Sand Martin Colony 22/06/2015

This morning I made use of some fine conditions to make the first visit of the year to the main Sand Martin colony near Macfin.  It was actually a bit windy but the lay of land helps protect the nets from the wind blowing off the river.

 
The catching started quick with 10 birds in the nets whilst setting up.  Once I processed the birds I went back for the next round and had 41 birds.  Because I was by myself and I had a lot of birds to process, I closed one of the nets and went for ring, age, sex and fling method.  Once I had finished processing the last lot I went to close up, catching a further 31 birds.

In total I managed 79 new birds and only three retraps.  The low retrap rate surprised me, as, with 144 new birds ringed last year, I was expecting a much higher return.  Hopefully over the next two visits, we can pick up more of these birds from last year.  7 of the birds were juveniles from this year, 42 males, 32 Females and 1 unsexed.   

Adult Sand Martin

Juvenile Sand Martin

Juvenile plumage

I'm off the Greece for a bit of island hopping for a couple of weeks, so the blog will be quiet.  The next Sand Martin Visit is planned for mid July (perhaps 10-12th weekend), so get in touch if you want to come along.  We will probably go for a late visit and then go for a Storm Petrel session after.

June Bits and Pieces

Time has been limited thus far in June, so we have only managed bits and pieces, here and there.

 Back at the start of the month I re-visited the Castleroe Wood nest boxes to ring the 5 broods that weren't ready in May.  The poor breeding season for Blue & Great Tits continued with only three of the broods having some success.  The first brood had 1 chick and 2 cold eggs, brood two was 2 alive plus one dead chick, brood three were 5 dead chicks, brood five (the only Blue Tits of the season) were 7 cold eggs and brood five was 2 alive & 2 dead. 

 

 Great Tit

Normally from the 30 boxes (now 29) there is c75% occupancy but that was down to 26/7% occupancy producing only 16 chicks to a ringable age.  All those ringed were Great Tit, so it may be the disastrous season for the Blue Tits that is skewing the results. 

 Great Tit

Each year a pair of Pair Wagtails nest around my house, usually managing two broods.  This year they choose the new nest box nestled in the Climbing Hydrangea.  I ringed the 4 chicks on the 9th of June and they have since fledged.  Hopefully the adults will go again for brood two.

Pied Wagtail 

 

 

 

Last week Adam McClure from the Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group came up to check out some birds of prey nests around the University of Ulster in Coleraine.  Thanks to Adams tree climbing skills we were able to access a couple of nests, although the presumed Buzzard nest was empty but we did get an active Sparrowhawk nest.  There were 3 chicks in the nest with one male and two females.

 



Another of Adams main projects is running the Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Survey, which has produced some nice results.  You can check out more information on the blog below.

http://bhgullsni.blogspot.co.uk/

 Adam hard at work

On Saturday morning John and Steve had a session at the University river site.  In very nice conditions (for basking in the sun) they managed a dozen birds including the first Whitethroat of the year, a couple of Starlings and a few more fledglings of common species.

 

 

 

Portstewart Strand 15/06/2015

I usually find June to be a quiet month for ringing but with nice birds still popping up around the UK & Ireland, I dragged myself out of bed at 05.15.  It was a warm and cloudy day for the most, with the thermometer hitting 18°C by midday.  The winds were light southerlies, rising to c12mph by the afternoon when the sun came out. 

Starling

The scrub is now alive with the sound of young birds with Robins and Dunnocks in particular.  Other notable birds were the first Redshank (2) and Curlew (3) for a month or more; which may have been failed breeders on the way south, c20 Swifts feeding low over 'Grangemore' across the river and c170 Black-headed Gulls, which is way up on the recent dozen birds or so.  A new pair of Sedge Warblers have taken up residence close to the gorse nets which should hopefully breed.

Dunnock

The ringing is yet to pick up with only 12 new birds and 7 retraps but 5 new birds of the year is good to see.  I packed up west ride around 10 am and took an attempt at the small Sand Martin colony.  Watching the birds I reckon there are 7-8 active nests, 6-7 in a cluster and a single nest further over on the bank.  The two smaller banks further to the west that were utilised last year are empty this year.  I set a 9m 2 shelf net in front of the main cluster and caught 3 birds but the conditions at that stage were very bright and a little breezy.  The hope is to record interactions between the local colonies and perhaps pick a few of the birds in roost catches.
The Starling and Sand Martin are new ringed species for the site!       

Sand Martin

 

Ringing Totals 15/06/2015

                                        New         Retrap         

Blackcap                                             1

Bullfinch                                              2   

Dunnock                           3                 2                        

Linnet                               1

Meadow Pipit                   1

Robin                                1

Sand Martin                      3 

Song Thrush                                        1

Starling                             1

Willow Warbler                 2                 1                                    

Total                                12                 7 

Portstewart Strand 04/06/2015

At 6am this morning the conditions were overcast, mild (10°C), dry and the wind was coming from the south-east at around 5-6mph.  The forecast had said the rain would start to arrive after midday but unfortunately it arrived early and I had to pack up at 10am.

 

Again it was pretty quiet and it will probably remain that way until late summer, when the birds are on the move again.  The only things of note were the 100's of Starlings roaming about in noisy flocks (which thankfully avoided the gorse nets), 2 Greylag Geese and 3 Grey Herons.  The Otter was again busy fishing in its favoured spot and I spotted my first Cinnabar moth of the year.  The first fledglings of the year were scattered about with 1 Robin, 4 Stonechat, 3 Goldfinch and a couple of Meadow pipits. 

Meadow Pipit

In terms of ringing it was slow and only one juvenile bird hit the nets - a Meadow Pipit.  Breeding is evidently late, as with much of the UK but there should be a flood (hopefully) of juveniles to come over the next month or two.  Four new Blackcaps (2 pairs) is always good, which seem to be holding territory beside the net rides. 


Ringing Totals 04/06/2015

                                        New         Retrap         

Blackcap                           4

Bullfinch                                              3   

Chaffinch                         1                  1

Dunnock                                              1                      

Meadow Pipit                   1                

Song Thrush                    1

Willow Warbler                1                  2

Wren                                                    2                                    

Total                                8                 9 

Sandwich Tern Colony 02/06/2015

This morning Ken and I headed to the Inch Wild Fowl Reserve in Inishowen, County Donegal to ring Sandwich Tern chicks.  Ken has been studying the colony for 20+ years and it has produced some great results (I'll update the SANTE info at some point soon), including some very nice controls/recoveries.  We met up with 2 staff members from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) who manage the site and another of Kens trainees who lives locally.

We were a little worried for the health of the chicks following continuous wet and windy weather and what was the worst June storm (possibly) on record the day previous.  We arrived in fine conditions but it was obvious the water levels were high and going to impact the colony on the island. 
Once we sailed over to the colony we could immediately see that a number of nests had been flooded including the nests of all the Common Terns, some Black-headed Gulls and a couple of Mute Swans, with eggs floating in the water.  The Sandwich Terns concentrate their nests on the slightly higher, less vegetated area of the island, so seemed to be unscathed.

 

  Ken had visited the site on the 22nd of May to count the Sandwich Tern chicks/eggs and managed a total of 488.  We found quite a few dead chicks that had succumb to the bad weather but we still managed to ring 161 chicks.  There was also a number of freshly hatched chicks that we did not ring, a few unhealthy chicks and lots of eggs yet to hatch, perhaps another 250.  It is still early in season, so hopefully the Common Terns will make another attempt.

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As well as the terns, there are hundreds of Black-headed Gulls nesting on the island, although these are not studied.  We did ring a few of the larger chicks to give the trainees some experience with the species. 

Black-headed Gull chick

 

Black-headed Gull nest

John and Ken had a short ringing session at the University ringing site on Saturday 30th of May.  They caught 8 new birds including the first fledged passerine of the year in the form of a Robin.  Other species caught included Blackbird and Blackcap.

John also visited a few of his next boxes at the Gateside Road and ringed some Great Tit and Swallow pullus.  The Blue Tits and Tree Sparrows are only freshly hatched, so should be ready to ring in a week or so.   

Springwell Forest 27/05/2015 + Dippers

Todays visit to Springwell Forest was to attempt to catch the 3 Cuckoos spotted by John and Ken earlier in the week.  The three of us were on site for 7am and set a couple of nets along a track through low scrub, with a decoy Cuckoo and tape lure (with endorsement).  The weather was overcast and a little breezy.

                        Sedge Warbler               © JC

On arrival we were greeted to the sound of lots of Warblers with Grasshopper, Sedge and Willow Warbler plus some Whitethroat amongst the regenerating conifer plantations full of Willows.  Whilst waiting for a Cuckoo to show up, we put up 2 low nets at the edge of scrub.  This proved worthwhile with a nice Grasshopper Warbler and Sedge Warbler, although we didn't catch any of the smart male Whitethroats singing above the nets.   

                     Grasshopper Warbler               © JC

 

There were also plenty of other birds about with a flock of 12 Crossbill, 1 Kestrel, 1 Buzzard, 2 Stonechat, 4 Jay, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Grey Wagtail, Lesser Redpoll, Siskin and a Dipper.  The Dipper seemed strange at the time, flying across forestry scrub but we later found a nest with 4 chicks (which we ringed) under a culvert on a small stream. 

 



                       Dipper pullus                 © JC

Two male Cuckoos appeared and spent a while flying around the nets and calling back to the tape but unfortunately, as with previous attempts, we didn't manage to get any birds in the nets.  The nets were a little exposed to the wind but we may have another attempt soon. 

Cuckoo



   Ringing Totals 27/05/2015

                                        New        Pullus

Dipper                                                4

Grasshopper Warbler       1

Robin                                1

Sedge Warbler                  1

Song Thrush                     1

Willow Warbler                 2

Wren                                1                                                        

Total                                7               4              

 

 

Earlier in the breeding season Ken had been busy studying the growth rates of Dipper chicks between lowland and upland areas.  This involved locating nests (also with 17 nest boxes) and visiting daily to time the laying of the eggs and hatching.  Once the study nests had been selected the chicks were weighed everyday until fledging.  We will share the results in due course. 

 

 

 

 

The photos above are the copyright of Ken Perry

Portstewart Strand 23/05/2015

I was optimistic for the session ahead with near perfect conditions.  The winds were 2-3 mph south-westerlies, full cloud cover and a mild start of 10°C at 05.15.  The conditions remained decent through the morning, although the clouds broke and the wind notched up 4/5 mph.  I departed the site before 11am with the temperature up to the middle teens.  
 

The scrub has now leafed up nicely and the net rides are looking much better, although some of Sea Buckthorn may need a few months to regenerate some new growth after cutting.  The local breeding birds are now remaining very quiet and there wasn't much of interest.  The best bird of the day was a female Cuckoo that zipped by mid morning, pursued by an army of Meadow Pipits.  The local Otter was fishing close to the shore for much of the morning and later joined by a Grey Seal.  The first Small Heath butterfly of the year, was on the wing, along with multiple Green-veined White and Speckled Wood.

Meadow Pipit

The catching was again slow and you would be excused for thinking that it was late autumn/winter, with a complete lack of warblers.  My optimism soon dissolved but the prospect of something nice always keeps you going.  The best catch was the first Skylark of the year, caught in the 3 shelved gorse net.  Another 2 new Blackbirds takes the total to 38 in 7 months.  The Meadow Pipits in the close vicinity of the gorse scrub seemed very active, with 5 birds ending up in nets.    

Skylark

 

 



Skylark brood patch

Ringing Totals 23/05/2015

                                        New         Retrap

Blackbird                          2                 1         

Bullfinch                           1                 2   

Chaffinch                                             1

Dunnock                           2                 2              

Lesser Redpoll                 1        

Meadow Pipit                   3                 2

Skylark                             1

Song Thrush                     1

Wren                                                    1                                    

Total                                11                9                

     


I had noted a pair of Grey Wagtails feeding along the river by the house so I thought I'd take a look for the nest on the near by stream.  They tend to nest on the same large rock face every year, although I was unable to locate the nest this time, but, going by the adults, I was close.  I had erected a net just downstream and managed to catch the female.  The Dipper nest is now empty and presumably they have fledged but I didn't see any of the family group about.

Grey Wagtail

 

 

I also visited the 30 (now 29, one missing) nest boxes in Castleroe Wood, late Saturday afternoon. The occupancy was very disappointing with only 7 boxes (plus one failed nest of 4 GT chicks) being used, compared to 21/22 last year.  Those that were occupied were dominated by Great Tits, with 6 nests and Blue Tits taking up residence in the other.  As well as low numbers, the birds are also late, with only two broods of ringable size and three nests still with eggs.  I ringed the two clutches of Great Tits of suitable size, one of 7 and the other of 3.

 

  

Copeland Bird Observatory 15th - 17th May

Steve and I headed out on a ringing trip to Copeland Bird Observatory for the weekend (15-17/05/2015) in the hopes of catching a few spring migrants.  The Observatory is located on Lighthouse Island which is part of the Copeland Islands, off the County Down coast in the Irish Sea.
A group of 5 of us arrived on the Island on Friday evening and Steve and I set about setting and furling nets and opening three of the Heligoland traps and the Crow trap.

Saturday morning @ CBO

The weather over the weekend wasn't ideal with constant west winds blowing at around 20mph but we did manage to avoid much of the rain and had some nice sunny weather.  The conditions weren't exactly fantastic for catching birds but the east side of the island remained fairly sheltered.  The winds on Sunday morning switched to South-west for a few hours, which are thought to be the best direction for bringing migrants to the island in spring and they did bring us a handful of nice birds.

                         Spotted Flycatcher           © RD

Breeding is in full swing on the island with large numbers of Eider, Black Guillemot, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull and Lesser-black Backed Gull sitting on eggs.  We also found the nests of Oystercatcher and Blackbird with eggs and seen two Eider chicks.  The Fulmars were sitting on the cliff ledges and a pair of Rock pipits were bobbing about close by.  The pair of Starlings in the workshop were busy feeding chicks and the Swallows have been checking out the usual nests.  We caught and ringed two Swallows on the Friday evening, who had flown into the Ringing Laboratory looking for nesting sites.  Many of the other resident breeders remained inconspicuous, so may be sitting on eggs e.g. female Reed Buntings, Shelduck, Stock Doves.  The Arctic terns have started to arrive back with c180 birds but there are plenty more to come and set about to breeding.  We also had 4 Puffins knocking about, with 2 sitting among the decoys and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers on the sound between Lighthouse Island and Mew Island.    

                            Blackbirds                   © RD

In terms of passerine migrants (except Swallows) the Island appeared to be devoid of any birds on Friday evening and Saturday morning between 5-9am.  Birds then started to appear with a Spotted Flycatcher, a Blackcap and a Chiffchaff feeding in one tree in Bluebell Gully.  The ringing then picked up and we caught a Spotted Flycatcher, which is a first for me and a couple of Chiffchaff and a Whitethroat.  These birds appeared just in time to show a group of 20+ people who had arrived by boat on a guided island tour.  The baited crow trap then produced some birds with 5 Jackdaws and a Magpie inside, although 2 of the Jackdaw and the Magpie managed to slip out when extracting them.  Steve also caught a Pied Wagtail in a Potters trap, so it was a busy couple of hours but it quietened down after midday.  Swallows were the only obvious persistent migrant, with birds flitting through much of the day with 9 ringed and a single House Martin, of which 4/5 passed through. 



              Whitethroat                       © RD

On Sunday the conditions between 6-8am were ideal with full cloud cover and force 3 winds coming from the south west.  The first two net rounds caught the majority of the days birds, with the second round producing a Spotted Flycatcher in 'Heli trap', a Chiffchaff from the 'Garden net' and the 'Withy net' was the best of the lot with 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Blackcap and a Reed Bunting.  We picked up a few more birds through the rest of the morning but the wind had picked up and switched back to a westerly and many of the migrants seemed to have moved on.

                   Spotted Flycatchers           © RD

All in all it was a really good weekend particularly because I caught up with my target species for the year - Spotted Flycatcher and caught another new species in the form of an Eider duck.  Steve also did well with 4 new species ringed - Spotted Flycatcher, Jackdaw, Whitethroat and House Martin, taking him past 40 species in preparation for his C permit application.
Another few trips will be arranged for autumn migration and perhaps a trip in mid summer to work on the Manx Shearwaters and other breeding birds.

You can check out more information about Copeland Bird Observatory on the link to the right of this page and follow the updates from the island on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/copelandbirdobservatory?fref=ts 

                      Eider             © RD

Ringing Totals 15-17/05/2015

 

                                        New         Retrap

 

Blackbird                                            4

Blackcap                           3

Chiffchaff                          4

Eider                                 1

House Martin                    1

Jackdaw                            1

Pied Wagtail                                       2                         

Reed Bunting                   1                3

Spotted Flycatcher         4

Swallow                            14 

Whitethroat                       1                            

Wren                                 3                3             

Total                                35               11  

Portstewart Strand 13/05/2015

The conditions this morning were near perfect (calm/dry/dull), although the light winds were of the northerly kind.  I was on site from 05.30 and set East ride, the gorse nets and the first 18 metre net of West ride (the best net), departing the site at 11.00. 

  Bullfinch

The site seemed quiet early on with the only noticeable difference being more singing Blackcaps.  As the morning went on things picked up a little with a couple of Swifts flying over, 7 Whimbrel on the estuary and a short appearance of a male Cuckoo late morning.  The first couple of Sedge Warblers started singing around 10am and there are at least four territories, although they are in the open scrub away from the nets rides.  One of the local Otters is out everyday at the moment and spends most of the morning fishing in the open, giving some great views. 

Song Thrush

The catch started well with 18 of the birds processed before 8am, 9 of those coming in the first round.  It slowed down after that finishing with 27 birds processed, of which, 16 were new.  The site is pretty prolific for Bullfinches with the new bird today taking the total to 28 since the 16th of September.  I also caught another smart male Reed Bunting today, which shows an even more complete black hood, compared to last weeks. 

Reed Bunting

Ringing Totals 13/05/2015

 

                                        New         Retrap

 

Blackbird                          2                 3

Blackcap                           2

Bullfinch                           1                 1                 

Chaffinch                          1

Dunnock                           1                 1

Goldfinch                          2                                      

Linnet                                                   1

Meadow Pipit                   1

Reed Bunting                   1                

Song Thrush                     1                                                                              

Willow Warbler                 3                  2                  

Wren                                1                  3             

Total                              16                 11                

In terms of the patch year list I have added three new species over recent days.  I picked up my first Swift on the 11th, a Merlin on the 12th and then todays Cuckoo.  The later two are both new species to the patch for me. 

Steve and I are heading back over to Copeland Bird Observatory this weekend and again full of optimism - a Spotted Flycatcher would be nice!  The forecast is once again looking windy and wet at times but the Island often gets better weather than the mainland, so fingers crossed.  It will be my first trip as ringing duty officer, so a new species would be a nice way to mark the occasion.