Cyprus 2019

 At the beginning of April myself Peter N and Stuart traveled to Cyprus for a weeks ringing.

We met up with Mark Jeffrey from the Sorby Brek Ringing Group.This was Stuart's first trip to Cyprus and he was very excited. However due to the large amount of rain the island had had over the winter period all the dams were full and the rivers had become raging torrents. As a result we had lost access to at least 2 of our best ringing sites.
The ringing for the week was going to be in the Polis area and the Akamas hills. The first morning we were ringing at Agios Minos. It was a quiet session, ringing mostly Blackcaps. However Stuart did ring a new species for him, a Sardinian Warbler.
The second morning was far more successful, ringing on a site called 'The Bend'.The high lights were Wryneck, Nightingale, Pied and Collered Flycatcher, Orphean Warbler, a lovely male Redstart and finished off with 2 Eastern Bonelli's Warblers.

Eastern Orphean Warbler

Female Collared Flycatcher

Male Redstart

Eastern Bonelli's Warblers

Pied Flycatcher

The third day was fairly quiet with more Nightingale, Collared Flycatcher and Orphean Warblers.

Because of the high water levels in the reed-beds in Polis we were limited to the Akamas.

So for the remainder of our trip we  found a site higher into the hills just below Lower Smigs ridge.

These days proved very productive resulting in several Wood Warblers, numerous Nightingales a pair of Creczhmars Bunting, Orotolan Bunting,another Bonelli's Warbler, Masked Shrike, Semi Collared Flycatcher, several Orphean Warblers, another Wryneck and the highlight was an adult Scoops Owl. 

View from Lower Smigs

Wryneck

Scops Owl

Cretzschmar's Bunting

Masked Shrike

Ortolan Bunting

For  a couple of afternoons we manged to find an area of reed-bed close to Polis, where we manged to catch another new species for Stuart.

Great Reed Warbler

A week is not long enough to really appreciate the number of birds and species that migrate through Cyprus. So another thoroughly enjoyable years ringing came to an end, with new species ringed by all involved.(12 by Stuart). 300 birds processed of 30 species .

I would like to thank Bird Life Cyprus for supplying the rings and permits and Mark Jeffrey for the use of his nets and equipment.

David

The CES season begins

Mick and I sallied forth on Friday 3rd May to undertake the first CES of the year. We met at 0500 and proceeded to put up 14 nets on a dull and cool morning. These are often quiet, as a lot of the birds are either sitting up in trees singing, to defend their territories, or sitting on eggs.

The session produced 26 new birds and 42 retraps, a great start. Amongst the new birds, we ringed two new Grasshopper warblers. These were some distance apart and so we are confident these represent two distinct territories, in addition to a third near The Point. These remain quite a rarity which we don't get every year and so we were very pleased. Retraps are not quite so glamorous, but the warblers (with the exception of one Cetti's) are all migratory. This means that they have travelled to and from Africa or the Mediterranean since we last saw them and are starting to breed at good old Stanford. By the end of the morning we had ringed all 10 of our regular warbler species, a fantastic start to the season!

Peter N

Grasshopper Warbler - P Norrie

The Calf of Man 2018

The Calf Of Man 2018

Back in April, Dave, Peter N and myself went on a trip to the Calf of Man for a week. The Calf is a small island to the south of the Isle of Man. It is a Nature Reserve and Bird Observatory run by the Manx National Heritage.Having got the ferry from Heysham, we arrived in Douglas and stayed overnight. On the morning of the 1st of May we set off to Port St. Mary hoping to catch our connecting boat to the Calf but unfortunately due to high winds and swell we were unable to go that day and were told we would have to attempt the crossing the following day. Dejected but still hoping to get a window to cross that same day, we set off to the Sound near Cregneash to do a spot of birding to pass the time.

As the day wore on it became apparent we were not going to cross that day and we ended up doing a roadtrip of the IOM stopping off at the Point Of Ayre for a bit more birding and also at Laxey where we had a look at the Laxey wheel which is reported to be the largest waterwheel in the world.                  

  

We managed to find a great little B&B at short notice called the Bed and Blueberry which was just off the front in Douglas where we stayed overnight. The following morning we were up around 07.30 and after a relaxed start to the day, we made our way once again to Port St Mary optimistic that the weather seemed fairly calm and bright. Unfortunately our mood was not to last when we received a call to say that the weather at sea was not looking favourable, however there may be a chance to get a window around lunch time.

It wasn't long before we received a call to say the crossing was a go and that we needed to be on the harbour quayside for 12.00pm.

We encountered a fairly high swell going over but I'm happy to report no sea sickness. We finally arrived around 14.00 pm and soon got straight into some ringing as we had already lost a day due to the weather.                            

We caught good numbers of Goldfinches throughout the week although the weather was not always in our favour. A couple of the days did start very foggy with drizzly rain so we had to try other means of catching as there was no chance of getting nets open.

Dave and myself took some spring traps down near to the landing slip to try our luck at Wheatear of which there were many. Although we only managed one each, we were both pleased as they were a new species for us with lots of wildlife to watch whilst there: Grey seals and large numbers of Eider duck being the most common.

We continued with our ringing activities throughout the week dodging the continuing morning sea mists and fog by doing whatever we could to get in some ringing. Dave had his first Great black-backed Gull whilst Peter managed to get a Whinchat and also a Wheatear from one of the mist nets.

 Aron the warden on the Calf, decided conditions would be favourable to try our luck at catching some Manxies after the evening de-brief.

Evening de-brief is where all volunteers and helpers come together and report the days' activities, including number counts of animals and birds seen on the island and for the various sea watches that take place each day. By doing this the warden can monitor the passage of birds throughout the year. When this was finished, we had a hot cuppa and set off for the south of the island. After a couple of hours we had managed to catch around 30 birds and headed back to get some sleep .

 

The following day Aron treated us to a bit of rock climbing to ring juvenile Shag. We seemed to climb most of the rocks on the south side of the island but it was well worth it as the three of us all managed to ring one! A job well done.      

                                                                                                                                           

As our week drew to a close it was touch and go whether we would actually be able to get off the Calf due to poor weather forecasts. This meant we also had to cut our trip short at the other end and get off a day early. We were very disappointed but were treated to a great boat trip around the island which the warden had arranged to do a seabird count of colonies on the Island. So we boarded a local boat owners rib which we then toured the island on before being taken back to Port St Mary and then the Ferry back to Liverpool.

              

                                                                 

On behalf of Dave, Peter and myself we would to thank Aron and his team of volunteers who made our stay on the Calf both rewarding and interesting and hopefully one day we will return .

Stuart.

An evenings ringing

Well I haven't put an entry on the blog for several months, so hear goes. Friday afternoon (23/11/18) myself and Adam met in the Leics car park at the res and with a view to catch Starlings in a roost in the Leicestershire reedbed.
We were set up in plenty of time and manged to catch a few Reed Bunting before the Starlings arrived. As dusk approached the Starling gathered and converged into a large flock of about 600-700 birds above the reedbed. Before dusk the birds started dropping into the reedbed, at this time a Marsh Harrier which we had seen earlier also decided to drop into the reedbed fairly close to the Starlings. we waited with baited breath, 'could we catch the Marsh Harrier?' Unfortunately not.
By the end of the session we had caught Starlings 4,Wren 1, Reed Bunting 4 (5) including a control.
Interestingly we caught  a Reed Bunting that had completely black Median and Greater coverts and Mantle.

After packing away we decided that we would try dazzling in a field adjacent to the reservoir. So with the kind permission of the local land owner we set off for a couple of hours dazzling and were rewarded with 2 Snipe. (this being a new annual record for the group).

Two days in Autumn at Stanford

Autumn is the time for migrants, so the midweek ringers are out and about whenever the weather allows. It sometimes pays off; on the 10th and 11th October we ringed two extraordinary birds. The first was our fourth ever Yellow-browed Warbler; so that is roughly one per decade. This is an autumn speciality which should really be heading from central Asia to India for the winter - so although there are a steady trickle along the UK eastern coast, it is very much an exciting bird to be found at Stanford.

Yellow-browed Warbler - C Hubbard

On the 11th, Mick extracted a Stonechat from the 20' net next to the reservoir. Although this is not a particularly rare bird for spotting purposes, this is the only individual to be ringed at Stanford, despite various lures and traps being used to catch the individuals which have eluded us along the access track, over the years. As can be seen this is a beautiful bird and ends 43 years of waiting. Next please!

Stonechat - P Norrie

Peter N

House and Swallow

On Saturday 8th September the team sallied forth once more at Stanford Reservoir. Mick and I met at 03:45 to put up nets, allowing the troops (Adam, Dawn, Dave, Stuart and Peter B) to turn up at a leisurely 06:15. The first three rounds were fairly standard, lots of Blackcaps and Chiffchaff. At around 10:00 we had a major flock of 1000+ mixed hirundines come over. Quickly, we turned the callers onto Swallow and House Martin. This gave us good numbers of all three species, mainly juveniles. Clearly these are the most aerial of birds, so it might be interesting for our readers to see the birds in the hand.

This swallow is one of this year's birds. This is shown by the lack of tail streamers, and the rather duller colours in comparison to the adults.

Juvenile Swallow

This house martin is also a juvenile; it too has duller colours than the adults and the tertials have thick white tips.

Juvenile House Martin

On this Sand martin, you can also see pale edges and tips to the tertials, so this is also a juvenile.

Juvenile Sand Martin

The morning was topped off with a new Meadow Pipit. In total we had 137 new birds. A fantastic session was had by all and we repaired in a timely fashion to the White Hart to celebrate. 

Peter N.

Rare Warbler at the Res

We ring approximately 500 Reed Warblers every year. On each of these birds we measure the notch on the second primary and then close the wing to see where it lines up. On Reed Warblers it lies between the last two primaries and the secondaries. We do this because there is a very similar and rare bird, the Marsh Warbler which by contrast has a shorter notch which aligns with the mid-primaries. On Thursday 9 August Mick, Adam and I were working our way through a selection of small birds on the CES, when Adam found a warbler with a notch of 9mm (a bit too short for a RW), but which crucially fell between primary 6 and 7.

Reed and Marsh Warblers

The bird on the left is a Reed Warbler, on the right is the Marsh. As the Collins Guide puts it 'immature Marsh and Reed Warblers are extremely similar'. Something of an understatement. We also confirmed it with the length of the inner claw in relation to the adjacent toe, and the supercilium. This is only the fourth Marsh Warbler to be ringed by the SRG and I think it is true to say that without measuring the notch, we really wouldn't have picked this fabulous bird from its congeners. 

Marsh Warbler

These birds definitely fall into the category of Little Brown Jobs (LBJs), but for ringers that is part of the challenge and we will certainly be measuring our notches for many seasons to come.

Peter N