Meisen Wood: A Viking Visitor

Date: 4-3-2018

Nets: 45m

Sound: None

Weather: -2 at start rising to balmy

Ringers:  CS and EB

Species	Ringed	Re-trapped	Control	Total
Blackbird	7	1		8
Blue Tit	2	3		5
Brambling	14		1	15
Chaffinch	1			1
Coal Tit		2		2
Dunnock	1			1
Fieldfare	1			1
Great Tit	2	10		12
Greenfinch	5	2		7
Robin	2	1		3
Siskin	62	39		101
Total	97	58	1	156

The day started auspiciously with the male Eagle Owl calling; several male Blackbirds giving full renditions of their melodic fluting song; Dunnock and Robin were in perfect voice; and the Siskins multitudes were incessantly chattering in the woodland canopy too.  All this as we put up the mist nets in the pre-dawn light.  The day did not disappoint.

In the interval between opening the nets and the first net round we wondered, not for the first time, if the Eagle Owl had a mate?  A few weeks back a female Eagle Owl was briefly heard duetting with him but now, if she is present, she is silent.  This silence though could be due to her already incubating eggs; German Eagle Owls, according to the scientific literature, have a mean first egg laying date of February 26^th.

Pleasingly for the second time this year we processed over a 150 birds – a valuable data collecting session.  Siskins once more comprised the bulk of today’s captures.  When the Siskins migrate onwards the woods will be a strangely quieter place.  And we will miss them; the flash of their gorgeous yellow rumps, as they flitter about the wood, have brought a welcome splash of colour to the somewhat drab winter woodland.  Unsurprisingly, given nature’s natural variation, not all Siskins are equally yellow; some males have brilliant sulphur yellow heads and breasts which stunningly contrast with their black crowns. 

Through the week we had noticed that more female Blackbirds were present in the wood.  Today’s Blackbird captures partially reflect this with three females being caught.  One female Blackbird recapture was a bird originally ringed in mid-February 2016 and has not been re-caught since.  Interestingly her outer primaries and primary coverts were strongly bleached suggesting that she has been wintering somewhere warm and sunny.

The Fieldfare was the second ever of this species caught in Meisen Wood.  The first was earlier this week when CS was trialling some spring traps in preparation for later this spring when Wheatear migrate through the region.  Fieldfares rarely come into Meisen Wood; their visits tend to be brief and coincide with severely cold weather when a few will venture down to the meadow’s edge to feed on any remaining rose berries.

The bird of the day came in the last net round in, the last net.  Approaching the final net we stopped to appreciate a male Chaffinch, with its rusty-red breast puffed out, in full song: a wonderful rising and falling trill.  The Chaffinch flew off and we initially thought it had gone into the nearby net; it had not.  The net contained a solitary bird: a Brambling, a striking male Brambling with, wait for it, a Norwegian ring.  Earlier in the week we had wondered, given the number of Brambling we were catching, if we would control at least one of these stunning finches.

And here was one: an adult male that, unfortunately, felt emaciated which was confirmed by his fat and muscle scores being zero.  Our interpretation of these scores is that he had probably just arrived. On releasing him we wished him well, hoping that he would rapidly fatten up by visiting the feeding stations spread through the wood.  Sentimental, yes absolutely; but none the worse for that.  Our speculations about this “Viking Visitor,” as he was quickly nicknamed, continued in the sun after we had packed the ringing kit away.

Yes, in the sun!  We sat at the ringing table enjoying coffee, cake and conversation in the welcome warmth of the sun.  After a bitterly cold week, with typical morning temperatures of -12C, the present +10C felt positively balmy.  We were already looking forward to learning if our Nordic visitor had been ringed in his natal area; or on passage, perhaps at one of the Norwegian Bird Observatories – hopefully we will find out fairly soon.  This enjoyment was then enhanced by a small flock of cranes flying over.  This flock, seemly just cleared the tree tops.  They were followed in quick succession by several more, but this time, higher flying crane flocks going to the north-east.  For us the cranes are one of the harbingers of spring. 

Indeed many auguries of spring were enjoyably surrounding us: the year’s first bees visiting the first emerging flowers; several yellow brimstone yellow butterflies flitting across the meadow; and many birds in full song.  Lingering over more coffee and, naturally, cake we delighted at these first tangible signs of spring, knowing that it will advance rapidly; shortly the Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and the male Pied Flycatchers will be back.

Chris