Copeland Bird Observatory 22-24 April

Steve and I headed out to Copeland Bird Observatory for our first visit of the season along with three others.  The forecast had put the trip in doubt with the strong northerly winds potentially making the crossing dangerous but thankfully it went ahead, with just a bit rock and bounce on the way over.  The cold strong arctic winds suggested that there would be very little on the move, so we weren't expecting much bird wise.  The forecast did prove true and we had strong winds throughout with just two quieter spells early on Saturday and Sunday mornings but at least it stayed sunny!

Sunrise over Mew Island

We were pleasantly surprised with the birds on offer with one of the first birds spotted being a Long-eared Owl, which scared the life out of Steve as it flushed from the bracken as he walked past.  The LEO resurfaced the next morning around 30 seconds after a ringtail Hen Harrier floated past.  A total of 52 species were recorded with corvids being the main movers with c80 Hooded Crows, 5 Carrion Crow, c18 Jackdaw, 1 Rook and the resident pair of Ravens and Magpies.  Passerine migrants were slim on the ground with a couple of Willow Warblers, a quick sighting of a Wheatear, a Song Thrush, a few Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins plus a few Meadow Pipits and some mixed finches in Lesser Redpoll, Linnet and Goldfinch.  Sandwich Tern, mixed auks and Whimbrel were the only obvious migrants at sea.  

Jackdaw

With the winds coming from the north/north west, we focused the nets on the more sheltered east and south of the island and used the four Heligoland traps and the Crow Trap.  We got up at 05.30 on both Saturday and Sunday mornings and opened up the nets and traps with the first birds hitting the nets after 7am. 

Rock Pipit

Catching was pretty slow and died off around 10am.  The best bit of action was the capture of 6 Linnets together in the Gully Trap, although another 6 managed to fly out the front on approach.  The second British Goldfinch control in as many weeks at the Obs was nice and will probably be birds ringed in the last year because they were both Z sequences. 

CBO ringing totals 23-24/04/2016

                                  New       Retraps          

Blackbird                                    4                                                  

Goldfinch                    7              1 (control)                                                                     

Jackdaw                      1

Lesser Redpoll           3             

Linnet                          8                               

Reed Bunting             2               2                          

Robin                                           1

Rock Pipit                   2               1

Song Thrush              1

Willow Warbler          2                

Wren                                            1

                   

Total                          26              10          

The breeding season on the island has begun with the first Greylag goslings out, the Herring/Lesser black-backed Gulls on eggs, Jackdaws nesting in the buildings, a hatched Woodpigeon egg and a Swallow seen collecting mud.  The other birds have paired up, such as the Black Guillemots, Eiders and Reed Buntings plus the first couple of Puffins have been sitting on the water below the new colony.   

One of 35 odd pairs of Black Guillemots on the Observatory Island

Our next trip is planned for the weekend of the 13th to 15th of May, so hopefully the weather is a little kinder.  There are still places left over the coming months if anyone would like to stay at the observatory, plus a number of day trips coming up - check out http://www.thecbo.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/copelandbirdobservatory/?fref=ts for more information.   


On Friday morning Ken and Tyrone held a ringing session in Kens garden and caught a very nice mix of 14 different species, including the first Blackcaps of the year.  The weather was sunny, calm and pleasantly warm.  The nets were focused around the feeders with an extra net set on the woodland edge.

Willow Warbler

The feeders are still attracting a number of finches including Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Lesser Redpoll and boosted the number of birds caught.  The exterior net also helped catch species not often caught around the feeders including the Goldcrest and Willow Warbler.  A total of 38 birds were processed and show a mix of general winter and summer birds. 

Kens Garden  22/04/2016                                  
                                  Processed            

Blackcap                          3

Blue Tit                            2

Chaffinch                         8

Coal Tit                            1

Dunnock                           2                                                                  

Goldcrest                          1

Goldfinch                         5                                                                      

Great Tit                           2

House Sparrow                1

Lesser Redpoll                 5            

Long-tailed Tit                 4                           

Robin                               1                      

Willow Warbler                1          

Wren                                2  

                   

Total                               38                 

John had a quieter session at the River Site on Saturday morning with a handful of birds but he also caught his first Blackcap of the year and caught a returning Willow Warbler that had been ringed at the site in the previous year. 

Sunday 17th of April

This morning we were out bright an early for the next session at Portstewart Strand.  John and I were joined by a new trainee ringer from County Donegal who managed to arrive shortly after 6am after departing the house at 04.15 - good to see some commitment!  The weather was settled to start with good cloud cover but it broke up through the morning leaving fairly sunny conditions.  The wind picked up to 20+ mph from the west late morning and ended the session (including one net full of sticks and brambles which took 15 minutes to clear).    
Steve was out ringing by himself in a site near Omagh out in the west. 

Lesser Redpoll

The male Willow Warblers are now back in force at PSS with 25+ singing males scattered throughout the scrub.  Four birds were captured including two more returning birds originally ringed in April last year. The only other notable change in birds were a single Swallow, an increase in Lesser Redpolls and Black-tailed Godwits plus the absence of Black-headed Gulls.
A total of 24 birds were processed, ten of those new, the best bird was a new male Reed Bunting.
Steve caught nine new birds with three Siskin, five Goldfinch and one Willow Warbler. 


Combined ringing totals 17/04/2016
                                  New       Retraps          

Blackbird                                    3      

Chaffinch                    1               2

Dunnock                     1               3                                                    

Goldfinch                    5                                                                      

Lesser Redpoll           4               1

Linnet                                          1               

Reed Bunting             1                          

Robin                          1               2         

Siskin                          3

Willow Warbler           3              2                      

Total                          19              14          

Reed Bunting

On Saturday morning I made a quick visit to the Bird Hide in the Bann Estuary and picked up a new colour ringed Black-tailed Godwit, as seen below and also the first few Whimbrel of the year with ten birds.

Colour ringed Black-tailed Godwit

9th of April

Three of us were out on Saturday morning at three different sites.  Steve was ringing in the west near Gortin, John at the University River Site and myself at Portstewart Strand.
Up on the north coast, it was a very cold start at -1°C, with the net guys frozen solid, frozen puddles and really cold metal mist nets poles, which can be almost painful to work with!  The skies remained clear all morning with glorious sunshine and blue skies, with the temperature rising 9°C by 10am.  The conditions were a little kinder for mist netting in Gortin with a little bit of cloud cover.

Willow Warbler

It was apparent that the first wave of Willow Warblers arrived through the week with 8+ singing males around 'East Ride' at Portstewart Strand and a few at the River Site.  John caught two new birds and I managed only a single returning bird, originally ringed on the 13th of April last year.

As you can see from the totals it was a very quiet morning for all three of us with 29 birds combined - 10 from PSS, 11 at Gortin and 8 at the Uni.  There was very little movement around the nets with the birds busy singing and staking out territories.


Combined ringing totals 09/04/2016

                                  New       Retraps          

Blackbird                                    4      

Chaffinch                   3

Coal Tit                       4        

Dunnock                     1               2                                                    

Goldfinch                   1                                                                      

Great Tit                     2               1                                       

Robin                          4         

Willow Warbler          2              1         

Wren                           3               1              

Total                          20                9          

 

Chaffinch

 

Over the weekend I added three patch ticks for the year at the Bann Estuary, raising the total up to 89 species.  The new ticks included the Willow Warblers at Portstewart Strand, 12 Sand Martins at the colony across the river at Grangemore, plus a single Swallow. 

 

Check out the link below for updates on the Patchwork Challenge across Ireland:

http://patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/coastal-ireland-minileague-february-2016.html

 

On another note, the blog has now passed the 5000 views mark and still climbing! 

 

A Change in the Birds

The change in the birds has finally arrived with five new additions to the year list at Portstewart Strand this morning.  A Chiffchaff was the first to appear, with a second unidentified Phylloscopus Warbler, probably another Chiff.  The other new birds included two Sandwich Tern, one Wheatear, one Iceland Gull and a Greenshank.  Lesser Redpoll and Black-tailed Godwit numbers have also risen, including a new colour ringed Bla-wit.

Chiffchaff

The ringing was a little slow and again the feeders were very important, accounting for all eleven finches. 

Ringing Totals - PSS 02/04/2016                                     
                                      
                                      New       Retraps          

Blackbird                        1      

Chaffinch                        1       

Chiffchaff                       1

Dunnock                                          1

Goldcrest                        1               2             

Goldfinch                        6

Lesser Redpoll                2              1                                                                 

Linnet                              1                                                           

Robin                               1    

                            

Total                                13              4        

 

Dunnock

 

As mentioned before, there were five additions to the year list for the patch on Saturday morning, with the total now at 86 species. 

 

Rock Pipit

 

On Sunday morning I headed up the coast in the hopes of catching some Rock Pipits and Wheatears.  I started off using three double/triple shelf nets and a single spring trap in a small bay, where lots of decomposing kelp gathers.  The nets didn't stay up long as the rain began and the wind seemed to be coming from all directions, manipulated by the rugged coastline. I did manage to catch one Rock Pipit before this.  The two Wheatears present weren't having any of it and departed after the first pass.  After the nets came down, I continued with the spring trap, baited with meal worms, for a little longer and caught a further two Rock Pipits.  There were c45 birds knocking around different parts of the bay, so it may be worth another visit.   

 

 

Other birds around included 29 Eider, a pair of breeding Ravens in a driftwood nest, Kittiwakes and Fulmars on the cliffs, two Sand Martin, one singing Chiffchaff and a few Gannets off shore.