Ringing - News

Ringing News and BLOG for the current month Maintained by Kevin Sayer

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BTO Out of Africa Appeal

Wood Warbler Photo Jez Blackburn It is getting increasingly difficult to spot a flycatcher, notice a Nightingale, or catch a glimpse of a Cuckoo. Huge numbers of our African migrants have already disappeared. The BTO Out of Africa research aims to find out why. Click here for full details.

 

July 28
Another busy morning at the HHC resulted in a ton-up of birds. The usual suspects were all trapped with the oddity being a Garden Warbler (see photo below). We don't normally see these birds until September so we must assume this bird has bred locally - possibly in the Avon valley or New Forest. The total of 111 birds included:- 58 Sedge Warblers,25 Reed Warblers,4 Wrens,3 Blackcaps,2 Blue Tits,1 Cetti's Warbler,5 Whitethroats,1 Song Thrush,5 Willow Warblers,2 Chiffchaffs,2 Reed Buntings,1 Greenfinch,1 Garden Warbler and 1 Robin. Thanks to Louise,Andrew,Kathryn and Ed for their help today.


Juvenile Garden Warbler HHC July 2010 Kevin Sayer

July 24
The Autumn migration, for acros at least, now appears to be in full swing. With only 3 nets open this morning a very healthy number of birds were trapped, 85 in all. These included 47 Sedge Warblers,23 Reed Warblers,4 Reed Buntings,2 Chiffchaffs,2 Whitethroats,3 Blackcaps,2 Greenfinches,1 Dunnock and a Great Tit. Thanks to Susan and Ed for their help.

July 20
Taking advantage of our newly-cut net-rides in the HHC Reedbed we caught a very healthy 118 birds today. Nothing unusual except it was good to see so many juvenile Reed Buntings around - yet another good breeding season for them. Most of the acros had little or no fat reserves except for one chubby adult Sedge Warbler which had a fat score of 6 (out of 8). This indicates the majority of the birds were probably local breeders with the main influx of migrants yet to come through. The totals were:- Sedge Warbler 33,Reed Warbler 40,Reed Bunting 18,Whitethroat 5,Chiffchaff 3,Cetti's Warbler 1,Song Thrush 1,Wren 2,Blue Tit 11,Greenfinch 1,Great Tit 2 and one Robin.

July 17
Today we re-cut the HHC Reedbed net-rides. The reeds were a lot easier to cut this year due to the very dry summer we are experiencing. Last year's old reeds are still a few inches taller than this year's reeds. It appears that our reedbeds are slowly drying-out and will probably eventually disappear altogether. Thanks to Susan for helping me out today.


HHC Reedbed being cut for the 2010 Autumn Season Kevin Sayer

July 11
A sudden squall just after dawn hindered our efforts today at Solent Meads. However, we still managed 16 birds with further evidence of how successful the breeding migrant warblers are in this small wooded part of Christchurch Harbour. The totals were:- 4 Blackcaps,3 Chiffchaffs,1 Whitethroat,3 Dunnocks,3 Great Tits,1 Robin and 1 Blue Tit. Thanks go to Susan for helping me out in trying conditions.

July 4
News today of 2 more interesting recoveries. An adult Reed Warbler which we trapped last May was originally ringed in Seville, Spain only 22 days before we caught it. Also, a juvenile Sedge Warbler trapped in September last year was unfortunately a road casualty in south-west Ireland in May of this year. More details here.

June 26
An early start at the Nursery resulted in a catch of 19 birds which is about par for this time of year. Nothing too unusual but it is reassuring to see that Blackcaps are breeding in good numbers in the wood. The totals were:- Blackcap 9,Chiffchaff 2,Robin 1,Dunnock 3,Blackbird 3 and a single Song Thrush. Thanks to Darren for his help.


Song Thrush juvenile Nursery June 2010 Kevin Sayer

June 2
A chilly and very misty morning greeted us at the HHC today. A reasonable catch of 29 birds was made with another Magpie being added to our totals. The counts were Greenfinch 6,Blackbird 4,Dunnock 2,Reed Warbler 6,Reed Bunting 1,Robin 2,Whitethroat 1,Blue Tit 1,Great Tit 5 and a Magpie. Thanks again to Tim for helping me out and for volunteering to ring the Magpie!


Adult Male Reed Bunting HHC June 2010 Kevin Sayer


Adult Male Magpie HHC June 2010 Kevin Sayer

May 30
Our first Spring viisit to Solent Meads this year resulted in a reasonable catch with a mixture of both resident and migrants. A total of 27 birds were trapped as follows:- Blackbird 4,Greenfinch 3,Wren 1,Robin 2,Dunnock 4,Whitethroat 2,Reed Warbler 2,Reed Bunting 1,Chiffchaff 2,Great Tit 5 and a single Song Thrush. Thanks to Sean and Tim for lending a hand.


Adult Female Whitethroat Solent Meads May 2010 Kevin Sayer


Ringing Team relaxing after a hectic session Solent Meads Kevin Sayer

May 18
A quietish Spring morning at the HHC resulted in another smallish catch with a good number of retraps. However, the undoubted highlight was the capture of my first ever UK Cuckoo. We first saw the bird fly over our heads coming in off the sea and we just assumed it would keep going or possibly end-up in the Wick Reedbed. To our surprise it went into one of our nets and pocketed very nicely. Most Cuckoos will usually bounce out of a mist-net so for this one to stay in is most unusual. The total catch was 20 birds as follows:- 1 Chiffchaff, 6 Greenfinches, 2 Robins, 1 Blue Tit, 6 Reed Warblers, 1 Magpie, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Wood Pigeon and a single Whitethroat.

The Cuckoo is the fifth one that has been caught at CHRS and the first one since 1976.


Second summer male Cuckoo HHC May 2010 Kevin Sayer


Juvenile Robin HHC May 2010 Kevin Sayer

May 13
On a cold Spring morning we had a reasonable catch of 28 birds at the HHC. The number of Greenfinches trapped was on the high side but the chilly easterly wind kept the number of migrants down. The totals were:- Lesser Whitethroat 1,Willow Warbler 2,Whitethroat 3,Reed Warbler 5,Blackbird 3,Song Thrush 1,Greenfinch 12 and a single Wren. The Song Thrush was a retrap and was originally ringed by Wally Evans in Sept 2005.


Adult Lesser Whitethroat HHC May 2010 Kevin Sayer


Adult Willow Warbler HHC May 2010 Kevin Sayer


Adult Male Greenfinch HHC May 2010 Kevin Sayer

May 3
Researching some of yesterday's retraps I have un-earthed the following which maybe of interest.

One male Dunnock was originally ringed at the HHC on 11.9.2006 as a juvenile.
Another male, was originally ringed also at the HHC on 18.9.2005 as a juvenile.
A female Reed Warbler now here for at least its third consecutive summer was originally ringed on 23.5.2008 at the HHC.
A female Long-tailed Tit originally ringed at Solent Meads on 27.5.2008 has now moved to the HHC.

Ed Brett has just sent me details of 3 overseas Sedge Warbler recoveries - full details on the Recoveries page.

One of my ringing colleagues has written an excellent article on our recent expedition to Cyprus. Full details here.

May 2
My first day's ringing back in Christchuch Harbour for 2010 coincided with the CHOG Members' Day Ringing Demonstration. The forecast was awful but in the end it wasn't too bad a day. In the chilly and damp conditions we managed only 11 birds with just 3 nets - of which 8 were retraps. The total catch was 2 Whitethroats,1 Reed Warbler,1 Chiffchaff,3 Dunnocks,1 Blackbird,1 Robin and 2 Long-tailed Tits. Thanks to Tim and Susan for helping me out in trying conditions.


Adult Chiffchaff HHC May 2010 Lorne Bissell

March 29
After a winter's season at nearby Blashford Lakes we will soon be returning to Christchurch Harbour to resume our migration studies. Winter work in the Harbour has involved maintenance of our existing net-rides along with the creation of some new ones.

Recently, we have had details of some interesting recoveries and controls. See the recoveries page for further details.

Congratulations go to CHOG Member and Ringer Shaun Robson on recently achieving both his BTO Grade A Ringing Permit and Trainers' Endorsement.