Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Fifty Up

It’s ages since a ringing session hit the fifty birds processed mark.  When I met up with Will and Andy at the Sand Martin colony at 0700 this morning it didn’t seem likely that this day would be any different. Tuesday had seen downpours with inches of constant rain between midday and midnight but where weather forecasts still confirmed that Wednesday would be a “goer”. 

Early cool and 100% cloud cover saw very few Sand Martins around; we really thought we might struggle into double figures given the lack of activity at the nest holes. As the morning warmed and the sun appeared, things began to look up with Sand Martins on the move, joining in with the activity around the nest holes and over the feeding area of the fishing lake. 

By 1110 hours when we tallied up and packed in we had caught 50 new Sand Martins from an estimated count of 150-180 individuals. That would mean a catch of at least 33% of those birds seen, an unlikely ratio and therefore more likely that the number of martins around was actually above 200.

Sand Martin

Field Sheet. First Page.

The field sheet showed 12 new adults, an equal split of 6 males and 6 females, plus 38 juveniles. Interestingly, we had zero recaptures from earlier in 2023 or from previous years, another indication of post breeding dispersal from other sites. 

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

Other activity saw a juvenile Kestrel trying its luck around the martin nest holes, an unsuccessful ploy that also failed for the adult Kestrel we caught here on 14 June. 
 
When we arrived just before seven Will spotted a small flock of 15/20 Black-tailed Godwits flying some distance away, perhaps looking for rain soaked fields in which to feed. About mid morning we realised that two of the godwits had landed a field away from our processing point. The two appeared to be of the Icelandic islandica race by way of their very strong brick-red colouration. 

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

April produces the largest flocks of Black-tailed Godwits which correlates well with the bulk of breeders arriving in Iceland between mid April-mid May. The second half of May and early June is considered late for islandica to be in England and it is presumed that these birds are non breeders that may spend the summer here. 

Other birds seen - 4 Common Tern, 1 Common Sandpiper, 6 Tree Sparrow, 2 Pied Wagtail. 

A good morning was had by all.  Come back soon for more news, views and photographs.

Linking on Saturday to Viewing Nature With Eileen.




13 comments:

  1. I do like your blog header photograph with the barn owl ...

    Pleased to read that you hit the fifty birds processed mark.

    Lovely to see the sand martins.

    All the best Jan

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  2. Sounds like a really good day, well done. Thanks for showing the photo of the Godwit, not a bird that I have ever seen, Keep well. cheers, Diane

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  3. Hello,

    Sounds like a successful day. The Sand Martins are adorable, loved the photos.
    The Black-tailed Godwit is beautiful, I love their colors. Great post and photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend.

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  4. You had a great ringing session! I loved the photos.

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  5. What a good day! I know you felt encouraged. Our weather is hot and humid and I'm stuck inside today. But I might break out tomorrow! lol Want to come?

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  6. Woo-Hoo! Fifty Sand Martins sporting new jewelry! How cool is that?

    We never know what a new day will bring. Our tee-vee "climate specialists" have been stuck on "Mostly Cloudy" for two weeks now. We head out one morning and are greeted by thunder, lightning and heavy rain. Same forecast the next day so we stay home and enjoy sunshine and blue sky from the living room window. Sigh. Now, we just go and take our chances.

    It's good to see your weather cooperating a bit more and the results speak for themselves!

    Splendid photos of the Black-tailed Godwit!

    The weekend is in full swing and so are we.

    Gini and I hope you're ringing sessions continue to be doubly-digited.

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  7. The Sand Martin is a beautiful bird, as is the Godwit. How do you catch these birds to begin with? Is it with a net, strung how? I'm glad you two had a good day.

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  8. The Black Tailed Godwit is certainly handsome. I'm not sure I've ever seen one before.

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  9. I second Yvonne's query as to how you catch the birds. The only bird I've ever "caught" is one that stunned itself flying into a window. Fortunately it survived.
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/07/tommys-exercise-routine.html

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  10. You have been a busy boy Phil. Keep it up, I value the info you guys cough up.
    Take care,
    Mike.

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  11. Glad you had a good day.
    Your bird photos are incredible as always.

    Happy Tuesday, Phil.

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  12. That’s an impressive tally. It’s a cute bird.

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  13. Impressive, nice to read. Great photos !

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