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

Meisen Wood: Incessant Chatter

Date: 25-2-2018

Nets: 45m

Sound: None

Weather: -2 rising to 2 but increasing wind at session’s end

Ringers:  CS and EB

Species	Ringed	Re-trapped	Control	Total
Blackbird	5	1		6
Blue Tit	3	5		8
Brambling	19	2		21
Coal Tit		1		1
Great Tit	2	3		5
Greenfinch	2			2
Nuthatch	1	1		2
Robin		1		1
Siskin	76	32	1	109
Totals	108	46	1	155

It’s been noisy in the woods this week.  During daylight hours the multitudes of Siskins have been chattering incessantly and it was to this pleasant incidental music that we erected the mist-nets this morning.  Indeed at times we have become so habituated to their merry twittering that it is only been when they are suddenly silent that we are re-alerted to their constant presence.  The Siskins sudden silences have usually indicated the presence of a hunting Sparrowhawk or Buzzard.  During the day we witnessed a Buzzard after some Siskins crash dive into a false-cypress bush; its clumsy effort failed, on this occasion.

Unsurprisingly, with so many Siskins in the wood, they comprised most of today’s captures.  The seventy-six new Siskins have, combined with the 200 plus CS caught during the week, taken this year’s tally, so far, to 442.  We are targeting the Siskins as such numbers provide an opportunity to gather good species specific data, such as: the population’s age structure; sex ratios; and make a contribution to the knowledge about this species migratory origins and destinations. 

In 2016 we captured many Siskins and controlled several with some of those that we ringed being controlled too.  Then, early in “the season” we controlled birds that had been ringed (in the same winter period) to the west and south of Meisen Wood.  In that Spring and early Summer several of “our birds” were controlled in north Germany.  This pattern was consistent with the normal migratory movement of Siskins through north-west Germany.  Useful?  Certainly!  An aim of bird ringing is to monitor avian populations and migration.  Many migratory movements have consistent patterns so any deviations can be indicative of environmental problems somewhere thus in these times of climate change such consistent monitoring is very useful.

With each bird being fitted with a unique ring and ringer’s knowing their ring sequences controlled birds are usually obvious.  Thus when EB asked, “Is the ring sequence starting 90553 is not one of ours, is it?”  We knew we had a control?  This was our second control Siskin this month, both from the Heligoland ringing scheme – we look forward to hearing when and where these individuals were ringed.

Unprecedented, for us, is the number of Brambling that we are seeing and catching in the wood.  Nineteen new Brambling ringed today is greater than the combined total for the last three years; and brings our total so far this year to 114.  Bramblings are a handsome bird: their orange epaulettes, breasts and wing-bars are most striking.  Now the males are developing a dark blue-black head colouring which through contrast with their oranges and browns enhances their colourful appearance.  After their summer moult the males’ head feathers are a greyish fringed a buffish colour with dark centres (that are not normally visible). Now these buffish fringes are wearing off revealing those dark centres. Through the next couple of months this abrasion continues, so when the birds arrive back on their Fenno-Scandinavian breeding grounds they will have attained the full glory of their breeding plumage.

As we took the nets down, in a slight but increasingly chilly breeze that was carrying a few snowflakes a Raven flew over kronking loudly.  We had the pleasure of watching the Raven fold its wings against its body and then perform a couple of torpedo style twists; then kronking loudly before repeating the performance several times.  Potentially this was part of a display flight.  Unfortunately the performance elicited no response.  This was disappointing because a pair of Ravens have traditionally nested in the vicinity.  The displaying Raven’s kronks, though not unpleasant were a distinct contrast to the chattering Siskin hordes.  
Chris

Wilstone - January and February summary

A resume of the six visits to Wilstone during January and February 2018.

	New	Retrap	Total
Blackbird	4	2	6
Blue Tit	2	4	6
Chaffinch	1		1
Chiffchaff	2	1	3
Dunnock	2	3	5
Fieldfare	1		1
Goldcrest	3	12	15
Goldfinch	1		1
Great Tit	2	1	3
Grey Wagtail	1		1
Lesser Redpoll	2		2
Long Tailed Tit	2	13	15
Reed Bunting	7	4	11
Redwing	6		6
Robin		4	4
Song Thrush	1	1	2
Wren	1	2	3
Total	38	47	85

First of all, during January Ian and Seb  became members of our little circle of friends. I hope we don't disappoint.

In total we caught 38 new birds with a further 47 retrap events of 17 species, see table above. Highlights were a Fieldfare, 2 Lesser Redpolls, 2 Chiffchaffs and a Grey Wagtail. We retrapped a Long Tailed Tit ringed as an adult in May 2011 making it at least 7 years old and for the sixteenth time a male Reed Bunting ringed as a first year bird on the 2nd of January 2011.

The area newly cleared of high willows between net ride 4 and 5 looks as though it will be popular with both Snipe and Teal. The new pond at net ride 5 has attracted Green Sandpiper and also signs of Otter have been found there.

Looking forward to the balmy warmth of March.
Johne

New pond