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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.
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