Wednesday Warblers

We were back at Oakenclough again this morning for another ringing session, hoping to catch more Blackcaps and other warblers.

Here's news of the Blackcap caught here on 24th July, an adult female that bore the BTO ring ACE2152.  

Blackcap

Finer details arrived quite quickly with the information that the Blackcap had been ringed on 15 September 2018 at Five Houses, Calbourne, Isle of Wight, UK.   At that time the ringers, the Isle of Wight Ringing Group, aged the bird as a first autumn female.

Both the date and location suggest the Blackcap was on its way to France, Spain or perhaps North Africa to spend the winter. The following summer of 2019 saw the Blackcap somewhere in the north of the UK before we recaptured it on July 24.  

Blackcap- Isle of Wight to Oakenclough 

This morning at 0600 the sky was overcast and threatened rain but at least there was zero wind and it later stayed dry but with mostly poor light and visibility in all directions. 

The morning proved quite successful by way of 35 new birds of 11 species. It was unusual for us that the most caught species was Blue Tit, a bird that doesn’t feature much on our field sheets. Bird feeders at a nearby dwelling usually keep the tit family from our nets. We noted on our last visit that the feeders were empty, a fact which may have inspired the tits to seek food further afield and into our ringing area.

The catch of another batch of migrant warblers (Blackcap plus both Garden and Willow Warblers) came as compensation for sedentary titmice.

No recaptures amongst 9 Blue Tit 9, 8 Willow Warbler 8, 3 Goldcrest, 3 Blackcap, 2 Garden Warbler, 2 Great Tit, 2 Dunnock, 2 Wren, 2 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Chaffinch and 1 Chiffchaff.

Garden Warbler  

Willow Warbler 

Chiffchaff 

We caught our first Lesser Redpoll of the autumn, two streaky brown juveniles of an age that cannot be sexed until there is more colour in the feathers.

Of the thirty five birds caught this morning, there was but one adult, a Willow Warbler, the rest birds of the year.   Our catches and observations this summer and early autumn do suggest a productive breeding season. 

Lesser Redpoll 

Stay tuned. If the weather holds it’s another 0600 start for Thursday.

Linking today to World Bird Wednesday.

It’s A Start

Andy and I returned to Oakenclough this morning for a 0600 start and another go at catching migrant birds. We were joined today by Bryan. After two recent catches of 40 and 47 birds respectively, we hoped for a triple hit in the forties. 

In contrast to Wednesday’s cloud and zero wind this morning was both bright and slightly breezy. And with the benefit of hindsight, perhaps the different conditions were unlikely to produce any good numbers of birds. By 1030 we had packed up, fell back to earth with a bump and just 9 birds, one of them a recapture from yesterday, a Robin. All bar one, the 87 birds of 17 July and 24 July had continued their migration by departing our ringing site. 

Although today’s catch was low there was quality by way of 4 new Blackcaps, 2 new Willow Warblers, a new Garden Warbler and a young male Common Redstart.  A Redstart may have the word ”common” in its title but the species is far from abundant in these parts so to catch one makes for a rather pleasing experience and even eclipses the catch of yet another Garden Warbler. 

Common Redstart

Common Redstart 

Garden Warbler - juvenile/first summer 

The Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus is loosely related to the European Robin Erithacus rubecula, both members of the family of Old World flycatchers. The youngsters of each share the scaly appearance until they moult their juvenile feathering. 

European Robin 

Both of today’s Willow Warblers were juveniles/first summers, very smart and bright too on what the weather experts predicted would be “hottest day of the year” at 35+ degrees C. 

Willow Warbler 

There was a noticeable but small movement of Swallows this morning with tiny groups heading directly into the southerly wind. These totalled up to 60 individuals, proved so watchable partly by the overall lack of Swallows this year. This may seem rather early for Swallows to be on the move but we know that post-breeding roosts of migratory and dispersing young Swallows begin to form in mid-July. 

“Otherwise birds” consisted of tiny numbers of Lesser Redpoll, Siskin and Chaffinch overhead, 3+ Great-spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Raven, 2 Snipe flying east and 15+ Curlew heading south.

Linking today to Eileen's Blogspot and Anni's Birding Blog.

Surprise Surprise!

On Tuesday I met Andy at 0600 for our first ringing session at Oakenclough since early spring, an unproductive period for ringing when the weather was predominately cool and wet.  We don’t normally head up to the hills until a little later when real autumn migration begins rather than the summer time of post-breeding dispersal.  The post-breeding species list can be rather short here at 800 metres above sea-level but increases substantially when finches and thrushes from further north begin to appear. 

But with recent good weather and signs of a productive breeding season we decided to give it a go. This proved a good decision as the morning became very interesting with a catch of 40 new birds. We had zero recaptures from previous visits. 

When we arrived all seemed quiet with little no bird song or even contact calls but as both the sun rose and the temperature gauge climbed we began to catch with a morning dominated by warblers. 

We finished soon after 1100 with a catch of 40 birds of 12 species: 11 Blackcap, 9 Willow Warbler, 2 Garden Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldcrest, 5 Chaffinch, 2 Robin, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Great Tit, 1 Treecreeper, 3 Wren and 1 Tawny Owl. 

Willow Warbler 

Blackcap

Robin 

Goldcrest 

The biggest surprise of the morning came with a Tawny Owl languishing in the bottom panel of the mist net at 10 0’clock, a time when all Tawny Owls should be tucked away and fast asleep. Upon examination and measuring we ascertained that the owl was a juvenile born this year. A wing length of 265mm and a weight of 335 grams determined a male; a female is bigger than the corresponding male. 

 Tawny Owl

Tawny Owl 

We no longer catch many Garden Warblers so it was good to catch two. There was one adult male Garden Warbler and a juvenile, which is far from proof of breeding on site, but possibly so. 

Garden Warbler 

Garden Warbler

Garden Warblers bred here at Okenclough on an annual basis until the late 1990s when invasive rhododendron overran the landscape of bramble, bracken, bilberry and hawthorn. Slowly but relentlessly the site became unsuitable for a number of species like Bullfinch, Yellowhammer, Tree Pipit and Garden Warbler, and they were pushed out by the all-conquering intruder. The rhododendron beat us too and we were forced to abandon the site in 1997.   

Then in 2012/13 the land owners North West Water began a programme of rhododendron clearance and replanting of native species whereby, and after an absence of many years, we returned to the site in 2014. 

Since then we have captured almost 3900 birds including two Garden Warblers in 2018 and now two more in 2019.  It would be nice to think that Garden Warblers have returned for good as the site is now suitable for them. Time will tell.

Linking today to Anni's Blog and Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Low Level Ringing

Oakenclough is very much an autumn and winter ringing site where nothing much happens in the summer except for nest boxes containing Pied Flycatchers. But the autumn/winter and early spring of 2017/18 was so wet and miserable that we never managed to get here until today, our first ringing at the site since November 2017. 

In the meantime we enjoyed our hottest, driest summer for 50+ years with very little rainfall. The nearby reservoir is about one third full and where the typical water level is near the top of the brick towers and covering the immediate bank of stones. 

Low Level Water 

I met Andy at 0630 and we hoped to catch up a little on our lack of visits. We packed in at about 10.30 when the early minimal breeze wind increased to unmanageable levels. But we had a nice mix in the catch of 8 Willow Warbler, 2 Garden Warbler, 3 Goldfinch, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Treecreeper and 1 Blue Tit. 

The two Garden Warblers, Sylvia borin, were the first ringed here since 2014, when I ringed a nest full of four youngsters. It was soon after that we were forced to abandon the site when out of control rhododendron took over the plantation and made it impossible to work as a ringing site. About four years ago United Utilities employed contractors to clear the site and to then replant in the hope of restoring its former glory. 

Both of the Garden Warblers proved to be adults, one male, one female, with feathering growing over their bellies, a sign of recent breeding. But as we caught only the two adults, there is no way of knowing if they bred on the now suitable site. The plantation now resembles how it looked in the 1980 and 1990s and hopefully some of the missing breeding species like Garden Warbler, Tree Pipit and Lesser Redpoll may reappear. 

Garden Warbler 

Garden Warbler 

All eight Willow Warblers were birds of the year, with six of them caught together in the same net – a flock of Willow Warblers! 

Willow Warbler 

There was no doubt about age and sex of the single Lesser Redpoll caught - adult male. 

 Lesser Redpoll

We don’t catch too many Treecreepers, here or anywhere else. They often accompany roving flocks of titmice and small warblers but not today. 

Treecreeper 

Birding in between ringing was very quiet. Highlights were 3 Great-spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Kestrel, 35 Goldfinch and a thin but noticeable movement of Swallows – about twenty heading due south in three hours.

Linking today to Eileen's Blogspot.

A Sylvia Day

Wednesday - Not quite the morning hoped for with100% cloud, poor light and a touch of drizzle at times. Oh well, best to make the best of a bad job and set off somewhere. 

As soon as I arrived at Fluke, the Blackbirds were at it, scolding a Tawny Owl again. The Tawny Owls here are very active at the moment. I’m guessing that there are youngsters to feed, necessitating more frequent hunting, this being the third time in a week I’ve seen these normally nocturnal owls. I located the owl which was being chased by a posse of Blackbirds, the owl changing its chosen spot in the trees three times until the rumpus eventually died down and the Blackbirds went back to their business. 

It’s a snatched shot just as the owl was looking for a place to roost, away from so much noise and attention. ISO1600 in the poor light and those damned leaves in the way again. 

Tawny Owl

I knew roughly where the owl had flown to and left it in peace. There’d be no point in setting off more commotion by making the poor thing fly again. 

The wood and hedgerows held reasonable numbers of warblers with no obvious fresh arrivals other than a singing Garden Warbler and a song so close to a Blackcap as to be almost identical. I don’t have my own picture of a skulking Garden Warbler other than in the hand - It’s rather like a plain Blackcap but without the coloured cap. Bird watchers have been known to make unkind “jokes” about the Garden Warbler’s plain appearance and its Latin name Sylvia borin - borin = boring, get it? Very unfair. 

Garden Warbler - Photo credit: themadbirdlady - anne cotton / Foter / (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) 

There are still at least 2 Blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla in the area giving a chance to compare its loud, highly musical song with the more subdued but lengthy song of the Garden Warbler. 

Blackcap

There seemed to be good numbers of the other “Sylvia” this morning, Sylvia communis, the Common Whitethroat, with at least 8 birds seen/heard along Fluke Hall Lane. The Whitethroat is much easier to see than the previous two with Spring the best time to take photographs of the commonest of this family of UK warblers. 

The males arrive during April/early May and quickly set up territories from where they constantly sing their jolting, scratchy song. They use prominent vantage points from which to show off their white throat and pink-washed breast as a way to impress any watching females. 

Whitethroat

Whitethroat

On the ploughed field: 1 Wheatear, 1 Pied Wagtail and several Linnets. 

There was a Kestrel hunting the freshly turned earth and a Sparrowhawk in high circling flight. Both species are nesting at nearby Fluke Hall but as raptors do not compete for food, having different requirements.  The Kestrel takes small mammals and the Sparrowhawk favours small to medium sized birds. 

Kestrel

Sparrowhawk

Lane Ends to Pilling Water turned up little in the way of migration or new in birds except for a Common Sandpiper. There was a single Little Egret at Pilling Water pool and 2 Wheatear some way out on the marsh. At Lane Ends: 2 Little Grebe, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap. 

It wasn’t a bad morning and while some sunshine and better light would have been welcome, the conditions are never, ever perfect for a very demanding birder.

Cool Stuff

After clear overnight a slight ground frost greeted us at Rawcliffe this morning, and with the air temperature showing just 5 degrees Will and I donned extra clothes as we set to in erecting a few nets. By 11am and with the sun up high we’d shed a few layers after another interesting and fruitful morning of finches and warblers. 

We caught 27 birds of 8 species, 26 new and a single recapture of a recent Chaffinch. New birds: 14 Chaffinch, 4 Whitethroat, 2 Blackbird, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Robin and 1 Goldcrest. 

Because of  the clear blue sky Chaffinches were passing over very high this morning, sometimes unseen but mostly giving themselves away with their constant contact calls. Including today the August Chaffinch total stands at 36 birds, 31 juveniles and 5 adults, a ratio which should remain the same throughout September and October until the inland movement of Chaffinches here dries up. On cold mornings we occasionally get Chaffinches reluctant to leave the warmth of the ringing station, but after a minute or so they fly off. 

Chaffinch

We didn’t see any more than the two Willow Warblers caught, both juveniles. 

 Willow Warbler

There’s still a few Whitethroats about and we saw at least seven today, four of which we caught including another adult. And it’s always nice to catch a Garden Warbler. 

Whitethroat

Garden Warbler

We found our first Goldcrest of the autumn in a net with a few Chaffinches. 

Goldcrest - The Smallest UK Bird

Other visible migration: 8/10 Siskin over, all heading south, but just a single Lesser Redpoll. Approximately 15/20 high Meadow Pipits appearing from not any particular direction but leaving towards the west. Other “vis” - 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Pied Wagtail and 6 Snipe. 

Raptors today were a Tawny Owl at dawn, our first Merlin of the autumn, 1 Kestrel and a Marsh Harrier which appeared not to see us sat against the background of Will’s motor, allowing me to nail a half decent picture at last. 

Kestrel

Marsh Harrier

From yesterday's post, and for readers who asked, after I spoke to the lady in Pilling, it seems the dead Sparrowhawk was found next to a car parked on the driveway. It had probably chased a small bird but hit the car windows at speed instead. 

Sparrowhawk

Stay tuned, more on Another Bird Blog soon.

More Of The Same

Will and I turned out for a 6am ringing session at Rawcliffe Moss this morning hoping for a better catch than of recent weeks. During our 4 hour session we achieved a decent variety of species we expect in August but once again the catch proved short of the hoped for numbers. Just 16 birds of 10 species, a figure which included 3 recaptures. 

New birds: 3 Robin, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Chaffinch and 1 each of Coal Tit, Goldfinch, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Wren. Recaptures; 1 each of Wren, Blue Tit and Willow Warbler. Except for the recaptured Blue Tit, every other bird proved to be a juvenile. 

Chiffchaff

 

 Willow Warbler

Coal Tit

Goldfinch

Chaffinch

Whitethroat

The Garden Warbler had very pronounced fault bars in the tail. Fault bars are transparent bands in the feathers of birds which are produced and grown under the stressful conditions induced by poor weather/lack of food. 

Garden Warbler

Fault bars - Garden Warbler

Birding today: 8+ Siskin, 1 Yellowhammer, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1 Kestrel, 1 Little Owl, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Golden Plover, 170+ Lapwing. A rather distant flock of circa 160 finches contained both Goldfinches and Linnets, the majority of the flock probably the former. 

Tune into Another Bird Blog soon for more birding, ringing or photographs. 

Flocking Finches

With a flock of Goldfinch knocking about, overflying Siskins and Redpolls, and then an overhead Crossbill, this morning’s birding had a definite autumnal feel. Read on. 

After a two week gap caused by the persistent poor weather Will and I agreed to be on the moss for a 6am ringing session not knowing quite what to expect. By all the accounts on bird blogs, forums and websites the breeding season has been disastrous for open, near ground nesting insectivorous birds like Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler, perhaps less so for birds with nests in thick cover or tree situations, like Goldfinch, Linnet and Greenfinch; in the last week I have caught 16 Goldfinch in the garden, almost 50% of them juveniles. 

Today we caught 15 new birds, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Wren, 2 Blue Tit, 1 Chaffinch and 1 Great Tit. The catch was rather limited to be able to deduce much from the adult/juvenile ratio except that the three Whitethroats were all juveniles, but three only is not much of a catch on this site; sadly they were the first juvenile “whites” caught this year. On a more  postive note we watched a pair of Whitethroats still feeding young close to our ringing station, and if the better weather holds, the young should fledge. Today’s Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff numbers split 50/50 adults and juveniles. 

Although instructive to study, late July is not the ideal time to see birds in the hand, a time of year when most adults are in heavy moult, and even recently fledged youngsters start a partial moult of feathers. Today’s adult Garden Warbler had heavy wear to many feathers, especially noticeable in the primary coverts and tertials. 

Garden Warbler

The juvenile Chiffchaff is moulting head feathers. If in doubt, the emarginated 6th primary feather and shorter, more rounded wing shape distinguishes a Chiffchaff from a Willow Warbler. 

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

Juvenile Whitethroats tend to look good a little longer than other juvenile warblers. 

Whitethroat

An adult female Blackcap showing considerable wear just about all over. 

Blackcap

The morning’s birding highlights proved to be: Siskins overhead from 6am, a noticeable southerly movement involving singles and small groups totalling 20+ birds, plus a minimum of 4 Lesser Redpoll heading south soon after 6 am. A single Crossbill called loudly as it flew north about 0900. 

Later we noted a flock of 75+ Goldfinch on thistles, an indication that for these birds at least, the breeding season is over. Small numbers of Linnets today with probably just local birds numbering 20+, and a token appearance for a couple of Greenfinches. 

Hirundines and Swifts: 100+ Swallow, 30+ House Martin, 6 Swift. My own thought is that many Swifts left last week, with a number of large concentrations seen, e.g. 300+ high over Cockerham Marsh on 20th July. 

Raptors today: 2 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 5 Buzzard.

Buzzard

The weathermen predict 30 degrees next week. If so there should be plenty of Buzzards in the air and lots of bunnies to go around, fat and healthy after eating all the lush greenery we have at the moment.