Ringing sessions over Christmas and the New Year

10 sessions spread out over the Christmas break saw a total of 233 birds caught, including a wintering Blackcap, a Redwing, and a "close ringed" Goldfinch - as close rings can only be put on birds when they are a few days old, this individual was probably a captive bird that escaped. 

There were of course plenty of the usual birds, Great tits, Robins, Long-tailed tits and Blue tits galore. 

This catching effort was mainly for Emily's mini-project looking to see if different brands of mist net differ in a) the number of birds they catch b) the number of birds that either see the net or c) the number of birds that 'bounce' (fly into the net and then fly out of it again). Provisional results suggest no significant difference, which is good!

Swift flicking

After our first proper rain last night, even if just for a few hours, we were expecting some swifts to be feeding low over campus catching emerging chafers , and we weren't disappointed. In a couple of hours we caught 14 birds before they all disappeared, would have been more if it weren't for Iain disappearing for meetings every half hour leaving me to catch them on my own. Lets hope they're there again tommorow.

A better Sand Martin catch (5 controls + REEBU control!!!)

On Saturday night Iain and a few of the ringing group arranged to meet up to have a larger and more prepared attempt at the Sand Martin roost down in the UEA reedbed. They put nets up in all 3 areas where we have seen them go to roost and were successful catching 42 new Sand Martins and 5 controls! They also caught 2 new Reed Buntings and 1 control! and 2 long-taild Tits. (Photos stolen from Karl's facebook, hope you dont mind Karl...)

Controls were as follows:

Sand Martin

L435188
X118157
X118199
X118261
V506471 (caught last week)

Reed Bunting

T385217

Surprise Sand Martin catch - including control V506471

Control Sand Martin V506471, UEA 13/04/2011

So, popped down the UEA marsh with Will this evening to move some net poles to the reedbed in preparation for some warbler catches and hopefully some roosting sand martins in the weeks to come. There were actually quite a few sedges warblers in and a few reed bunts kicking around so I ran back to the car and grabbed a couple of nets and the ringing gear. Just as we finished setting up, ringed a sedgie, then noticed a small flock of sand martins - great they're in. Stuck on the tape and over the next 20 mins the flock grew to 300 strong! We caught a measly 17 birds out of the 300 (I say measly but its the most we've caught on campus in the last 5 years I think). Also one was a control V506471.


Myself and Iain also ringed a nest of 4 Blackbird chicks this morning as well as finding a further 4 Blackbird nests, 1 robin nest (2 day old chicks) and 2 Song Thrush (1 eggs, 1 young chicks).

A few recent campus sessions

Just for Iain, yes its another photo of a Brambling... 

Lack of recent updates due to work - now being resolved in one long list, sorry

06/04/2011 Total 5 new (3 retraps)

Blue Tit (1)
Great Tit (2)
Brambling 4
Greenfinch 1

04/04/2011 Total 20 new (10 retraps)

Wood Pigeon 1

Dunnock (2)

Robin 1 (1)

Blackbird 1

Blackcap 1

Chiffchaff 1

Coal Tit (1)

Blue Tit 2

Great Tit (5)

Chaffinch 1 (1)

Brambling 1

Greenfinch 11

29/03/2011  Total 14 new (8 retraps)

Dunnock (1)

Blue Tit 1 (2)

Great Tit (5)

Brambling 1

Greenfinch 3

Goldfinch 1

Siskin 5

First Blabi Pulli & Lotti control DAC372

Iain spent his lunch yesterday looking for nests, he found several Lotti nests, a Greenfinch nest and a couple of Blackbird nests. Surprisingly one of these contained 3 well grown chicks, old enough to ring. He gave me a text (as I'm working towards an open nest pullus endorsement) and I went in to Uni to ring them.

Earlier in the morning we had attempted a session at a new farm site we've been feeding up for a couple of weeks. It turned out to be a bit of a failure catching just 7 resident birds, so we took down the feeders and will use the site next winter.

Farm Totals

Dunnock 1

Blue Tit 2 (M&F)

Great Tit 2 (M&F)

Chaffinch 2 (M&F)

Finally, some recent campus sessions 

17/3/11 Greenhouse:

Great Tit 1(3)

Siskin 4(2)

Robin 1(1)

Blackcap 1

Blue Tit 1(4)

Blackbird 1

Chaffinch 1(1)

1 RECOVERED Blue Tit - ringed UEA, 5M FROM 2010 - dead beneath a window at UEA.

25/3/11 Greenhouse: 

Wren 1

Great Tit 1(15)

Siskin 3

Robin (3)

Brambling 6

Blue tit  (5)

Dunnock 1(3)

Chaffinch 3

Song Thrush 1

Blackbird 1

Wood Pigeon 1

22/3/11 Sainsbury's Centre  

Long-tailed Tit (5) 1 CONTROL DAC372

Great Tit 7(7)

Chaffinch 3

Blue Tit 3(6)

Dunnock (1)

Reed Bunting 1

Great Spotted Woodpecker (1)

Robin 1

Recent recoveries and Campus ringing

Another bunch of recoveries have come in from the BTO, the new email system is definitely proving to be a great improvement from the old postal system.

Our Long-tailed Tit (CPK176) has been caught again in Alderton, Suffolk. intially ringed at UEA on 22/09/2009, retrapped in Alderton on 11/04/2010 - 201days, retrapped again in Alderton on 04/01/2011 - 469 days, 69km.

Another Long-tailed Tit, ringed on campus on 20/05/2010, found dead after heavy rain at Ripley Close, Norwich on 08/09/2010. 111days, 3km.

Sedge Warbler: born at Bure Marshes, our Constant Effort Scheme (CES) site and ringed on 31/07/2010, retrapped at Belton Marshes on 27/08/2011. 27days, 19km.

and finally a couple from Iain's house:

Brambling: a first year female ringed in Winfarthing, Norfolk on 28/12/2010. Retrapped by Iain in East Harling on 06/02/2011. 40 days, 18km.

Chaffinch: an adult female ringed on 05/02/2011. Found dead by neighbour on 17/02/2011. 12days, 0km.

Ringing Totals from last weeks campus session

Blue Tit 3 (10)
Chaffinch 2 (1)

Siskin  5 (2)

Dunnock 0 (2)

Great Tit 1 (3)

Robin 1 (1)

Blackcap 1

Blackbird 1

Siskins find the feeders (at last!)

Despite good numbers of siskins present on Campus all winter they have refused to come to food - until now... In the last couple of days they have been seen at the feeders and today we finally caught some. No sign of yesterdays waxwings though :(

 

Totals (retraps)

Great Spotted Woodpecker (1)
Woodpigeon 1
Blackbird 1
Blue Tit 2 (7)
Great Tit 2 (1)
Coal Tit (1)
Long-tailed Tit 1 (1)
Greenfinch 4
Chaffinch 2
Siskin 5
Reed Bunting 1

30 birds.

Last week catch-up and yet more Waxwi's

A morning session at the greenhouses feeding station on UEA produced another control this week, a Male chaffinch (V917944). Otherwise a fairly standard morning with 48 birds.

6M Chaffinch - control V917944

Totals (retraps)

Dunnock 1
Blackbird 5 (1)
Great Tit 3 (7)
Blue Tit 4 (13)
Chaffinch 2 + 1 control
Greenfinch 4 + 1 from Rob Robinson (2.5miles)
Goldfinch 3

With the generous permission of the John Innes Centre we were able to attempt to catch the waxwings in their carpark. 15 were present when we arrived but before we'd even got out of the car they'd b*ggered off (I think they recognise my car...). After an hour 7 came back but decided to change their flightpath so our net was in the wrong place. So we put up another net and caught 2. A lot of effort for two waxwings...

Anyway the good news is that those berries are now exhausted and they've made the short hop to UEA Campus (hoorah) where the group were successful in catching a further 11 birds yesterday (although i'm informed that about 30 bounced...)

Campus Ringing & Habitat Management

Yesterday morning at the "greenhouse" feeding station resulted in 47 birds, 33 new (13 retrap) + 1 control (anyone recognise L732088 ?). A few of us spent the evening at the Norfolk Ringers meeting, an evening well spent with details of ringing totals throughout Norfolk and some really interesting short talks.


Spent most of the day in glorious spring sunshine at our Whitlingham ringing site, pollarding trees and cutting back vegetation to reduce the height and create the dense lower story thicket. Couldn't have been better weather and some really good work done in just a day.


Totals from yesterday


Blue Tit 7 (7)
Blackbird 3
Robin 1 (1) Retrap 2009
Dunnock 2 (1)
Goldfinch 6 (1) + 1 control L732088. Retrap 2008
Greenfinch 6
Great Tit 5 (3) 1 retrap from Tony, 1 from 2009
Chaffinch 2
Brambling 1

Campus session and Pied Wagtail observation

5M Brambling

We started the day with a small session on the university campus 34 (18 retraps) then spent the evening watching a 200+ wagtail roost in preparation for a roost catch.

Totals for the morning:

Dunnock 3
Long-tailed Tit 2 (4)
Coal Tit 2
Blue Tit 3 (4)
Great Tit 2 (9)
Chaffinch 3
Brambling 1
Greenfinch (1) Ringed as a nestling on 12/06/08 (2yrs 261days)

Afternoon session

A 3 hour session on campus produced 38 birds (20 retraps) with the highlights being an adult Redwing, the first of the year and a new species for Will, and a Blue Tit recaught for the first time after 3 years 9 months, originally ringed as a 5 in May 2007, therefore making the bird nearly 5 years old.

Totals:

Blackbird 2

Redwing 1

Blue Tit (6)

Great Tit 4 (10)

Long-tailed Tit 1 (2)

Chaffinch 1

Greenfinch 9 (2)

Waxwing attempt after morning session

After a rather disappointing morning session on the university campus (except for the fine male Brambling) with just 17 birds, news of 70 Waxwings back on Stafford Street had us on the move. Unfortunately the berries in their favoured spot were too numerous (thus not concentating the waxwings into one area) and too high. However we did get close to catching up the road on a smaller bush (with about 3 pocketing before frustratingly escaping and several more bouncing...) Oh how easy it was before Christmas when they were on the rowans... Anyhow, we've got plans to get some landowner permission for a place where they'll be easier to catch tomorrow, fingers crossed!

Totals for this morning - retraps in brackets
Blackbird 1 (1)
Great Tit 2 (4)
Blue Tit 1 (5)
Long-tailed Tit 1 (1)
Brambling 1

More recoveries and an afternoon session

Three more recoveries received from the BTO:

Waxwing - one of the eight ringed by UEARG at Jenny Lind Park, Norwich City centre on 10/11/2010. Found taken by cat on 24/11/2010. 0km -14 days.

Greenfinch - ringed by UEARG at UEA on 25/01/10. Found freshly dead at Antingham, Norfolk on 12/09/10. 26km - 230 days.

Willow Warbler - ringed (as a juvenile) by UEARG at Whitlingham Sewage Works on 10/07/2009. Recaught at UEA (reedbed) on 09/05/2010. 11km - 303 days.

Totals from today:

Blue Tit - 17 (13)  one retrap from 4km away (cringleford) and one from 2008
Great Tit - 7 (8) one retrap from 2008
Greenfinch - 4
Dunnock - 0 (1)
Long-tailed Tit - 2 (3)
Robin - 1

Brambling at last... 04/02/2011

Another Friday morning session was surprising busy (48 birds) considering the strong wind. Our site, thankfully in a sheltered spot, finally produced some of the finches we've been waiting for. The morning also provided two new species for one member of the group (Brambling and Woodpigeon).

Totals for the morning (07:30 - 10:00)

Blue Tit 1 (12)
Great Tit 2 (5)
Long-tailed it (6)
Blackbird 3 (2)
Chaffinch 1
Brambling 1
Greenfinch 12 (1)
Goldfinch 1
Woodpigeon 1

Marvelous Mealy

After a brief ringing demonstration organised for the Conservation & Wildlife Society, we moved to the other side of the campus in an attempt to catch more Redpolls. In an hour we were successful in catching 4 redpolls, 3 lessers and one stunning adult male Mealy!

Great Spots and Redpolls

Started the morning at the east end of Campus with 43 birds (21 retraps). With both an adult male and adult female GSWOO's being the highlights.

Male GSWOO posing nicely, whereas the female...

Blue Tit 12 (15) 

Long-Tailed Tit 0(2) 

Wren 1 

Greenfinch 2 

Great Tit 1(4)

Greater Spotted Woodpecker 2

Robin 2

Blackbird (2) 

At about 10:00 we closed up and went around to the other side of campus to try and catch some Redpolls. We saw approx. 8 birds including 2 Mealy's and caught 3 (all lesser).

Campus Ringing 28/01/11

Another fairly busy morning at the east end of campus with .... birds being caught. .... new birds and ... retraps

Totals to come

UEA Campus ringing 21/01/11

A great morning at the East end of campus with 137 birds caught. Including 8 birds not ringed by UEARG (though same ring string so presumably from nearby)

Totals as follows with retraps in brackets

Great tit 40(15 –including 5 controls)

Blue tit 45 (16- including 3 controls)

Dunnock 4

Blackbird 7

Robin 5

Chaffinch 2

Greenfinch 2

Green woodpecker 1

Of the retraps, of interest:

7 were caught in winter 2009/10, 5 in spring summer 2009, 1 in may 2009- ringed as a pullus in a nest box, 1 ringed December 2008. All were GRETI or BLUTI.

Thanks to all involved.