Meisen Wood: Red June

Nets: 120m plus nest boxes

Weather: hot

Ringers: CS and EB

Species	Ringed	Re-trapped	Pulli	Total
Blackbird	3	5	1	9
Blackcap	6	1		7
Blue Tit	15	14	5	34
Bullfinch		1		1
Chaffinch	1			1
Coal Tit	1			1
Dunnock		3		3
Firecrest		1		1
G S Woodpecker	2			2
Goldcrest		2		2
Great Tit	52	8		60
Hawfinch	1			1
Marsh Tit	5	4		9
Nuthatch	5			5
Pied Flycatcher	6	4	29	39
Redstart	2	3	3	8
Robin	5	6		11
Short T Treecreeper	1	1		2
Song Thrush	2	1		3
Spotted Flycatcher	1			1
Wren	1	3		4
Total	109	57	38	204

Our ringing results for June were very pleasing at several levels.  Usually a good summer ringing session yields fifteen birds; not this year where the totals are notably up and illustrate the value of long term ringing and monitoring.  A key aim of a constant ringing effort is to elucidate and evaluate population patterns and trends which are not always obvious from a single, or a few years’ data. The satisfying components of June’s ringing were:

Redstart:

-          A male’s hip-po-po was frequently heard in early May.  A female with a brood patch 3 was caught in early June and observed using a Nuthatch nest box where she was brooding four eggs.

-          All four eggs hatched and three pulli were ringed.

-          The three ringed pulli fledged.

-          At ringing the nest box contained a leathery, dessicated chick; cause of death unknown.

-          Previously Redstart have been heard in spring and a couple captured on Autumn passage.

-          This was the first breeding record for Meisen Wood; hopefully some nest site fidelity will develop if the adults and young survive.

Redstart chick 

Pied Flycatcher:

-          The 29 pulli ringed brings the total for 2018 to 39 pulli ringed which is the best total to date; as was 12 occupied nest boxes.

-          More pulli would have been ringed if we had not been on holiday in England.

-          These figures indicate a continuing upward trend since the project started in 2015.

-          This positive trend is possibly a consequence of our nest-box saturation policy combined with adults and several of the offspring demonstrating nest site fidelity; several re-traps were adults and fledglings from previous years.

-          Of note is the fact that upon fledging the youngsters and adults immediately depart.  This differs from literature citations for other parts Germany were they are reported to stay in the vicinity for up to two weeks post fledging.

-          Three nests were definitely of secondary females which had normal sized clutches but had low fledging success – 2, 2, and 3; the females struggled to feed the young. Also these fledglings were smaller and lighter than those of the primary females.

Great Tit and Blue Tit

-          Good numbers for both species, particularly after last year’s poor breeding season.

-          Forty-seven of the fifty-two new Great Tits were this year’s birds and six of the retraps were pulli ringed earlier.

-          Similar proportions apply to the Blue Tit data.

The new ringed figures for Robin, Blackbird and Song Thrush were all juveniles but these numbers are below average.  These species all started breeding later than normal so, possibly, July’s figures will show an upward correction.

The number of nest boxes occupied was the highest yet.  Two of the failures were assumed failures as the nest box entrances were surrounded by legions of fleas which deterred our inspection effort.

Box Condition	Numbers
Empty	36
Birds	37
Wasps	7
Failed	3
Total	83

Other observations for Meisen Wood this May were:

-          a female Goshawk was seen twice flying over the meadow carrying prey which looked like Jackdaw.  Nest not found but they are known to breed in the area and their display flights were witnessed in late March.

-          a substantial increase in the number of bees visiting the meadow, at last.

-          fourteen species of butterfly were recorded on various meadow plants.

-          at the end of the month on most evenings hummingbird moths were observed visiting various flowers.

And by months’ end the crickets had attained their adult form and their stridulations had become one of those pleasing summer sounds.

Redstart female

Redstart male