Meisen Wood, Germany - October 21st - Large Blue

108m nets

Sound: Redwing, Goldcrest/Chiffchaff

Weather: cloudy becoming wet and windy.

Ringers:  CS and EB

Species	Ringed	Re - traps	Totals
Blue Tit	9	6	15
Dunnock	1		1
Goldcrest	13		13
Great Tit	7	11	18
Marsh Tit	1	4	5
Redwing	8		8
Robin	2		2
Song Thrush	1		1
Treecreeper	1		1
Wren		1	1
Total	43	22	65

Well we got that wrong!  The weather radar showed storm Brian spewing numerous windy showers across the north German Plain that would arrive here on Saturday from 1300hrs onwards; and Sunday would be a complete washout.  So we switched to ringing on Saturday morning; aware that the session could be cut short.

Initially it went well: the first two net rounds yielding 31 and 21 birds respectively.  Then when processing the second rounds’ birds the light became reminiscent of a dreary December day and it started raining; so we finished early.  But then, some ringing is better than no ringing, and the total of 65 birds was pleasing.

Among the 22 re-traps was a large, male Blue Tit with a wing length of 73mm; double checked by both of us.  It was originally ringed in October 2015 with a wing length of 71mm. On Saturday its other measurements were: weight 12.5g, and fat score 3. Curiously in late autumn/early winter we catch several Blue Tits with wing lengths of 70 and 71mm.  We speculate that these birds have more northerly origins, much like northern blackbirds have longer wings to power their migratory flights.  Oh to get some controls.

We catch good numbers of birds that many people are surprised to learn are migrants, or partial migrants, such as: Blue Tit, Wren, Robin, Dunnock and Great Tit.  On Saturday we caught some heavy individuals of Robin (23.5g), Dunnock (22.7g) and a Great Tit (21.1g), all with fat scores of five.  This temporary obesity is an adaptation for fuelling their migration.  If they were permanently at those weights, according to the scientific literature, their manoeuvrability would be compromised so increasing their probability of being predated.

Finally, sadly, on a disappointing note the Goldcrest numbers are worryingly low!  Normally by mid- October we’ve ringed about 400 but so far this Autumn our total is 59, are they still to come or have they had a catastrophic breeding season?  Time will tell!  Thumbs pressed.