A cold bright day with little or no wind was the forecast. So a morning's ringing was on the agenda.
I arrived at the reservoir at 07:15 and there were around 30 birds at the feeders, mainly Tits and Tree Sparrows with one or two finches and buntings mixed in.
Five nets erected and the following 37 birds processed:
New / Retraps
Wren - 0/1
Robin - 0/4
Blackbird - 1/0
Coal Tit - 1/0
Blue Tit - 1/4
Great Tit - 3/5
Tree Sparrow - 5/9
Chaffinch - 0/1
Reed Bunting - 0/2
A Sparrowhawk was in one net and out again quicker than I could get to it. Fieldfares were in good voice with 60 going over and a Green Woodpecker was also vocal.
A Muntjac came close to the car on two occassions and wandered through the reservoir gates at one point. I thought it would be better left to walk quietly through rather than spook it and have a very large hole in my net. As luck would have it, there were no Muntjac size holes in the nets on the next net round.
Apart from the very muddy conditions it was an enjoyable morning.
Monday, 18 February 2013
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Annual Report 2012
The Stanford Ringing Group 2012 Annual Report is now available here
SRG Annual Report 2012 (PDF - 267kb)
During 2012, 3786 birds were ringed at Stanford Reservoir (5531 birds processed) of 57 species.
Unsurprisingly the weather (rain) had a major impact on the breeding season, with numbers of most warblers, finches and buntings reduced in comparison to previous years. The odd exception to this observation was noted e.g. Willow Warblers and Lesser Redpolls were caught in record numbers.
SRG Annual Report 2012 (PDF - 267kb)
During 2012, 3786 birds were ringed at Stanford Reservoir (5531 birds processed) of 57 species.
Unsurprisingly the weather (rain) had a major impact on the breeding season, with numbers of most warblers, finches and buntings reduced in comparison to previous years. The odd exception to this observation was noted e.g. Willow Warblers and Lesser Redpolls were caught in record numbers.
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| Lesser Redpoll - 2012 was a good year! |
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Garden ringing
The last few days have offered a break in the weather for a couple of back garden ringing sessions.
On Monday, the 30' was erected at 07:00 and it wasn't long before the first birds were in the net, a couple of retrap House Sparrows and Blue Tits. After that it was very quiet with one or two Goldfinches dropping in to feed on the sunflower hearts and niger seed but still managing to stay clear of the net.
With an hour of checking an empty net I decided it was time to take down. As I walked up the garden, a Woodpigeon flew into the net, the 4th this year. I had only just released the newly ringed Woodpigeon when a Sparrowhawk zipped through and landed in the net. A juvenile male and the 2nd this year.
I didn't plan to erect the net today but after seeing a flock of 10+ Goldfinches on the feeders late morning it was enough to tip the scales. Five Goldfinches, one Blue Tit and one Greenfinch later it was time to take down. After putting my shoes on I noticed a Sparrowhawk flash past the feeders and then disappear. I didn't see it come out and assumed it had got away. I cursed my luck as I walked up the path but as I got half way I could see it was in the net. This one was a cracking adult male and was no where near as feisty as the juvenile caught on Monday.
On Monday, the 30' was erected at 07:00 and it wasn't long before the first birds were in the net, a couple of retrap House Sparrows and Blue Tits. After that it was very quiet with one or two Goldfinches dropping in to feed on the sunflower hearts and niger seed but still managing to stay clear of the net.
With an hour of checking an empty net I decided it was time to take down. As I walked up the garden, a Woodpigeon flew into the net, the 4th this year. I had only just released the newly ringed Woodpigeon when a Sparrowhawk zipped through and landed in the net. A juvenile male and the 2nd this year.
I didn't plan to erect the net today but after seeing a flock of 10+ Goldfinches on the feeders late morning it was enough to tip the scales. Five Goldfinches, one Blue Tit and one Greenfinch later it was time to take down. After putting my shoes on I noticed a Sparrowhawk flash past the feeders and then disappear. I didn't see it come out and assumed it had got away. I cursed my luck as I walked up the path but as I got half way I could see it was in the net. This one was a cracking adult male and was no where near as feisty as the juvenile caught on Monday.
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Ringing Demo Delights
Strong winds and heavy rain forecast for most of the days of last week with just a narrow window of flat, calm and dry conditions for Saturday until midday before the deluge returned made the planned ringing demonstration for the local Burbage Bird Club look decidedly dodgy to say the least. Finding a suitable date to suit both parties had pushed the event further back towards the end of November than we would have liked - amid concerns for the effectiveness of the demo both in terms of the number of birds and spread of species that we would have to show them.
We need not have worried - Adam, Masai Mick and Webmaster Mike arrived early to near perfect ringing conditions (for the time of year) of a frosty, slightly misty, dry and calm morning to erect the nets and put the sound systems in place before dawn. Meanwhile I met the bird club members together with Paul, a potential new SRG trainee, at the entrance to the Railtrack at a more sensible hour before we drove down to the base camp just as the lads were returning from their first extraction round of the nets with an impressive 39 birds.
This first catch included 28 Redwing, a Fieldfare and a Woodcock that Mick had extracted from a net line erected on the reservoir's perimeter grass footpath. As this was only the sixth Woodcock ringed by us at Stanford and with the last one being some five years ago, the visitors were in for a rare treat indeed.
The second round of the nets produced just 15 birds and demonstrated the need for erecting nets before the birds start to move off in the hour after dawn - the early ringer catches the birds!
A female Green Woodpecker, albeit a retrap, provided another treat for the demo and brought the cameras out again. Webmaster Mike announced that this was only the second time that he had processed this species - the first being when he ringed this individual in November last year.
Later in the morning a change to the bird calls being played resulted in eleven Lesser Redpolls plus a British control. This year's total for this species is now 264 and is nearly double the number that we ringed last year.
Several continental Blackbirds with their all black bills and pale edged chest feathers provoked further interest and the number of species continued to increase with Robin, Tree Sparrow, Wren, Treecreeper, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and the usual Blue and Great Tits being processed.
A total of 67 new bird ringed and 20 retraps plus one control of 15 species was the final tally for the morning and was as good as we could have hoped for. The exact totals, with retraps in brackets, were:
Woodcock 1
Green Woodpecker (1)
Wren (1)
Robin (3)
Blackbird 9
Fieldfare 1
Redwing 32 (2)
Blue Tit (4)
Great Tit 1 (2)
Treecreeper (1)
Tree Sparrow 8 (4)
Chaffinch (1)
Goldfinch 2
Lesser Redpoll 11 (1 +1 control)
Reed Bunting 2
The nets started to come down just before midday and at 1205 hrs the rain started right on cue - for once the five day weather forecast had been spot on.
Thanks to the SRG members and the attentiveness and clear interest of the Burbage Bird Club members a highly successful demonstration had been achieved.
We need not have worried - Adam, Masai Mick and Webmaster Mike arrived early to near perfect ringing conditions (for the time of year) of a frosty, slightly misty, dry and calm morning to erect the nets and put the sound systems in place before dawn. Meanwhile I met the bird club members together with Paul, a potential new SRG trainee, at the entrance to the Railtrack at a more sensible hour before we drove down to the base camp just as the lads were returning from their first extraction round of the nets with an impressive 39 birds.
This first catch included 28 Redwing, a Fieldfare and a Woodcock that Mick had extracted from a net line erected on the reservoir's perimeter grass footpath. As this was only the sixth Woodcock ringed by us at Stanford and with the last one being some five years ago, the visitors were in for a rare treat indeed.
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| Mick shows off the Woodcock |
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| The 6th ringed Woodcock for Stanford |
The second round of the nets produced just 15 birds and demonstrated the need for erecting nets before the birds start to move off in the hour after dawn - the early ringer catches the birds!
A female Green Woodpecker, albeit a retrap, provided another treat for the demo and brought the cameras out again. Webmaster Mike announced that this was only the second time that he had processed this species - the first being when he ringed this individual in November last year.
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| female Green Woodpecker |
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| and from a different angle |
Later in the morning a change to the bird calls being played resulted in eleven Lesser Redpolls plus a British control. This year's total for this species is now 264 and is nearly double the number that we ringed last year.
Several continental Blackbirds with their all black bills and pale edged chest feathers provoked further interest and the number of species continued to increase with Robin, Tree Sparrow, Wren, Treecreeper, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and the usual Blue and Great Tits being processed.
A total of 67 new bird ringed and 20 retraps plus one control of 15 species was the final tally for the morning and was as good as we could have hoped for. The exact totals, with retraps in brackets, were:
Woodcock 1
Green Woodpecker (1)
Wren (1)
Robin (3)
Blackbird 9
Fieldfare 1
Redwing 32 (2)
Blue Tit (4)
Great Tit 1 (2)
Treecreeper (1)
Tree Sparrow 8 (4)
Chaffinch (1)
Goldfinch 2
Lesser Redpoll 11 (1 +1 control)
Reed Bunting 2
The nets started to come down just before midday and at 1205 hrs the rain started right on cue - for once the five day weather forecast had been spot on.
Thanks to the SRG members and the attentiveness and clear interest of the Burbage Bird Club members a highly successful demonstration had been achieved.
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Red October
Red October - no not the submarine from the film but a description of the month's ringing at Stanford with several records broken and two controlled Lesser Redpolls.
The adverse weather conditions conspired such that two of the regular Saturday morning group ringing sessions were cancelled and the red dawns became a thing of the past.
However the dank, dreary and dismal days did not put Masai Mick off who made a sterling effort as he undertook several midweek sessions - some with another ringer to accompany him but also half a dozen solo efforts. He was richly rewarded adding some eight new species to the annual list and thereby achieving a record annual total of 54 species.
Despite ringing at Stanford since 1976, this is only the third Firecrest ringed - the other two were in 1984 and 2001.
Towards the end of the month the first Fieldfare (7) and Redwing (3) were trapped
and an overdue species:
We ringed our first Cetti's on 29/10/2005 and this was followed by others on 28/10/2006, 13/10/2007, 28/9/2009, 25/10/2009, 6/11/2010. We also controlled one on 31/10/2009. Late October would seem to be the time for this species at Stanford and note all except the bird on 28/9/2009 were female.
Despite the inauspicious start, a total of 667 new birds were ringed during the month (click here for details) and 168 retraps and two controls (Lesser Redpoll) processed. It was the second best October total ever, but way behind last October's 933. With all this activity a couple of other records almost slipped through unnoticed - the month's total of 46 Goldcrest resulted in a record year total of 57 and 224 Lesser Redpoll gave us a year record of 226 handsomely knocking into second place last year's total of 144
The adverse weather conditions conspired such that two of the regular Saturday morning group ringing sessions were cancelled and the red dawns became a thing of the past.
However the dank, dreary and dismal days did not put Masai Mick off who made a sterling effort as he undertook several midweek sessions - some with another ringer to accompany him but also half a dozen solo efforts. He was richly rewarded adding some eight new species to the annual list and thereby achieving a record annual total of 54 species.
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| The first Jay ringed since 2007 |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Kestrel - a new species for Webmaster Mike |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Firecrest |
Despite ringing at Stanford since 1976, this is only the third Firecrest ringed - the other two were in 1984 and 2001.
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| Fieldfare |
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| Redwing |
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| female Cetti's Warbler 26/10/2012 |
Despite the inauspicious start, a total of 667 new birds were ringed during the month (click here for details) and 168 retraps and two controls (Lesser Redpoll) processed. It was the second best October total ever, but way behind last October's 933. With all this activity a couple of other records almost slipped through unnoticed - the month's total of 46 Goldcrest resulted in a record year total of 57 and 224 Lesser Redpoll gave us a year record of 226 handsomely knocking into second place last year's total of 144
Friday, 12 October 2012
A Busy Week At Stanford
Masai Mick sums up one week's ringing at Stanford:
High winds and rain during the first few days of October put paid to any mid-week ringing so that the first session of the month at Stanford was on Saturday 6th, We arrived at 0600hrs to erect the nets and start the sound systems going before dawn. The resulting catch for the morning was a creditable 58 new birds and 12 retraps. The most interesting bird was an adult Grasshopper Warbler in moult which none of us had seen before - it had moulted its head, back and rump together with a pair of tail feathers. On its wings it had moulted the scapulars and tertials together with the greater and lesser coverts. Other birds of note were 16 Chiffchaff and 5 Lesser Redpoll (adding to the two ringed last month which were the first of the autumn).
Sunday 7th:
Suspecting that the autumn's Redpoll movement might now have begun, Adam, Jacana and I decided to return for another session on Sunday. It is extremely unusual for us to ring on a Sunday but we were not disappointed with a catch of 40 new birds (plus 14 retraps) which included 6 new Goldcrest. A further 19 new Lesser Redpoll and a Belgian control Lesser Redpoll made the effort all worthwhile.
Tuesday 9th:
Jacana and I ventured out and had a great morning with 80 new birds and 12 retraps. The first Coal Tit of the year, 5 new Goldcrest and 34 new Lesser Redpoll being the highlights of the session.
Wednesday 10th:
With the good weather continuing, Webmaster Mike and I were back at Stanford - 60 new birds ringed included 6 Chiffchaff, 8 Goldcrest and a further 26 Lesser Redpoll. A Kestrel caught at the edge of a 30 foot net on the Railtrack was a new species for Mike.
Thursday 11th:
The weather conditions changed as I tried a solo effort for the last session of the week - overcast and windy meant that there were very few birds moving and only 20 new birds were added to the week's total - another Coal Tit and three Lesser Redpoll were the birds of note.
In summary the week's effort was well rewarded with the Belgian Lesser Redpoll control and totals of 259 new birds ringed and 63 retraps processed. New birds included 5 Blackcap, 3 Reed Warbler, 27 Goldcrest, 28 Chiffchaff, 29 Tree Sparrow, 14 Greenfinch, 87 Lesser Redpoll and 11 Reed Bunting.
The current number of 89 Lesser Redpoll ringed is encouraging as it is already our second best annual total for this species and that last year we had only managed 6 at this time although we did go on to a record breaking 144 for the site.
High winds and rain during the first few days of October put paid to any mid-week ringing so that the first session of the month at Stanford was on Saturday 6th, We arrived at 0600hrs to erect the nets and start the sound systems going before dawn. The resulting catch for the morning was a creditable 58 new birds and 12 retraps. The most interesting bird was an adult Grasshopper Warbler in moult which none of us had seen before - it had moulted its head, back and rump together with a pair of tail feathers. On its wings it had moulted the scapulars and tertials together with the greater and lesser coverts. Other birds of note were 16 Chiffchaff and 5 Lesser Redpoll (adding to the two ringed last month which were the first of the autumn).
Sunday 7th:
Suspecting that the autumn's Redpoll movement might now have begun, Adam, Jacana and I decided to return for another session on Sunday. It is extremely unusual for us to ring on a Sunday but we were not disappointed with a catch of 40 new birds (plus 14 retraps) which included 6 new Goldcrest. A further 19 new Lesser Redpoll and a Belgian control Lesser Redpoll made the effort all worthwhile.
Tuesday 9th:
Jacana and I ventured out and had a great morning with 80 new birds and 12 retraps. The first Coal Tit of the year, 5 new Goldcrest and 34 new Lesser Redpoll being the highlights of the session.
Wednesday 10th:
With the good weather continuing, Webmaster Mike and I were back at Stanford - 60 new birds ringed included 6 Chiffchaff, 8 Goldcrest and a further 26 Lesser Redpoll. A Kestrel caught at the edge of a 30 foot net on the Railtrack was a new species for Mike.
Thursday 11th:
The weather conditions changed as I tried a solo effort for the last session of the week - overcast and windy meant that there were very few birds moving and only 20 new birds were added to the week's total - another Coal Tit and three Lesser Redpoll were the birds of note.
In summary the week's effort was well rewarded with the Belgian Lesser Redpoll control and totals of 259 new birds ringed and 63 retraps processed. New birds included 5 Blackcap, 3 Reed Warbler, 27 Goldcrest, 28 Chiffchaff, 29 Tree Sparrow, 14 Greenfinch, 87 Lesser Redpoll and 11 Reed Bunting.
The current number of 89 Lesser Redpoll ringed is encouraging as it is already our second best annual total for this species and that last year we had only managed 6 at this time although we did go on to a record breaking 144 for the site.
Sunday, 5 August 2012
This Week At Stanford
Two ringing sessions at Stanford this week resulted in a total of 80 new birds, 34 retraps and a control.
Masai Mick managed a solo effort on Thursday and, with an eye on the weather, erected a few nets from the feeding station to the "Berries" net ride. He managed to ring 38 new birds which included 11 Blackcaps and 2 Lesser Whitethroats and controlled an adult female Sedge Warbler.
With the weather forecast for Saturday of heavy rain from 0700 hrs the outlook was depressingly poor but it miraculously altered overnight pushing the heavy rain now due back to 1300 hrs. Time enough for a ringing session! Mick, Ed, Dawn and I arrived at 0500 hrs to an overcast sky and a light breeze. Nets were erected from "The Church" ride to "The Berries" with a single 30 foot on the Railtrack. The first round of the nets brought in 26 birds and the first Kingfisher (a juvenile female) of the year. As expected the next net rounds produced fewer birds but included the first juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers of the year. A group of four birders from Burbage Bird Club arrived as we were packing up and were treated to an impromptu ringing demonstration as we processed the last birds of the day with the very last being another juvenile female Kingfisher!
Masai Mick managed a solo effort on Thursday and, with an eye on the weather, erected a few nets from the feeding station to the "Berries" net ride. He managed to ring 38 new birds which included 11 Blackcaps and 2 Lesser Whitethroats and controlled an adult female Sedge Warbler.
With the weather forecast for Saturday of heavy rain from 0700 hrs the outlook was depressingly poor but it miraculously altered overnight pushing the heavy rain now due back to 1300 hrs. Time enough for a ringing session! Mick, Ed, Dawn and I arrived at 0500 hrs to an overcast sky and a light breeze. Nets were erected from "The Church" ride to "The Berries" with a single 30 foot on the Railtrack. The first round of the nets brought in 26 birds and the first Kingfisher (a juvenile female) of the year. As expected the next net rounds produced fewer birds but included the first juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers of the year. A group of four birders from Burbage Bird Club arrived as we were packing up and were treated to an impromptu ringing demonstration as we processed the last birds of the day with the very last being another juvenile female Kingfisher!
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| Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Juvenile female Kingfisher |
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