Ringing

Saturday 22nd

Definitely a cold start but the breeze did not get up too quickly and 21 birds were caught. Nine of these were unringed-six House Sparrows and three Chaffinches. The Sparrows are pleasing as they are colour ringed by us as part of the national Retrapping Adults for Survival project. Amongst the retraps was a Chiffchaff which is still hanging around despite the cold spell.

Sunday 16th

It was a bit of a shock when, just before setting off, there was a very sharp shower as only drizzle had been suggested. Fortunately this seemed to clear the air and it was a good morning. Thirty eight birds were caught of which 16 were Chaffinches – eight of them new. Also new were a Blackbird, a House Sparrow, and two Goldfinches.

Tuesday 11th

An enthusiastic team gathered to make the most of fairly favourable conditions. Thirty-five birds were caught of which six were new (a Wren, two Blackbirds, and three Chaffinches). Of note amongst the retraps were singles of Kestrel, Green Woodpecker, and Great-spotted Woodpecker.

Monday 10th

Only a fairly small amount of management work was possible last year, partly due to the pandemic, but not helped by the late winter flooding. It is good to be able to get on with stuff this winter. Today’s main task was replacement of the Kestrel nest box. The Silver Birch in which this sat died and bits have been dropping off. A new box was put up in another tree and the old one removed, I hope the new one will be as successful as the old one. On the subject of Silver Birches the ones in the Oasis are dying off. They all seem to be of a similar age and it maybe they are just naturally reaching the end of their life in what is a tough habitat. If anybody is digging up birches, so as to remove them, we would be happy to try them as replacements. We also have some space for berry carrying shrubs such as Elder and Hawthorn.

Tuesday 4th

With a lull in the continual wind and/or rain forecast the opportunity to run a few nets was taken. Seventeen birds were caught of which nine were new. These were a Blackbird, three Fieldfares, a Redwing, two Chaffinches, a Blue Tit, and a Chiffchaff. Despite the time of the year the latter continue to show up but all are typical western European appearance.

December 28th

A brief lull from wind and/or rain in the morning enabled a bit of ringing. Twelve birds were caught of which eight were new. A new Great Spotted Woodpecker was a bit unexpected and the other bird of note was a retrap Song Thrush which had been ringed in October 2018 and not recorded since. As long as it does not get very cold there are always some Song Thrushes wintering here but where was it in 2019 and 2020?

December 21st

A reasonably calm and overcast start provided good conditions for ringing. Thirty six birds were caught of which 17 were new. Chaffinches continue to provide the bulk with 12 new and eight retraps. The other new birds were a Wren, a House Sparrow, a Brambling and two Greenfinches- the latter were the first for a while. Surprisingly there was only one Blackbird (a retrap) and tits remain in very short supply with one retrap each of Blue and Great Tit.

December 17th

It started grey and got duller all morning, at least the drizzle held off at first. Sixteen birds were caught of which four were new – a Redwing and three Chaffinches. Back to maintenance work on Sunday.

December 16th

Those who stand at the seafront regularly record small parties of tits hedge-hopping past and wonder where they are going. Three or four years ago we caught a Lithuanian ringed Blue Tit early in the year and now there is news that one of our birds has been controlled in Belgium. This is only the ninth ever from the whole BTO scheme to be found abroad and the third to Belgium. I will add more details when I get them.

December 12th

It was nice to have a morning when it was not raining and/or windy and so a bit of ringing was done yielding 21 birds, 13 of which were new. This consisted of singles of Robin, Redwing, Blackcap and Brambling, plus three Blackbirds and six Chaffinches. A nice variety.

December 6th

We took the opportunity to grab the calm before the storm to have the nets up and it proved interesting. The highlight was a Lesser Whitethroat of one of the eastern forms, probably blythii. It was one of 23 new and 25 retrap birds. Blackbirds continue their good showing with seven new and five retraps, there were also two Redwing and a Fieldfare. Chaffinches are the mainstay with nine new and nine retraps. There must be a reasonable size group of Chaffinches on the Estate as we continue to catch new birds. The other new birds were singles of Wren, Goldcrest and Lesser Redpoll.

Tuesday 30th

No ringing today but a busy morning replacing the last of the woodpecker damaged boxes in the Elms plus the rotten boxes along Guilford Road. Once again a big thank you to those who helped with kind donations. The boxes came last spring but with Covid and things we had to wait to get them up. We hope to continue replacing wooden boxes so as to out do the woodpeckers.

Monday 29th

Although it was a bit more breezy than forecast this kept the temperature just above 0°C first thing and we were able to get some nets up. It was an interesting session with 37 birds caught of which 14 were new. These included single Magpie, Blackcap and Chiffchaff of note. One of the retrap Chaffinches was at least six years old. A Song Thrush with a wing of 126mm drew attention but did not have any cold, grey, tones typical of continental origin birds.

Friday 26th

Although we are not getting the weather some are it is definitely not suitable for ringing. We have recently had notification of three movements. The first was a Firecrest ringed here on October 11th this year and controlledat Icklesham (65 km SW) three days later, especially notable considering how scarce crests have been this autumn. The second is a Lesser Redpoll ringed here on September 28th, during last years big movement, and contolled this year in Pamber Forest, Hampshire  (174km W) on November 14th. Finally the Norwegian ringed Blackbird we caught on October 16th was riged two months previously in Olen, Hordaland a movement of 967km SSW.

Wednesday 24th

Calmer than expected and very overcast. Seventeen birds were caught of which 11 were new- four Blackbirds, a Song Thrush, another Chiffchaff, two Goldcrests and three Chaffinches. One of the retrap Blue Tits had been ringed in a nest box on Middle Field six years ago.

Tuesday 23rd

After some difficulty getting on to the site I can update you about Tuesdays ringing. Weatherwise it was an interesting start with a big bank of cloud approaching from the south, against a gentle northerly breeze, and stopping overhead leaving clear and cold to the north and clouidy and murky to the south. Although there was no obvious movement some Blackbirds had arrived overnight. In the end a total of 30 new and 18 retrap birds was good. Four Chiffchaffs were the most interesting. There were also 11 Blackbirds, a Dunnock, a Song Thrush, five Chaffinches, a Goldfinch, four Siskins and three Lesser Redpolls.

Sunday 21st

A faint hope that the wind moving northerly might bring a last flush of migration was quickly dashed. Despite a stiff breeze eight birds were ringed – a Dunnock, three Blackbirds, three Chaffinches, and a Siskin.

Saturday 20th

It started mild and murky again and a first round with a Fieldfare and two Redwing raised hopes. However a gentle breeze got up and guided seemingly thousands of leaves into the nets. A Blue Tit, four Chaffinches, and five Blackbirds brought the total to 13 new birds.

Friday 19th

More mild conditions but this time seventeen birds were ringed and 19 retrapped. New birds included only the third Fieldfare of the autumn and another Chiffchaff. Three retrap Great Spotted Woodpeckers were of note.

Thursday 18th

It was still mild and fairly calm. Thirteen birds were ringed and nine retrapped. Another Blackcap and eight Chaffinches were of note plus the control Blue Tit from last week reappeared.

Tuesday 16th

The weather was the same as yesterday but with less drizzle and barely any breeze. This produced a good morning with 82 new birds, nine retraps and a control. Blackbirds increased to 21 and there were two each of Song Thrush and Redwing. Four new Robins were of note and there was another Blackcap. The steady trickle of new Chaffinches continued with eight more. Although we heard several groups of Siskin only two were caught, conversely we heard very few Lesser Redpoll but caught 38 new birds, plus a Belgium ringed control. There were also three Goldfinches and a House Sparrow.

Monday 15th

The dull, overcast, and mild conditions continue this time there was only a bit of drizzle. Thirty-six birds were ringed with Blackbird continuing to lead the way, this time with 16. Chaffinches (8) continue to support. Two each of Blackcap and Chiffchaff were interesting in that the latter were both fat score 5 which is higher than those we get earlier in the autumn. A Starling in the Heligoland was unusual and the first ringed for a couple of months.

Sunday 14th

They forecast dull and overcast but not strong drizzle. Despite the wind being NE the only notable increase in the nets was Blackbird with 17 ringed. The supporting cast was three Chaffinches and singles of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Redwing, Brambling and Siskin.

Friday 12th

The team gave it a go despite the strength of the breeze. There were still enough leaves on the bushes (at least at the start!) to give the nets some shelter. They were rewarded with 57 birds, 26 of which were new. This included a Dunnock, three Blackbirds, a Blue Tit, a House Sparrow, 11 Chaffinches, seven Goldfinches and two Lesser Redpolls. Tits put in a strong showing in retraps with six Blue (+ a control) and nine Great, an increase on the last few weeks.

Thursday 11th

Fascinating news from Landguard Bird Observatory. The latest download of data from the Motus system shows that a Blackcap tagged at Landguard in early October spent eight minutes in SBBO airspace later that evening. As always this is raw data and will need final confirmation.

We have also had a number of Blackcap movements in the last batch of recoveries. This includes;

A bird ringed at the obs on 30/9/19 and controlled in Ursel, Belgium ( 147km east) on 21/7/20 and then again on 24/4/21.

A bird ringed at the obs on 13/9/18 and taken by a cat in France at Alpes-Cote de Azur on 12/4/21.

Two involved birds ringed inland and then presumably leaving via here-  one was ringed at Wraysbury on 15/9/21 and retrapped here on 21/9/21 ( 135km east) and the second was ringed near Tring on 12/9/21 and retrapped here (155km east-south-east) on 2/10/21.

A similar direction of movement involved a bird ringed at Longham Lakes, Dorset on 16/9/21 and retrapped here on 21/9/21 237km east-north east.

The last two involve birds ringed this autumn  which then wandered around the coast- one was ringed here on 5/9/21 and retrapped 62km WNW at Lodge Hill, Medway on 28/9/21. The second was ringed at St Margarets, just along the coast on 3/8/21 and retrapped here on 19/9/21.

They emphasise the importance of this corner of the country for birds funnelling across the channel on their journey south.

Sunday 7th

A very quiet morning not helped by a stiff breeze picking up from the west. Twenty birds were caught of which 12 were new – a Wren, five Blackbirds, two each of Song Thrush and Redwing, and singles of Chaffinch and Siskin.

Saturday 6th

Good conditions to start with until the westerly wind increased mid-morning. It sounded as if plenty of Blackbirds had spent the night in the bushes and 27 were ringed. Most of the birds were on the large size as expected of birds from a more northern origin. Two males had wings of 142 and 140 mm respectively and weighed more than 100 grams. There were also the first Fieldfares to be ringed this autumn with two new birds plus two each of Redwing and Song Thrush. Four Chiffchaffs all looked typical west European but was the Blackcap on its way out or coming in from the continent – with this strange year it could be either. A single Goldcrest helped drag their total closer to double figures for the autumn. A flock of Long-tailed Tits included birds ringed this year, last year, two years ago, and three years ago.

Wednesday 3rd

A crisp, calm and frosty start provided good conditions until a stiff northerly breeze got up. Thirty three birds were caught of which 24 were new. These consisted of six Blackbirds, two Song Thrushes, five Redwing, two Chiffchaffs, one Long-tailed Tit, one Blue Tit, one Chaffinch, the first Siskins this year (three) and three Lesser Redpolls. The thrushes were all at the low end of the weight range suggesting fresh arrivals.

A look at the totals for October make worrying reading. In all 705 birds were ringed with 202 Blackcaps just pipping 201 Chiffchaffs for top spot. There were just three Wrens, one Dunnock, 29 Robins, 44 Blackbirds, and nine Redwings. Three Firecrests (expect double figures) equalled three Goldcrests (expect three figures in good years). Notable absentees were Woodpigeon, Siskin, Coal Tit, and Fieldfare with actually none of any of these this year so far.

You can view past records by using the drop down menu to the right.

Saturday 30th

Showers joined in with the strong wind to make ringing impossible. However do not give up – go out and read some colour rings! The following are in the latest batch of recoveries from the BTO;

The two most interesting are – Caspian Gull ringed as a pullus on 15/6/17 at Jeziorko, Poland and read on Restharrow Scrape on 10/12/19 (908 days later and 1436km west).

Teal marked with a nasal saddle on 18/2/17 at Aveiro, Portugal and read here on 4/4/21 (1408km north-east).

The others were Spoonbill ringed as a pullus at Korendijk, Netherlands 11/6/20 and read here on 21/5/21 (344 days later and 256 km west south-west).

Mediterranean Gull ringed as a pullus at Zwini, Belgium 16/6/19 and read here on 23/4/21 (677days later and 139km W).

Please keep those colour mark sightings coming in.

Thursday 28th

There was a slight drop in wind but not enough to let us try for the Swallows that are still around. Twelve birds were caught of which seven were new. It was a case of saved by the Long-tailed Tits with six new birds and the other new bird was a Chaffinch.

Wednesday 27th

Even windier than forecast meaning only limited nets could be used. Nine birds were caught of which a Great Spotted Woodpecker, two Song Thrushes, a Great Tit and a Lesser Redpoll were new.

It has taken a while to sort out but we have a good batch of new reports of movements of ringed birds to report on. The headline is a Song Thrush which was ringed here as an adult on October 6th, 2018. It was controlled by a ringer in Norway on September 6th this year at Holmane which is 851 km NNE. Having probably originated somewhere to the north of this it has probably travelled at least 1000km south and 1000km north for at least four years.

Monday 25th

A lovely calm, mild, morning did nothing to tempt migrants. Fourteen birds were ringed the best of which were two Redwing and two Chiffchaffs.

Sunday 24th

A bit breezier than expected but mild. Eighteen birds were ringed plus 21 retrapped. New birds were two each of Blackbird and Song Thrush, one each of Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Goldfinch and Lesser Redpoll plus three Blue Tits and six Chaffinches. The Chiffchaff had plumage indications of a more northern origin. One of the retrap Chaffinches was eight and a half years old at least.

Saturday 23rd

Ringing was possible on a couple of days this week, despite the weather, and today was good conditions. Twenty birds were ringed plus there was a control of a UK ringed Chiffchaff. The highlight was the first Sparrowhawk of the year. Lesser Redpolls have crept into double figures for the year with another five today (we had done around 1,000 by this time last year).

Sunday 17th

There was cloud this morning but it did not increase the number of birds in the bushes. There were thirty new birds half of which were Goldfinches. There were also two more Lesser Redpolls and a Brambling.

Saturday 16th

A cool, clear, start meant the temperature dropped for the first hour and there was even a bit of frost- certainly no cloud as some had implied. The calm made up for the clear and 69 birds were ringed with another 22 Goldfinches leading the way. Blackbirds (10) and Chiffchaff (16) also made it to double figures. The highlights of the new birds were the first Lesser Redpolls (3) and Reed Buntings (2) of the year. The best bird was already sporting a ring from the Stavanger ringing scheme, an adult female Blackbird.

Friday 15th

More reasonable conditions but it would appear there is only light overnight migration going on. The thought is that this is due to poor productivity this nesting season although there is still a faint hope things could improve due to the lateness of the season, as the small flocks of Swallows hint at. Today was rescued by 22 new Goldfinches. Otherwise seven Blackbirds, six Blackcaps, five Chiffchaffs, two Robins and a Great Tit were ringed.

Wednesday 13th

Cool and calm to start with and it would seem that most migrants have moved on with only 18 new birds caught. They were two Robins, one Blackbird, three Song Thrushes, two Blackcaps, five Chiffchaffs, one Goldcrest, one Blue Tit and three Chaffinches.

The last occupied House Martin nest was quiet mid-morning, hopefully they have fledged rather than failed.

Tuesday 12th

More reasonable conditions for ringing and 52 birds were ringed. Chiffchaff just pipped Blackcap 22 v 21. Two Redwing appeared late morning probably the precursors of the arrival later in the afternoon.

Monday 11th

The normal pattern for the wind is to start low and pick up from mid-morning but today there was a intermittent early breeze which actually fell away, and there was no fog. Fifty-eight birds were ringed and 17 retrapped. Blackcap continued to lead the way with 21 followed closely by 20 Chiffchaffs. The others were a Green Woodpecker, two Robins, two Blackbirds, singles of Song Thrush, Redwing, Firecrest, Great Tit, Magpie, and House Sparrow, plus three each of Chaffinch and Goldfinch. Despite the number of Magpies around this is the first to be ringed for two years.

Sunday 10th

Despite thick fog welcoming the team 48 birds were ringed. Most surprising was another new Kestrel. There was also a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Redwing.

Saturday 9th

Although the sky cleared and it sounded quieter first thing there was still a good mix of new birds with 64 ringed. Robins were new in with 11 ringed. Also new were two Blackbirds, three Song Thrushes, a Redwing, 20 Blackcaps, 20 Chiffchaffs, two Goldcrests, a Firecrest, two Blue Tits, a Great Tit and a Chaffinch. There is still no sign of any Redpolls.

Friday 8th

Although ‘Nocmig’ monitoring showed hundreds of Redwing and Song Thrushes coming lower due to the cloud and light rain they did not hang around. There was a slight increase in thrushes ringed but surprisingly no Song Thrushes. A total of 52 birds were ringed including five Robins, six Blackbirds, a Redwing, 11 Blackcaps, 21 Chiffchaffs, four Great Tits and a Blue Tit. Of more note were two Greenfinches and a late Reed Warbler that was still in post-juvenile moult.

Thursday 7th

At last a great, calm, morning and we could do some ringing. It was a typical autumn catch of 46 birds (20 Blackcaps, 19 Chiffchaffs, two Blackbirds, a single Wren, Robin, Song Thrush and Blue Tit). Best of all was the first Brambling of the year. Quite clearly a lot of the birds which had been hanging around for the last few, windy, days took the opportunity to move on.

Wednesday 6th

We are still here but so is the wind. Another day when it was not suitable to catch birds. It did give time however for the fallen tree to be removed from the net rides.

Saturday 2nd                                                                                                                                                                                    

A calm start to the day, ahead of the approaching storm, found plenty of migrants in the bushes. Before the storm started winding up mid-morning 109 birds were ringed. This consisted of one Blackbird, 64 Blackcaps, 40 Chiffchaffs, and singles of Firecrest, Great Tit, Jay and a Goldfinch. All the birds seemed in good condition with plenty of fat Blackcaps.

Wednesday 29th

After a windy, wet, night it was no great surprise that there were less birds around. Twenty two new birds were made up of one Robin, three Blackbirds, 11 Blackcaps, three Chiffchaffs, and four Goldfinches.

Tuesday 28th

After the previous days blow out it was back to calmer conditions for a while but with lurking showers. There were plenty of migrants around and 85 birds were ringed. Twenty one Chiffchaffs were just part of the good numbers that could be heard, interestingly there were also seven retraps suggesting the birds are waiting better conditions before moving on. Even more pleasingly 36 House Martins were ringed, there would have been more but the arrival of rain put paid to that.

Sunday 26th

An overnight shower did not bring a flush of new arrivals. Forty two birds were ringed the most notable of which were three Blackbirds – a clear sign of autumn – and a Kestrel. It is interesting to get an unringed Kestrel as we ring the local nestlings and so this must have moved in from elsewhere.

Saturday 25th

Warm and calm with high cloud are conditions which might deliver hirundines but apart from a couple of groups passing by there was no sign. Sixty eight birds were ringed – 43 Blackcaps, 22 Chiffchaffs, a Blue Tit, a Goldfinch and at last a Swallow.

Friday 24th

Another hot day with the breeze getting up quickly. Sixty nine birds were ringed including 33 Blackcaps (+ a control), 31 Chiffchaffs and best of all another Spotted Flycatcher.

Thursday 23rd

More of the same weather but with an added breeze which quickly got up. Most net rides were not used because we concentrated on the Pipit Triangle. Unfortunately the arrival of the breeze meant this attempt was doomed. The Haven did yield 34 Blackcaps, 15 Chiffchaffs and three House Martins. The latter were the first hirundines to be caught this month but the breeze put paid to any more today.

Wednesday 22nd

Another glorious, calm, morning and as noted on the sightings page there were lots of birds on the move. With only one experienced ringer available it was not possible to tap into the hirundine passage but 113 birds were ringed – two Robins, two Lesser Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, 59 Blackcaps, and 49 Chiffchaffs.

Tuesday 21st

A beautiful, calm, autumnal morning with the temperature down below 9°C for the first time for a while. There were plenty of birds on the move. We ringed 147 birds of which 103 were Blackcaps (plus one UK control), 35 Chiffchaffs, two Lesser Whitethroats, and a Reed Warbler. Three new Dunnocks and a Blackbird also indicated autumns arrival.

Monday 20th

After a delayed start due to the first rain for several weeks it was not a bad morning. There were 59 new birds – 48 Blackcaps, ten Chiffchaffs, and a Willow Warbler.

The main event was the first fitting of MOTUS tracking tags to Blackcaps at Sandwich. Lucy Mitchell (who holds the necessary licences) is with us at present and fitted the tags this morning. You may remember that we purchased the aerials with money from a bequest from Vida Maddell and they have already detected a couple of tags fitted on birds coming from Europe. Our tags are part of a trial run for fitting them in the UK.

Sunday 19th

It remains dry and fairly calm. There is still a trickle of migrants but nowhere near the number usually seen at this time of year. Fifty-one birds were caught today of which 38 were new. The main event though was the capture of two controls-both ringed elsewhere in the UK. One was a Blackcap and one a Chiffchaff and they are the first controls we have had this year. This is a reflection of the effects of lockdowns on ringing activity early in the year and the effect of the cold spell in late spring on breeding migrants. We would normally had several controls by now.

Saturday 18th

Cloud gathered and it was a warm, calm start to the day. It remains dry. It will be interesting to see if this pattern of warm nights leading to quieter days continues. There were 43 new birds today – 22 Blackcaps, 19 Chiffchaffs, a Whitethroat and our first Meadow Pipit since 2019. A Hobby flying around was the excuse for us not catching hirundines today.

Friday 17th

Just a tiny bit more breeze but there were still 81 more Blackcaps (plus only one from yesterday was retrapped so they are moving quickly through). There was more variety today with 11 species in the 124 birds ringed. Chiffchaff increased to 34 but the highlight was two Jays – the first of the year.

When we set up the colour ringing project for House Sparrows and Collared Doves the hope was that our large membership would be able to contribute records. Although this has not happened the photo below shows you do not even need binoculars to contribute. Thanks to Andrew for the photo.

Thursday 16th

A beautiful early autumn morning with no wind and small banks of mist coming and going. The temperature dropped below 10°C overnight for the first time this month. This was just the prompt the Blackcaps needed and there were lots moving around. A very small team of us sampled 120 of these. In fact these were the only A-size ring birds we caught. There were also 14 new Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler and the first Firecrest to be ringed this year.

Monday 13th

The return to a warmer night reduced the catch to 34 birds, 28 of theses were new. Blackcap (14) and Chiffchaff (10) both made it into double figures. The highlight was the first Cetti’s Warbler of the year.

Sunday 12th

Clearer and breezier overnight made it feel a bit more autumnal first thing. This seemed to spur birds into action and the first reasonable arrival of autumn occurred. Seventy seven birds were ringed including 51 Blackcaps, 12 Chiffchaffs, three Robins, three Willow Warblers, and a Garden Warbler.

Saturday 11th

Overcast but calm again but the breeze got up. Having heard the first Goldcrest of the autumn on my morning walk the first one also showed up in the nets. It remained very quiet with eight other new birds – four Blackcaps and singles of Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler, and Chiffchaff.

Large numbers of hirundines continue to move south and continue to show no interest in getting ringed first.

Friday 10th

It is beginning to get worrying, where are the migrants? At this rate we will struggle to reach a quarter of the number of birds ringed in an average year. Today started calm but as the breeze got up a minute shower passed over. Although lots of hirundines were heading south it was too breezy and they avoided the nets. In the end there were 11 new birds and 11 retraps. New birds included five Blackcaps and single Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Warbler, and Lesser Whitethroat. Although there were no new Willow Warblers there were two retraps which is not what we normally find. The birds we are catching seem to be in good condition.

Thursday 9th

Calm and warm again and 18 birds were ringed. Blackcap returned to double figures, just, with 10. There were two each of Willow Warbler, Robin and Blue Tit plus single Blackbird and Great Tit.

Wednesday 8th

Calm and warm conditions overnight encouraged birds to move on and there seemed to be plenty of newly arrived Chiffchaffs in the nearby hedgerows. Only 17 birds were ringed. The first Spotted Flycatcher of the year was the highlight.

Tuesday 7th

Calm and warm and at first it seemed as if birds had moved on. However 36 were ringed including 21 Blackcaps and a Pied Flycatcher. In total seven species of warbler were caught – Reed, Garden, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Willow. The local Chiffchaffs are near to completing there moult and will probably be heading south soon. Still no hirundines caught this month.

Monday 6th

The warm, calm, spell is settling in and migrants continue to trickle through. As per normal the number of Blackcaps is increasing. There were 48 birds today of which 39 were new, 27 of these were Blackcaps, four Willow Warblers and three Chiffchaffs.

One of the Redwings reappeared, this time in the Whitehouse. Its wing moult is now almost complete. Will it hang around for the winter or head south?

Sunday 5th

The wind dropped overnight and it was a pleasant start to the morning with a slight increase in new birds. Twenty-eight were ringed with 14 Blackcaps, six Willow Warblers, and four Whitethroats leading the way.

Saturday 4th

Thick cloud meant there were plenty of hirundines around but the wind meant we could only watch and wish them ‘bon voyage’. The catch was 23 birds again but this time 17 were new. This included the first Redstart of the year and another Pied Flycatcher.

Friday 3rd

The wind persists and it started clear last night so birds moved on. Twenty-three birds were caught but only nine were new. This included two Willow Warblers and single Lesser Whitethroat and Whitethroat.

Wednesday 1st

The north-easterly and cloud persists but the high driving it is not over Scandinavia and catches remain low. There were 20 birds today of which 13 were new. Blackcap moved to the top of the chart but there were only four. It was nice to catch a third Pied Flycatcher. If the wind switches to south-west then Blackcaps will really get going.

Tuesday 31st

The long run of north-easterly continues and there are no big arrivals of migrants. Nineteen birds were ringed today. Once again Willow Warbler was most frequent with seven but this time there were no retraps. Blackcap is slowly increasing and there were five today/The highlight was a second Pied Flycatcher.

Sunday 29th

There was still enough shelter to keep the nets running until early afternoon despite the north-easterly. Forty six birds were caught of which 29 were new. Lesser Whitethroat was most frequent with six followed by five Goldfinches. A sure sign of autumn approaching were three Blackcaps and the bonus bird was a Pied Flycatcher.

Friday 27th

The wind persits but there are clearly birds moving through. Forty-four birds today included 26 unringed ones. There were seven different warblers- Reed (1), Lesser Whitethroat (2), Whitethroat (2), Garden Warbler (2), Blackcap (2), Chiffchaff (2) and Willow warbler (10 + only one retrap). It would be nice if one or two of the Wrynecks or Whinchats came to join the party!

Wednesday 25th

A disappointingly quiet morning with only seven new birds despite the good spread of warblers which arrived in the outlying bushes. The seven were Robin, Blackbird, Reed Warbler, Blackcap and three Long-tailed Tits.

Monday 23rd

After the storm yesterday morning cancelled any ringing then today was better although the north-easterly cleared the sky and the catch reduced to 11 new birds- three Willow Warblers, two Reed Warblers, two Blackcaps and single Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Chiffchaff and Long-tailed Tit.

Friday 20th

The good early morning conditions continue and 36 birds were caught of which 24 were new. It was a nice mix of warblers again including the fourth Wood Warbler of the autumn. Interestingly retrap Willow Warblers (7) beat new Willow Warblers (6). It is not usual for these migrants to hang around in good numbers.

Thursday 19th

The main event this morning was the retrapping of one of the summering Redwings which was now in moult. We still have not caught any immatures but they clearly summered.

Wednesday 18th

Things looked promising at first with cloud cover and only a light breeze. Unfortunately unexpected drizzle and rain arrived to stop things. Eleven birds were ringed including three Sand Martins.

Tuesday 17th

An overcast start helped nullify the effect of the cool breeze and 34 birds were caught of which 23 were new. Willow Warbler continues to head the exit southwards with 11 new birds. Interestingly there were also four retraps and so perhaps the unsettled spell has made some hang around. Other warblers included three Reed, two each for Garden and Lesser Whitethroat, and single Sedge, Whitethroat and Blackcap.

Sunday 15th

Another pleasant start to the day made it good for ringing, before a strong breeze got up. Thirty six of the 51 birds were new. Evidence of successful local breeding continued with three Robins, two Blackbirds and a Song Thrush all new. Migrant warblers included another Wood Warbler, five Lesser Whitethroats, three Garden Warblers, and 13 Willow Warblers. The four Blackcaps were all retraps indicating they are not moving yet.

Friday 13th

A bit breezier than expected but otherwise another pleasant morning. There were 25 new and seven retrap birds. As usual at this time of year departing migrant warblers made up the bulk. There were nine Willow Warblers, four each of Reed and Garden Warbler, two each of Chiffchaff and Whitethroat plus a single Sedge Warbler.

Thursday 12th

A couple of nets were put up today as part of a demonstration but they still caught ten new birds the best of which were two Lesser Whitethroats.

Wednesday 11th

Another nice morning but the catch was surprisingly down a bit to 21 new birds. This time there were a couple of Sedge warblers amongst the mix of warblers but no Wood Warbler today. Despite there being four figure counts of Sand Martin nearby on Worth none were caught on the Estate.

Tuesday 10th

Although it was windy at 2 am last night the wind did drop to give a pleasant, warm, morning. Good conditions yielded 37 new and 10 retrap birds. If there had been a Sedge Warbler there would have been a full set of the common migrant warblers. There were 13 Willow Warblers, five Whitethroats, five Blackcaps, two each of Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler and Chiffchaff plus another Wood Warbler.

Sunday 8th

Despite the strength of the breeze there are enough leaves on the trees to shelter some nets and it was finally possible to do some ringing. Although only eight new birds were caught it was well worth the effort as Nightingale, Garden Warbler, and Treecreeper were all new on the Estate this year.

Wednesday 4th

Although conditions are good there does not seem to be much moving yet apart from Reed Warblers. Twenty-two birds were ringed today including three Whitethroats, two each of Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Reed Warbler and a single Sedge Warbler. Two Reed Warblers might not sound much but some were ringed yesterday as well and there are plenty in areas such as the riverbank.

Monday 2nd

No team available today but a brief check of the nest boxes at home yielded four broods of House Martins plus two new clutches so they are still trying. House Sparrows are continuing to have mixed success two clutches of eggs were both down to one cold egg.

Sunday 1st

A completely unforecast burst of rain brought proceedings to an abrupt end but not before four Willow Warblers, two Wrens and singles of Reed Warbler and Robin were ringed. Thanks heavens for the rain radar!

Wednesday 28th

Well the weather is certainly not helping and today was the first time since Friday when there was not rain and/or too strong a wind. It was breezy but some ringing could be done before the wind increased and it showed that autumn migration is underway. Twenty-four birds were caught of which 14 were new. This included the first Wood Warbler of the year. There were also six new Reed Warblers, three Blackcaps, a Willow Warbler and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Unfortunately the next couple of days seem to be going downhill.

On the nest box front House Sparrows are still busy with some new clutches but we cannot get up to check the House Martins in this wind.

Friday 23rd

After a long break due to poor weather and the closure of the area due to the Open golf, the footpath has re-opened and we were able to get going again. Due to various hospitalisations (not ringing related) we are also very short of ringers. It was worth getting back as an adult Redwing was caught. This is the fourth in that area since May. The bird was in moult. Once we started catching them we stopped ringing in that area and it looks as if that was worth it, will we catch a juvenile?

Friday 9th

For the first time in a while we had the conditions and the ringers to put up some nets. Nineteen birds were caught of which 15 were new. A Sand Martin was the first autumn migrant to be ringed. Local birds included five Blackcaps, three Whitethroats and a Chiffchaff; all juveniles.

There will be no ringing next week as all the local roads and footpaths are closed for The Open Championship and the ringing area will be inaccessible.

The House Martin situation continues to look bleak another three nests were found to have failed all at the stage when the young were just growing their flight feathers. Timing wise it links to the cold windy weather we had maybe the adults just could not find food. We have not had such a poor year for them in the time I have been checking them.

Monday 5th

A check of some House Martin nests showed the first birds fledged but another nest had four dead young, two of them at fledging size. Maybe one of the local Hobbies got one of the parents.

Friday July 2nd

A productive morning with plenty of hard work done preparing the Whitehouse for the autumn season and checking nest boxes. The latter provided two surprises with a Great Tit on eggs in one box and three ringable young in another box. This is the latest I have personally seen active Great Tit nests.

Saturday 26th

A check of the House Martins showed most coming along slowly with only two broods (a five and a three) large enough to ring. One of the nests checked previously had three eggs but no nest lining at all. This time the nest was completely empty with no sign of eggs in it or below.

Tuesday 22nd

No ringing possible due to the rain and the strength of the easterly for the last few days.

This photo of a colour-ringed Greater Black-backed Gull on the Scrape was taken yesterday. The last one of these with a black colour ring had been ringed in Norway. We will let you know when we find out.

A huge thank you to the Conservation team who braved yesterday’s foul conditions to clear the paths and rides in the ringing area.

Notice how it is enjoying the mid-summer weather!

Saturday 19th

After yesterdays wash out a round of the House Martin boxes today showed that things are moving forward slowly. Only three boxes are now unoccupied and birds are still laying. The first chicks hatched last week but the clutch of six eggs is still just that, however, as most are just hatching there is still hope and the adult is still present.

Thursday 17th

The Barn Owl nest boxes around here are monitored under the appropriate government licence. Sadly this year is not a good one. The only active nest has only two of the four chicks left.

Tuesday 15th

The overnight breeze persisted first thing and so 15 birds was not a bad return. One Chaffinch, two Dunnocks and two House Sparrows were new.

A check of the sparrow nest boxes showed more broods coming along and of particular note the clutch of six have all just hatched.

Friday 11th

Almost the same as Tuesday but even warmer. New birds included five Goldfinches, a juvenile Chiffchaff and Dunnock, and another new Blackbird.

Tuesday 8th

The hot, calm, daytime conditions mean good conditions for early morning ringing but also an early finish. Today there were nine new and eight retrap birds – the first time it has been that way around for a while. The most interesting aspect was catching four new, adult, Whitethroats. Where have they come from, surely not late arrivals (this is often noticeable with Reed Warblers). There was also another new adult male Chiffchaff. The other new birds were juveniles- two Robins, a Blackbird and a Dunnock.

Monday 7th

This time it was the House Sparrow nest boxes which were checked and again it is a mixed picture. Two boxes each had one fat chick plus unhatched eggs. It would suggest the the cold nights a couple of weeks ago did not help incubation but the chicks that survived are reaping the benefit of being the only mouth to feed. There were also three broods of three chicks each, normally at this time there are four or five chicks. This might be direct affect of the cold or indirect. The latter resulting in less caterpillars to provide protein for the growing chicks as has been demonstrated by many tit broods. For the first time for three years or so we have some second clutches of Starlings one with four eggs and one with one egg, a third clutch have disappeared however.

Saturday 5th

A check of the House Martin nest boxes showed a very mixed picture. The positive is that where they are nesting there are healthy clutches of eggs. In the oldest group of seven nests there were two empty, one with three eggs, two with four eggs and two with five eggs. In the next set with nine nests it was much worse, six were empty, one was nest lined, one had four eggs and one had six eggs. The latter is the largest brood we have recorded here. Hopefully there might be some more to come as there is plenty of activity.

Tuesday 1st

A lovely warm. calm, morning yielded four new and nine retrap birds. There was another juvenile Chiffchaff plus a new adult male. There was also an adult Reed Warbler and a Goldfinch. A check of some nest boxes yesterday showed that House Sparrows are trying to make up for lost time with plenty of broods on the way. Also for the first time for at least two years Starlings are thinking about second broods. The last couple of years have seen very dry spells and Starlings did not try but this year there is plenty of nest rebuilding and even an egg. Down the road a few more House Martins are appearing only a month late.

Saturday 29th

We have had notification of some interesting movements. Two were Lesser Redpolls ringed here last autumn. The first was caught at Brandon, Norfolk on May 2nd (142 km NNW). The second was on Bardsey Island, Gwynedd (455km WNW) on April 20th. Two involve birds ringed abroad which we retrapped here last autumn. One was  Blackcap ringed in Belgium on 11/9/19 it was retrapped here a year later on 5/10/20. Was this a bird heading south or a bird heading here to spend the winter? The second might not sound that interesting until you look at the dates. It was a Goldcrest ringed on Zeeland, Netherlands on 16/10/20 and retrapped here the next day at 0755.

The final record is another colour ringed bird, this time a Spoonbill. It was ringed at the nest at Ventjagersplaten, Netherlands on 11/6/20. It was then seen 40 km away amongst a group of 180 Sponbills on 1/9/20. Our sighting was on Worth on May 21st this year, it would be nice if it could bring along some of its 179 friends!

Friday 28th

The group have continued monitoring nest boxes. Unsurprisingly, with the weather, there have been some failures but 24 Blue Tits were ringed on Wednesday and there are certainly good numbers of young Starlings, thrushes, Goldfinches and Wrens around.

Ringing today yielded five new and eight retrap birds. The highlight was a Stock Dove.

Monday 24th

Another very interesting colour mark sighting. This time it is a Teal with a nasal saddle. It had been ringed at Sao Jacinto Dunes Nature Reserve which is 1411 km away in Portugal. It was ringed on 18/2/17, seen there 02/01/18 to 20/2/18, and on 24/1/19, and seen here earlier this year.

Sunday 23rd

Although cool the mornings often start quite pleasant and that was the case today. The unsettled, sometimes stormy, nights are not bringing any new arrivals, Three birds were caught today. The two new ones a Chiffchaff and a Blackbird were both a bit of a surprise as we would have expected to have ringed most of the local adults. There are plenty of young Starlings around now plus Blackbirds and Robins and so things might improve.

Wednesday 19th

Fortunately none of the heavy showers forecast materialised and we were able to continue checking nest boxes. Unsurprisingly, broods are proceeding very slowly with only a few Great Tit chicks ready to ring. We will have to wait until next week for the Blue Tits to start catching up.

At least the Tits are keeping going and not giving up, perhaps the daytime sunny spells are helping. The early House Sparrow broods are not so successful this year with two failing and two surviving nests with one and three chicks only. It does seem there are plenty more getting underway though.

Tuesday 18th

A lovely, calm, sunny morning  provided good conditions for ringing. It was all local breeders with one or two more females showing up amongst the ten retraps and three new birds. The new ones were yet another Blackcap male, a Whitethroat, and a House Sparrow.

Although there are reports of good arrivals of hirundines the House Martins around here remain in very low numbers.

Sunday 16th

No news of ringing today but this week will probably be a crunch week for judging how the local breeders using the nest boxes are doing. Judging by previous visits the Tit chicks should be ready for ringing but who knows in this mixed up year. One species we will not be ringing for sometime is House Martin. We have groups of nine, seven and two nests but although a few birds showed up a while ago there are only four nests being visited regularly and even those are not there most of the day. Let us hope they do return and get at least one brood away.

Friday 14th

Cold, drizzly, and with an easterly breeze getting up – yuck! Gone are the days when these sort of conditions might have brought in items of interest or an arrival of Willow Warblers. Eight birds caught were all retraps and local breeders. The number of Whitethroats seems healthy.

Wednesday 12th

More nest boxes checked today. It would seem that, unlike last year, Blue Tits have a good number of nests but Great Tits are down in number. Most birds are just hatching their young apart from one Great Tit where they will fledge in a week and one Blue Tit observed nest building.

Tuesday 11th

A pleasant, calm, and fairly warm start to the day yielded seven new and seven retrap birds. Two of these were female Whitethroats, plus a female Blackcap, so it would seem the females are showing up at last. Even though the catches are small they keep providing things of interest. This time it was a male Redwing complete with cloacal protuberence (this follows on from the female with a brood patch we caught last year). There was also a female Bullfinch retrap of a bird ringed as a one year old in 2018.

Friday 7th

A cool but bright and calm start seemed to encourage an increase in the number of sylvia warblers singing. Nine new birds including three each of Blackcap and Whitethroat reflected this. Only one of the new birds was a female. I do not think the rest are sitting on eggs yet, they are hopefully still to arrive. A Green Woodpecker ringed in 2014 was an interesting retrap.

Thursday 6th

The slight damp spell has arrived just in time for the Starlings, three broods of chunky chicks were ringed today. Elsewhere on the nest front some noisy young Rooks could be seen standing on the branches next to their nests and exercising their wings. There are finally a few House Martins visiting the nests on Sandown Road and hopefully we will get a bit of warmth and the rest will show up.

Wednesday 5th

Advantage was taken of the shelter from the stiff breeze which is provided by The Elms to check all the nest boxes. Generally it is going to be a poor season, it would appear the constant cold wind has knocked the Tits back. Half of the nest boxes were occupied and most of these were still in the process of laying a full clutch. We were able to ring one healthy brood of Stock Doves.

The importance of the kind contributions from supporters towards the cost of woodcrete nest boxes was clearly demonstrated. A couple of years ago some boxes had reinforced wooden fronts put on and the woodpeckers have now demolished some of these. Last year we added metal nest box hole guards to other boxes and the woodpecker has changed tactic and now drills in through the roof! If a woodpecker can get through the woodcrete ones I am not sure I would want to come up against it!

Monday 3rd

We managed to get a couple of hours in before the forecast increase in wind arrived. Nine birds were caught including three Willow Warblers, two Chaffinches, and single Blackcap, Blackbird, and House Sparrow. Most birds were in breeding condition showing brood patches or cloacal protuberences. Two of the Willow warblers were not ready yet and one of these still had a reasonable amount of fat.

Friday 30th

Calm, frosty, conditions welcomed us to the ringing site. Sixteen birds were caught of which six were new. This did include the first Sedge and Reed Warblers to be ringed this year.

Tuesday 27th

The wind fell over night and it was a frosty, calm start allowing good coverage by the nets. Eleven birds were caught including another new Robin, a Song Thrush and two Whitethroats.

Sunday 25th

Despite the cold easterly an attempt was made to ring yielding a new Chiffchaff and Robin.

More interesting news shown by ringing was pleasing. The first involved a colour ringed Mediterranean Gull which was observed during the week. It had first been ringed in Flanders, Belgium on June 16th 2019 as a pullus. It quickly moved to Titchwell, Norfolk where it was seen on July 24th 2019. There were no more sightings until two separate sightings around Cardiff on April 10th this year and then it showed up on the Scrape on the 23rd.

The second involves a Lesser Redpoll. Having commented on a couple of previous ones which headed due west rather than north we now have a third from Hampshire this time at Stockbridge on April 16th.

Friday 23rd

Clear sky at night migrants delight,

As is often the case when the night sky is clear migrants make haste for their breeding sites and it is quiet here aside from the birds who stop here to breed. Four new birds were caught this morning- singles of Wren, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. One of our colour ringed House Sparrows was retrapped but it still remains a mystery where else they go. They still hang out at the Observatory and the start of Sandown Road but nobody else has ever reported one of the 500+ colour ringed birds.

Wednesday 21st

Two brave souls ignored the early fog but finally had to admit defeat as a cold and strong easterly picked up. The three birds they caught did include the first Whitethroat of the year.

Tuesday 20th

Once the net poles were sorted a start was made and 21 birds were caught. Eight of these were new – two Chiffchaffs and single Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Dunnock, Robin, Song Thrush, and Great Tit.

A retrap Blackcap was one of last years young birds and a very blue Blue Tit had been rung five years previously.

Friday 16th

No chicks around the Observatory but some House Sparrows have eggs and there is also a Blackbird nest with eggs. Elsewhere a Stock Dove is on two eggs.

Wednesday 14th

Now that restrictions are slowly lifting a small group were able to get back into our ringing area and clear the trees which had fallen across the rides in the storms.

The next thing will be to check the nest boxes as, despite the bitter wind, the days are sunny and warm out of the wind and birds are nesting. One of our House Sparrows was on newly hatched chicks yesterday and Starling and Blackbird are on eggs.

Monday 12th 

Last month we had a recovery of one of the Lesser Redpolls from last autumn in Hampshire, sadly it was killed by a cat. However today we have received news of another one in Hampshire this time it was caught by a ringer on April 7th. Both birds were roughly due west from here and presumably on their way back to breed. Although west is often part of the direction birds moving through here come from they are usually from Wales or north-west England and Scotland.