  It is not known exactly what young shearwaters do from their first migration south until they return to the breeding colonies 3/4 later.  Hopefully the data can be extracted and it will shed some light/confirm peoples thoughts in what they do!  For updates on the project, follow Copeland Bird Observatory on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/copelandbirdobservatory?fref=ts

Linnet

The next day, we were up before dawn (two of us anyway!) to open the nets and get ready for the mornings ringing.  Again the conditions were ideal and the birds started trickling out of the bushes and into the mist nets.  The birds consisted of Blackbird, Blackcap, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Robin, Song Thrush and Wren.  It wasn't long before the finches got moving with flocks of Goldfinch, Lesser Redpoll and Linnet moving around/over the island plus c30 Skylark.  With the help of tape lures we picked up 73 Lesser Redpoll and 11 Linnet, before closing the nets early afternoon.  A Hooded Crow found it's way into the crow trap for a second time, following its initial foray in April.  The sea remained quite for the most but totals of 1000+ Razorbill, 500+ Gannet, c40 Eiders, c50 Harbour Porpoise, a few Red-throated Diver and other bits and pieces kept Ian content.  The Grey Seal breeding season is in full swing with at least 40 seal pups spotted at the Observatory and on the near side of Mew Island, with probably many more around the rest of Mew and Big Copeland.  The bulls (males) were also getting very frisky, as the females come in to season. 

                                            Grey Seal pup           (© Steve Fyffe)

  Adult Grey Seals

On Sunday morning the conditions were perfect, with next to no wind and a good covering of cloud.  The initial net rounds showed there had been an arrival of Chiffchaff, with 14 ringed in the first few hours.  The catch was similar to Saturday but with an added Wheatear from the 'Heli Trap' at first light, a Woodpigeon from the 'Thicket' net and a Meadow Pipit in a spring trap.  Again the finches got moving with Linnets (including a flock of c50), hundreds of Lesser Redpoll, plenty of Goldfinches and a single Chaffinch.  The Lesser Redpolls surpassed the previous days totals and this corresponded in the ringing totals, with 103 new birds.  The sea was again pretty quite but 3 Great Skua, c100 Curlew and a few extra Black Guillemot was something.  No Hirundines were noted all weekend.

Wheatear

Chiffchaff

 



Overall it was a very enjoyable weekend with lots of birds ringed and some good weather.  Unfortunately we couldn't produce one of the Yellow-browed Warblers, that have pouring down the coasts of the UK and Ireland, that we were hoping for. 


CBO    Ringing Totals         02-04/10/2015

                                        New        Retrap           

 

Blackbird                         1                4                   

Blackcap                          6                1                            

Chiffchaff                       14  

Dunnock                          3                             

Goldcrest                        27               2

Goldfinch                         1                                      

Hooded Crow                                    1

Lesser Redpoll              175  

Linnet                              14

Meadow Pipit                   1

Manx Shearwater           17               2

Robin                               13              5                                                                                

Song Thrush                    4                                                                            

Wheatear                         1      

Woodpigeon                    1

Wren                                4                1                                

 

Total                               282             16        

 



A bird laden Pond 60' net

 



 

Other bits and pieces from the weekend included Peregrine Falcon, Sparrowhawk, up to 7 Buzzard, a possible Harrier spp., Stock Dove, Water Rail, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Snipe Turnstone, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull Fulmar, Rock Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Magpie, Jackdaw, Raven, Rook, Cormorant, Shag, Teal, Mallard, Starling, Reed Bunting, Pheasant, Small-tortoiseshell and Red Admiral. 

 

 

Home time at 'East Landing'