2021 Season and Ringing Totals

Despite the inactivity on the blog, the nets were up and open with regularity throughout the autumn and into early winter. Covid restrictions had an impact on the early season ringing and have resulted in lower totals, as below. There have also some changes to the group with John Clarke retiring from ringing after c20 years and Ken taking a temporary step back, but keen to continue again in 2022. On the plus side, Dean Jones has returned to the North Coast following a number of years working as the Warden on Lundy Island, Devon, where he was observing the likes of the Sulphur-bellied Warbler and ringing Wrynecks, Subalpine Warblers etc; birds which we can only dream of up here. David Stirling has achieved his C permit and the two are now set up with their own equipment and rings and ready for action. Steve Fyffe has advanced to his A/Supervisor permit. I have put the ringing on ice so far this year following the birth of my first child in mid-January but I hope to get back into action in spring, although at a reduced level. 

Regular updates continue on Twitter @CausewayBirds. 

Activity was focused once again on the Inch Island Wildfowl Reserve in County Donegal for the Sandwich Tern colour ringing project, the Bann Estuary for breeding/migrating/wintering passerines, Lough Foyle for waders and winter farmland birds, Lough Neagh for breeding/migrating warblers, and the new upland site, referenced in the post below, for breeding birds. I have also marked Portmore Lough below (triangle to the east of Lough Neagh) which will be the site of a trail Constant Effort Site (CES) led by Steve in 2022. 

A total of 1549 birds were ringed of 51 species and a further 105 birds retrapped or controlled. 

There were no rare or scarce birds ringed at the migration sites but the two Whinchats were a new species for the group. 

We were able to get out to the local woods to locate multiple pairs of breeding Long-eared Owls but did not have any opportunities to ring them. One Long-eared Owl did make an appearance at our farmland bird site on the shores of Lough Foyle. No sign of any of the local Barn Owls just yet though.

Spotted Flycatcher was another that we seldom ring, and this one was caught randomly on an upland bog, presumably on passage. 

The upland bog site produced a nice range of breeding birds including the Whinchats, Spotted Flycatcher, Jay and two Cuckoos. A Red Grouse managed to escape the mist net it bounced into and would have been a very rare catch. 

This putative Siberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita tristis) trapped in October at Portstewart Strand should also be a new sub-species for the group and we are awaiting the DNA sequencing to confirm or otherwise. 

Farmland bird numbers were low, having missed any ringing from Jan-Apr, but four Yellowhammers at the end of the year added a splash of colour. There were also five plus Bramblings present at the site but none caught. 

Wader ringing was very limited with one attempt lamping at both Lough Foyle and the Bann Estuary producing just eight Dunlin and eight Redshank. This will undoubtedly be improved in 2022.

The reedbeds along the west shore of Lough Neagh were again very productive with 552 new birds across five sessions, including 365 Sedge and 86 Reed Warblers. Recoveries included a Blackcap to County Roscommon 3 years later, a Sedge Warbler to Wales, one Sedge from Dorset and two local movements along the Lough Neagh shore. 

It was our third best year for Willow Warblers with 73 new, thanks to the 41 ringed at the upland bog. This will hopefully increase our chances of our first recovery of this species 

We haven't caught many Lesser Redpolls in recent years in the absence of garden feeder ringing so the 40 caught at the upland bog boosted numbers. A Dutch redpoll ringed in October 2020 at Heisteeg, Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, was a nice catch. A second recovery was also received from Yorkshire, England, originally ringed in November 2020. 

Four Wheatears were nice, all caught in mist nests in scrub. Three of these were Greenland Wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa). The four matches the total in 2014 (4 pulli) and just the 9th-12th ringed by the group. 

Ken continued his nest box studies on Blue and Great Tits, although now studying around 10% of his former very large project at the Ulster University campus. Just two visits were made to catch Storm Petrels near Portstewart with 48 caught in total. 

Further recoveries included a Sedge Warbler and Sand Martin to the Loire-Atlantique area of western France and some more UK & Ireland Storm Petrel movements. The colour ringed Sandwich Terns were again appearing in the UK and South Africa and will be covered at another time. There were plenty of colour ring sightings including Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Sandwich Tern, Whooper Swan and Brent Goose - I may cover our recoveries in another post which now top 400. 

A very quick round up of the year but hopefully the updates will be a little more forthcoming in 2022.

Blanket Bog Ringing in the Sperrins

As a bit of a change of scene and birds, I've set up up a new site in an area of cut over blanket bog with succeeding willow scrub. I regularly record quite a few warblers on site plus the likes of Cuckoo, Whinchat, Red Grouse and Kestrel but it is very exposed high up in the Sperrin Mountains. I had been eyeing up the site in 2020 but by the time I got permissions organised, the opportunity had passed.

The first visit was on the 25th April with John Clarke in fine conditions. We were welcomed to the site with five very animated Cuckoos, with what appeared to be one pair and 3 single males all trying to outdo each other.

We set up two net sets specifically to catch the Cuckoos... and although we caught 2, they were caught in fine mesh nets deeper in the scrub set for the smaller passerines. We also caught a Grasshopper Warbler, 6 Willow Warblers, 4 Redpolls inc. British control (from South Yorkshire), a Reed Bunting and a surprise Jay given the habitat. The morning was almost topped off with a Red Grouse which stuck in the bottom shelf, but on approach it flipped out leaving a big hole in the North Ron superfine net. The first Whinchat of the year made an appearance also.

On the 1st May I returned to Portstewart Strand on the hunt for migrants.  The catch included the first Sedge Warbler & Blackcap of the year, another Grasshoper Warbler & Wheatear (Greenland), 4 Willow Warblers and 12 resident birds. 

The following day we tested out another bog for Cuckoo's but the resident male had other ideas & got out of the net 3 times! There was a small catch of 9 birds but it did include a Dutch ringed Lesser Redpoll.

Back in Action - early April 2021

The Covid-19 Pandemic halted play again at the turn of the year meaning that ringing outside of our properties was not possible, until the restrictions eased on the 4th of April.

Having not ringed any birds since the 12th of December, I was keen to get out on the first chance I got. The forecast on the 11th of April looked fine, so I headed for the dunes at Portstewart Strand to kick off the season. The weather wasn't playing ball and it decided to snow on route, leading to a stalled start. I waited a while and eventually opened two nets through the gorse scrub along the shore. In the cool, dull conditions it was quiet and just five birds were caught - a Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Blackbird and a retrap Blackbird and Wren. The ominous dark clouds started to build at 8am, so the nets were taken down promptly, just before a heavy and prolonged snow shower set in.

The following Saturday I was back down along the estuary shore on a dry morning but in slightly breezy conditions. Three nets were erected in sheltered spots with a catch of 10 birds including the first migrants of the year with 3 Willow Warblers. 

A Short-eared Owl being mobbed by the gulls (patch tick), a Grasshopper Warbler and 3 Tufted Duck were new for year patch list. I also undertook the annual spring clean along the shore after the winter floods.

On the 24th April, I returned to Portstewart Strand and was again struggling with breezy conditions.  The easterly winds delivered some migrants early doors with my first Whitethroat of the year, 2 Greenland Wheatears, 4 Willow Warblers, 2 LRedpolls + 9 other birds before packing up at 9am. I also sighted an Otter & my first GVW butterflies of year.

Waders and Farmland Birds

With the wind whipping up overnight my plan to mist net some owls at my farmland bird winter ringing site yesterday morning (25th October) went out the window so I decided to take a spin around the turf lawns along Lough Foyle instead to try for some waders.

On arrival @ 05.45 there was very little about and the sky was starting to break in the east. I switched on the ‘Killer Redshank’ call and a few birds started to appear. I dazzled a couple of Dunlin and a Jack Snipe before a Little Stint dropped in. It gave me the run around for five minutes and it was getting very bright but I tried standing still beside the tape and it walked right up to me! 

Little Stint

This was the first Little Stint ringed in Northern Ireland since at least 1977, possibly the second ever following one at Copeland Bird Observatory in 1963. Jack Snipe are also irregularly ringed with this one being just the 26th ringed since 1977 in Northern Ireland. 

Jack Snipe

The previous visit with mist nets & dazzling on the 21st September produced 25 Dunlin, 1 Ringed Plover & 1 Redshank. 

Ringed Plover

After the waders I nipped over to our Myroe farmland bird site to open up the net rides for the winter. There were lots of thrushes buzzing through the hedgerows which were loaded with berries but it was too windy for nets along there. The lure of the site are the heaps of dumped seed from local farmers which attracts a nice range of species later in the winter & a disgusting number of 🐀 rats🐀 but I’m hoping these might attract birds of prey.

With good numbers around I got a little distracted and put up 2 sheltered nets, once the rides were cleared and caught 49 new & 1 retrap.

Blackbird -  1

Blue Tit - 7

Chaffinch -  4

Dunnock -  1

Great Tit -  2 (1)

Grey Wagtail -  1

Lesser Redpoll - 2

Linnet  - 1

Pied Wagtail - 1

Robin - 4

Tree Sparrow - 24

Wren - 1

Tree Sparrow

The two wagtail species were a bit of a surprise but there is a sheugh just beside one of the nets and may add another dimension to ringing at the site. The 24 Tree Sparrows was our largest catch yet and I would estimate there were around 100 present. One of three Buzzards present managed to fly through a net and leave a big hole.

I then received a text from Theo Campbell to say that a Cattle Egret was back on my home turf of the Bann Estuary, so a rapid take down was executed & I was watching the bird within 30 mins. This was the 233rd bird species ever recorded in the Bann Estuary & a lifer for me.

All in all a very productive morning and a promising start to the winter ringing.

I will back track with some updates from the years ringing... but it may take a while!

Late December at Castlerock 2019

I've just noticed I didn't post this one - here it 10 months later

With a dodgy forecast mid-morning on the 7th and nobody else keen to head out, I opted to go for a shorter early morning session to try and catch some more Snipe and the Jack Snipe that keep have eluded me thus far. I set up a six net 'V' in the corner of the marsh before first light and waited for the Snipe to return from their nocturnal foraging in the fields. While I was there I stuck up a wader net along the shore hoping that some of the Sanderling might bundle in under darkness.  

Kingfisher

The wader net was a waste of time with a big falling tide, the net was soon well away from the waters edge and didn't come close to catching anything. I did come close to catching a few Snipe on the shore with my torch but without a landing net, it was tough - one bird I had managed to get down on one knee beside it but it flew off when my hand was within 30cm.

Sparrowhawk

The catch of Snipe was poor with just a single bird and a Reed Bunting. When walking through the marsh it was clear that there certainly weren't any great numbers around with just 6/7. I've counted up to 69 Common Snipe and 5 Jack Snipe in this marsh so hopefully numbers will climb as the winter goes on.

Snipe

The weather held up and was actually quite nice all morning so I left the nets a little longer to see if anything else was around. On approach to the net I noticed a dart of blue and a bird of prey in pursuit on the inside of the 'V'. The Kingfisher veered left and was caught while the female Sparrowhawk continued to where she bounced out of one net and into the other at the tip of the 'V'. I was able to run and catch her before she slipped out of this one too. Not your regular duo to be caught in a net!

The Snipe marsh

The feeding station amongst the scrub at Castlerock has really been bringing in the birds with counts of over 100 birds present on different occasions with flocks of up to 55+ Greenfinch, dozens of Goldfinches, dozens of Linnets and a few other visitors. Chaffinch numbers still remain very low with just two or three individuals and the Fieldfare are still absent with just two present on the last visit.

The feeding station

On the 15th with yet another dodgy forecast, I waited until the rain finished around 8am before I headed over to the site. The weather was then very sunny and bright but still chilly. The catch was very slow with only a handful of birds in the 3 nets over the first couple of hours. The bright sun then moved around the horizon and the nets were finally shaded and birds began to enter the nets around the feeders. I was short on time so had to pack up but the birds were very active and a big catch was on the cards if I had kept the nets open. In the end I caught 29 new birds and 2 retraps, including 22 Greenfinch.

Castlerock Golf Club -  7th December - 15th December 2019

                         New      Retrap

Blackbird           1

Blue Tit             

Bullfinch            2        

Chaffinch          1

Dunnock           

Goldfinch          3             1

Greenfinch       22

Kingfisher         1

Linnet               

Reed Bunting    1

Robin                 

Snipe                 1     

Song Thrush      

Sparrowhawk    1

Wren                                1

Total                                         

The Greenfinch numbers are very pleasing and the catch of 22 on the 15th marks our largest ever single day catch. By the looks of it on social media, the Greenfinch has had a bumper year across the UK after decades of decline - fingers crossed.

Greenfinch

Lough Neagh Ringing Recoveries/Controls

We've taken the step to shift to Google MyMaps which allows the production of interactive control maps where you can zoom in/out and click on each of the controls/recoveries for details.

Follow the link below to check out map number one which includes the acro warbler controls from our Lough Neagh Ringing site. 

 https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1L-VSB3VVYy8uglNh1kh7d6TT3tmPt_o7&usp=sharing

The controls tab will be updated in the coming months.... and perhaps some actual blog posts! 

Sandwich Tern Colour Ringing Donegal 2020

In June 2019 we began our Sandwich Tern colour ringing project with the first cohort of 30 ringed. In the first autumn (2019) we got six recoveries of five birds:
Three travelled the Ayrshire coast of Scotland (one bird was recorded at two sites)
One travelled to Rhos Point, Conwy, Wales
One travelled to County Wexford

 

As Sandwich Terns do not reach sexual maturity until 3-4 years old, we don't expect to see the first returning birds back until 2022 but it will be interesting if any non-breeding birds return sooner.

 

Sandwich Tern 569 ringed on 15th June 2020

The plan for this year (2020) was to really focus on colour ringing only and not place any focus on metal ringing birds. To avoid excess disturbance on the islet which supports a few thousand breeding birds (Sandwich Tern, Black-headed Gull, Common Tern, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Mallard) we are limited to an hours visit to land and depart. Unfortunately, as everywhere, the Covid-19 pandemic scuppered plans with tight lockdown restrictions meaning travel to Donegal and bird ringing was not permissible until June. The visit took place on June 15th but with social distancing measures in place, only two people were present, myself and Martin the NPWS Ranger. With very low water levels in the lagoon we had a new mode of transport with two paddleboards which worked really well. 39 well developed chicks were ringed 531-570 which now means we have 69 Sandwich Terns bearing colour rings.

 

We are very keen for your sightings so if you see any of our birds, please send the sightings to Richard.Donaghey89(at)gmail.com

 

All the colour ringed Sandwich Terns are marked at the Inch Island Wildfowl Reserve on a small islet in the centre of the man-made lagoon. The site is owned and managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service who enable access to the islet and we are thankful for their purchase of the BTO metal rings and colour rings.

2019 Bann Estuary Bird and Ringing Report

The 2019 Bann Estuary Bird and Ringing Report is now available to read.

To check it out, follow the link below or click on the 2019 report link at the top of the side bar (right).

https://1drv.ms/b/s!ApJre-YC-2Pry2q2eGHecsxmrH6T

Enjoy!

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                

Return to Lough Neagh - 2019

After the great success of our Lough Neagh ringing site in recent years we were very keen to get back on the shore and open the nets. Making best use of the bank holiday weekend and a good weather, we decided to go for the first visit on Saturday 13th of July. John and I were short on helpers and lost three people the day before but we were joined by two fairly new trainees in Abbie and Rich K.

Sedge Warbler

In the last few years, the first rush of birds is usually underway as we are setting the nets, so we decided that an earlier start was needed. We set off form Coleraine at 04.30am, arriving at the parking area around 05.30am, on site 30 mins later after the walk in with the gear and then a further 30 minutes to get the 7 nets (run of 4 & 2) opened.

The catch was another busy one with 119 new birds including another 76 new Sedge Warblers, 10 more Reed Warblers and our first two Grasshopper Warblers for the site.

                                      New         Retrap
Blackcap                          3
Grasshopper Warbler      2
Reed Bunting                  7                1
Reed Warbler                 10
Robin                              1
Sedge Warbler               76               1
Willow Warbler            19
Wren                               1

Total                              119              2     

                                                                         Reed Bunting

Visit two took place a few weeks later on the 27th of July. We had planned for this morning with a team of 11 assembled but the weather changed & we had to bring it a day forward, leaving it with just myself, Steve, Abbie and also Joe, who had travelled all the way from Donegal.

As usual with the site, the onslaught of birds began at once and two nets were closed early and further two furled temporarily. The birds die off completely by 10 am.

The result was a big haul of 220 new birds which included 20 Reed Warblers, surely an Irish daily record. The 167 Sedge Warblers ought to be up there for a record catch also.

            

                                       New         Retrap
Blackcap                          15
Chiffchaff                         2
Dunnock                          3
Grasshopper Warbler      1
Reed Bunting                  3
Reed Warbler                 20
Robin                              4
Sedge Warbler              167              
Willow Warbler            19
Wren                               1

Total                              119                  

We didn't catch any retraps and given that we have previously ringed 782 birds in 6 visits here, the birds are clearly moving through the site

Yet again we managed just the three visits despite all our hopes and talk! Visit three took place on the 25th of August where we had a good team assembled with John, Ken, Jim Mc, Abbie, Rich K, James O and Nathan giving us a team of eight. With extra hands we increased the nets and covered four net sites with nine nets. It was a bright hot day which seemed to effect the birds. It was the first time at Blackers Rock that we haven't had a big movement of birds early doors and instead there was a steady trickle right through, until we took down the nets. There were much fewer birds seen and heard but there were still lots skulking amongst the reeds. We were only really catching birds in the shaded parts of the nets, often just a few feet on some.
It was another healthy catch of 154 new birds, a BTO control Sedge Warbler and a single retrap Blackcap, although we would have liked 300+!

                                       New         Retrap
Blackcap                          6                1
Blue Tit                        7
Chiffchaff                        3
Goldcrest                         1
Grasshopper Warbler      1
Reed Bunting                  12
Reed Warbler                 25
Robin                              7
Sedge Warbler              80
Swallow                         3              
Willow Warbler            11
Wren                              2

Total                              154                  

I've totted up the totals and put them in the table below. It was somewhat similar to last year in that the middle visit (27th July) produced the biggest numbers with more Sedge Warblers and the final visit (25th August) produced the greatest species diversity. 491 new birds compared to 2018's 464.

Sedge Warbler - 323 (1 BTO control, 1 retrap)

Reed Warbler - 55

Willow Warbler - 34

Blackcap - 24 (1 retrap)

Reed Bunting - 22 (1 retrap)

Blue Tit - 7

Robin - 6

Chiffchaff - 5

Grasshopper Warbler - 4

Wren - 4

Swallow - 3

Dunnock -3

Goldcrest -1

Total - 491 new birds

Although we had a great team of 8 for visit three, the first two visits (visit 1 - 13th July) were limited by only having four people present, particularly on visit 2 with two trainees, a C and A dealing with 220 birds which could have been much more. Weather was again difficult and there was a full month between the 2nd and 3rd visits and it twice put off plans of ringing on two consecutive days.

Reed Warbler numbers again peaked at the end of August, maybe they are even better in early September? The catches on the 27th July and 25th August were each record daily catches for Northern Ireland, probably Ireland also. The guys at Traad Point at the north of the Lough have caught 58 Reed Warblers throughout the c10 CES visits so a bumper year for Reed Warbler in the north.

Willow Warbler numbers were almost double this year while Reed Bunting numbers were quite a bit lower after the exceptional catch of 53 new birds on the 11th of August last year. Sedge numbers seemed like they might be a little lower this year after visit one but we caught a record catch of 167 on the 2nd visit, 70 more than our next best days catch.

Just the one control in the form of a Sedge Warbler bearing a BTO ring - it hadn't travelled far, having been ringed at Traad Point CES 10 miles up the shore but pleasing all the same as its our first exchange of birds.

No doubt we will get anther 2-3+ recoveries of birds heading south or on the way back north next spring. We only caught two inter-year retraps and one same year retrap, so we are still missing much of the local breeding population.

Bigger and better next year! (if the Irish weekend weather allows it).