Camera-less

Having returned home from a brief holiday, it took a couple of days to get the net up. Piccies will not be a feature - least ways, ones that are any good - as I lost my new camera on day 1. This was a bit of a bind since I needed to photograph some ancestral buildings and a couple of memorials. Things should improve by the middle of next week when I intend to be up and running again camera-wise. Meanwhile, it's back to the old one.

There were lots of fresh young birds around in the garden that required the acceptance of some BTO bling. I caught the first Great Tit, Robin, Dunnock and Chaffinch fledglings of the year on 23/05 and a Song Thrush the day after. I had already ringed the first young Blackbird and Goldfinchs some two and a half weeks earlier.    

A new 6M (3CY+) cock Robin

This week so far has seen 23 new birds ringed and 11 re-trapped as follows:

Blue Tit 1 (1)

Great Tit 2

Wren (1) - a tail-less female that must be sitting

Blackbird (3) - feeding fresh (2nd brood) young somewhere nearby

Song Thrush 1

Robin 3 (1)

Dunnock 3 (3)

House Sparrow 1

Chaffinch 2

Greenfinch 9 - 3 young & 6 adults 

Goldfinch 1 (1)

Bullfinch (1) - a nesting female

New male 6M (3CY+) Greenfinch with diagnostic grey tips to primary coverts

 Here are just a couple of links to fellow bloggers' blogs about the DEFRA Buzzard v Pheasant saga that is hitting the headlines.

http://wansteadbirder.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/defra-shocker.html

http://anotherbirdblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/buzzard-response-sort-of..html

It's been and gone!

We waited patiently for over an hour before the wheeled precursor entourage (sponsors, bomb squad, motorcycle escort, TV crew and coppers from the Met) trundled through, interspersed with ordinary traffic, for more than 20 minutes, then the "horse box" came in to view with the torch bearer running close behind accompanied by the eight or so fit Met. policemen/women alongside. All over in a trice. The crowd dispersed, happy; any vehicles just had to wait. I've never see the village so packed!

This was probably the most significant thing that has happened to our village in modern times; the turnout was incredible, considering we're only about 2,600 souls. Possibly 6 or 7,000 turned out to witness, what is for most, a once in a lifetime occasion.  

5.50pm. The main A39/A358 junction a couple of minutes after The Torch had passed. 

Vulgarity, babies and a mess

We now know the official April rainfall figures for this area; Liscombe, which is about 8 miles to the west, got 274mm that also happened to be 3.17 times the normal (long-term average) for the month. It was the wettest place in England.

Back to ringing. The weather is still affecting things but one 'good' thing did happen. It drove the Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) from up the village to search a wider area for food for their recently hatched young. As a consequence, I managed to grab a male and a female that took to visiting our bird table for some tasty sultanas. This brings the number of species caught here in the last 16 months to 45.

Sexy 6F Starling

 In between the belts of rain driving down from the north or up from the south-west, the nets have been opened early mornings if a dry spell occured. Many of the captures have been adult retraps but, at last, some of the young are now on the wing - if a little short in that department! 

Juvenile male Greenfinch

Juvenile Goldfinch

As well as Greenfinch and Goldfinch, I have also had young Blackbirds; the fully fledged Siskins were already around some two or more weeks ago (3rd week of April). This time last year, I was also ringing 3J Robins and Dunnocks, but I fear that the awful weather may have "sunk" their nests, complete with eggs or downy young.

Blackcaps are still on the move; you always know this by their restlessness in the hand, accompanied by much 'squeaking'. The other day, one of these happened to be re-growing most of its retrices (tail feathers); it must have had a 'near miss' with either a predator or someone else's trap or net!.

Blackcap growing new tail feathers (early May)

Moving further afield (all of 400m), the meadows are still frightfully wet and most net runs are 'out of bounds' due to the height and speed of the water passing down the stream. Some sites are still cut off by the waters, either the depth or the strength of the current. A couple of very recent photos of two of the productive net sites, mainly aimed at riverine species.  

Rectangle = 60' net site 3a; C = current eroding channel

Rectangle = 30'net site; F = ford under 1m (3') of  flood water

So, a meagre total this week amounting to 38 birds handled:
Blue Tit (3)
Great Tit (1)
Chiffchaff 1 - fem
Willow Warbler 2 - both fem
Blackcap 2 - both 2CY
Wren 1 (1) - a nesting pair
Blackbird 1 - juv
Song Thrush (1) - mum
Robin (1) - dad
House Sparrow (1) - brooding fem
Greenfinch 3 (1) - inc. juv
Goldfinch 8 (5) - inc. juv
Siskin 3 - inc. nesting pair
Bullfinch (1) - after 2CY male   

I might be able to get some ringing in before we depart for a short holiday in Dorset and West Sussex. We'll see.

209 declared

April rainfall totalled 209 mm, 80mm of which fell in the last 48 hours. This is 3.17 times more than the local long term average for the month and the wettest on record.
Still raining but a respite promised (ha ha) tomorrow, so might be able to catch some of the Willow Warblers that are still coming through. No sign of Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler or Reed Warbler yet. No more Cuckoos since 12 April.

Doniford Stream in a bit of a rage!