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...)

Waxwings, Wagtails and more recent recoveries

Another attempt at the pied wagtail roost on Sunday night was a bit disappointing when, after setting up, they chose to roost in a different place. We still managed to catch 16 birds, moving a net and catching a few around the normal net. Interestingly after a slightly female biased catch last time (15 females - 11 males), this time we had a male-biased catch (14 males - 2 females).

  
With growing numbers of waxwings and dwindling berry crops, waxwing catching looked like it was going to be easy yesterday, especially after we caught 5 before we'd even tied up the net... unfortunately the whole flock then left while we were processing and didn't come back, can't complain at five more though!











Finally a few recent recoveries have just come through:

Blackbird - one ringed as a nestling at UEA on 08/06/2009, killed by a car at Branch End, Stocksfield, Northumberland on 20/05/2010. 329km - 347days

Long-tailed Tit (female) - one ringed at UEA on 22/09/2009, retrapped by a ringer in Alderton, Suffolk on 11/04/2010. 69km - 201days

Sparrowhawk (First-year male) - one ringed by UEARG at Whitlingham Marsh Sewage Works on 31/08/2009, found dead at Thorpe St. Andrew on 15/04/2010. 3km - 228days

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Waxwing success

After yesterdays effort, we returned today better prepared for catching the waxwings, taking with us extendable metal poles instead of bamboos. The waxwings had moved slightly from yesterday but thankfully they'd moved to Will's back garden, so no problems in relocating them. They were in the top of a tall ash in his garden and were going down to feed on a roadside bush on the next street over. Parked cars, passing traffic, high feeding waxwings, psycho-cat and numerous members of the public enquiring what we were doing made it some of the most challenging ringing we'd ever done, however we succeeded in catching 7 out of the maximum of 40 present.

Holding one 6 section pole in the road and the in the corner of someone's garden we managed to keep the net high enough for passers by to walk underneath and just about catch 7 of the 40 waxwings.

Psycho-cat : While extracting a waxwing this evil cat suddenly ran up my body and launched off my face at the waxwing, thankfully I managed to block it from the waxwing, though got a bleeding lip where its claws ripped into my face. It then tried it again and I had to pretty much throw it off my neck! A house owner thankfully new the owner and they took it inside for the rest of the time we were there. Lets hope the waxwings don't spend too much time in this area