Marsworth - 2nd September 2018 - Pied Fly Surprise

Nets: 240'
Tapes: Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Tree Pipit
Ringers: LL, MCC, PN

	New	Retraps	Total
Dunnock	1		1
Chiffchaff	4	1	5
Willow Warbler	4		4
Reed Warbler	1		1
Blackcap	44	6	50
Blue Tit	2		2
Lesser Whitethroat	1		1
Pied Flycatcher	1		1
Wren	1		1
Robin	1	2	3
Goldcrest		1	1
Lotti		2	2
Bullfinch	1		1
	61	12	73

Mike and I went to Marsworth with new (soon to be) trainee on their first taster session. It was the first day of being able to use tapes after finishing the CES ringing on Friday and we only put up four nets. It is clear that Blackcaps have had a good breeding season and the tape lures work...Luckily, our new member proved very capable and got stuck-in scribing - not usually a job for a beginner!!
A bird in net 4 caught my eye, brown with a white wing-bar, chaffinch? No! Pied Flycatcher, excellent!! A first for Marsworth. We aged it as a juvenile from the way the white on the tertials forms a step at the shaft. Svensson says the juvenile greater coverts should have large white tips often forming wedges or steps. Our bird had some inner GC's which matched the description although the outer ones were more buffy.  Svensson also says that it is possible to determine the sex of a few first year males from the black 1st - 3rd tail feathers and jet-black longest upper tail coverts and we felt ours were sufficiently black to sex it as a male.

Pied Flycatcher

Black upper tail coverts

White goes up the shaft on the tertials and inner GC

Lesser Whitethroat

We finished with 50 Blackcaps and it was notable that they were all juveniles and fairly low weights and only a small percentage were carrying any fat. We only caught one Reed Warbler which was strange but possibly due to much of the reed having collapsed in the heavy rain a couple of weeks ago. Three of the Chiffchaff were quite young and only just starting post-juvenile moult. We also caught a Lesser Whitethroat which appeared to have changed one outer tail feather, showing a nice contrast between the juvenile and adult type feathers.

Lesser Whitethroat

Wilstone - 2nd September 2018

	New	Retrap	Total
Blackbird	1	1	2
Blackcap	98	2	100
Blue Tit	7	1	8
Cettis warbler		1	1
Chaffinch	1		1
Chiffchaff	8		8
Dunnock	4		4
Goldcrest	2		2
Goldfinch	1		1
Great Tit		4	4
Kingfisher	5		5
Long Tailed Tit	2	2	4
Reed Warbler	32	7	39
Robin	4	1	5
Sedge Warbler	13		13
Spotted Flycatcher	2		2
Whitethroat	2		2
Willow Warbler	9		9
Wren	3	1	4
Total	192	20	212

A lovely calm early September morning. We got most of the nets up just before it got light. The first round of a half a dozen birds was followed by a second of considerably more and they just kept coming resulting in a catch of 212 birds in all.

One adult Blue tit and 211 juveniles. We tried to make some of the Willow Warblers into adults, but no, all juveniles! 

100 Blackcaps of which only two were retraps shows that a passage of birds is underway. Two Spotted  Flycatchers were very welcome as were five juvenile Kingfishers, four of which together in the same net.The female Cetti's Warbler ringed at the beginning of August was recaptured in net 8, which is hopeful for next year.

A couple of very noisy Hobbies occupied the cherry trees at net 1 all morning and a Green Sandpiper made a brief appearance over the reed bed too. Because of the calm, balmy conditions hirundine numbers were low, so no repeat of last week.

Early on we broadcast Tree Pipit song at net 1, nothing ventured nothing gained...

Johne

Photos by Ed

Marsworth - CES 12 - 31st August 2018 - Last chance to catch up

CES nets - 560'
Weather, Calm, clear, warm
LL/GK

	Adults	Juveniles	Total
Dunnock		3	3
Chiffchaff	2	7	9
Willow Warbler		1	1
Reed Warbler		4	4
Blackcap	2	25	27
Blue Tit		3	3
Great Tit	1	1	2
Treecreeper		1	1
Wren		5	5
Robin		2	2
Cetti’s Warbler		1	1
Bullfinch	1	2	3
	6	55	61

GK and I met on Friday to do the final CES session since no one was going to be available at the weekend. It was a beautiful late summer morning, blackberries ripening, reeds and orange balsam beaded with dew. The Hobbies in the field behind the reed bed are still there, calling frequently and loudly. We hoped that a big catch might make up our shortfall in bird numbers this year.

The morning started well and we had a couple of busy net rounds with plenty of Blackcaps carrying small amounts of fat. The juveniles have completed their moult and the males have achieved their eponymous black caps while the females have a smooth chestnut cap. An adult female was just completing primary moult. Two adult Chiffchaff were also still in primary moult. One of the three Dunnocks was a juvenile in tail moult. A Treecreeper and a few Robins added variety.

Dunnock with one greater covert replaced

Dunnock - juvenile in tail moult

However, the second half of the session was very quiet with just 11 birds in the last three hours. Although these did include a nice couple of Bullfinch and another juvenile Cetti's Warbler. With GK's wife and daughter visiting, it made a very pleasant morning, but the total of 61 birds was not enough to redeem the year. Our catch this year has been the lowest since 2003; no doubt largely due to the extremely cold and wet start to the year which reduced the number of Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers arriving safely to breed and a big drop in Chiffchaff numbers.

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler