Sunday 30th
The weather continues to swing from one thing to another very quickly and today was forecast to be dry. As it was clear ice and frost gathered as dawn came along but the sun melted it quickly in the places exposed to it. It was enough to have a morning for the next period of the winter project. Thirty-one of the forty-four birds were subsequent encounters which is just what the project wants as it is looking at survival rates. The most significant encounter was outside of the constant effort nets when the Hume's Warbler was caught in the heligoland. As it has put lots of fat on, increasing from 0 to 4 it will be interesting to see if this is used to overwinter here or to move on. The new birds were nine Blackbirds and singles of Blue Tit, Chiffchaff, Robin and Wren.
Friday 28th
Earlier in the week todays forecast was not pleasant but there was a big change and the day started calm and mild. There were plenty of birds spread around including a clear increase in Blackbirds. They were busy feeding on the Hawthorns spread around the dunes. We did catch 12 who contributed to the total of 23 new birds. Only the second Fieldfare of the autumn was ringed plus there was a Blackcap, two Chiffchaffs, three Long-tailed Tits, two Robins, a Wren and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Although new Long-tailed Tits continued to appear it was not the same for Blue Tits with nine retraps and no new ones. The best subsequent encounter was a Bruxelles ringed Chiffchaff.
Thursday 27th
Too windy to ring but details have come in about the Danish ringed Blackcap we caught on November 18th. It had been ringed at Romo, Denmark on October 27th which is 637 km north-east of here.
Wednesday 26th
After a very frosty start when ringers were not available we had a short session in the afternoon, when it was calm and clear.
Twenty-three birds were caught of which ten were new. These were three Blackbirds - all long-winged northern continental types, two more Chiffchaffs and Long-tailed Tits, plus singles of Redwing, Song Thrush and Blue Tit.
Friday 21st
There was no hope of ringing in the morning after lightning, thunder hail and sleet but the forecast for the afternoon was much better and so we gave it a go. Eleven new birds might not sound much but when one of them was the Hume's Warbler which had been found earlier it all seemed very worthwhile. This was a first for the Observatory and so a first for the ringing team. There were also thrushes around but only three Blackbirds were ringed. The other new birds were six Long-tailed Tits and a Blue Tit. Amongst the retraps were two Chiffchaffs and two Firecrests.
Tuesday 18th
In a first for the autumn we were welcomed by a thick frost. It remained fairly calm but did cloud over. We were kept busy ringing through the morning. In the end there were 41 new birds and 62 subsequent encounters. The definite highlight was a Blackcap with a Danish ring. It will be interesting to see if we can tell from the information if it was likely to be heading here for the winter or a slightly off-course bird heading further south.
The most numerous new bird was Redpoll (all Lesser types) with 17. Seven Blackbirds were not unexpected but five new Chiffchaffs were of note. The other new birds were four Goldcrests, three Song Thrushes, two Blackcaps and singles of Chaffinch, Redwing and Firecrest. There were also five retrap Firecrests.
Saturday 15th
We chose to ignore the one forecast which had persistently said it would rain this morning and it was just as well all the other forecasts were for no rain and were correct. It remains mild although after a clear start fog gathered and added a damper feel to the air. There were thrushes around again and they quickly moved on inland. Other migrants continue to trickle through and 22 birds were ringed. These were eight Goldcrests, five Chaffinches, two each of Blackbird, Blackcap, House Sparrow and Redwing plus a Song Thrush. It is the first time for a while with no Firecrest - new or subsequent!
Every clump of bushes now has a Robin ticking away first thing but although there were five subsequent encounters there were no new birds.
Thursday 13th
The forecasted showers did not show and, unusually for here, the wind dropped through the morning. With it being mild there are still plenty of crests and the like around. There were 38 new birds and, reflecting the food availability, 23 retraps. A flock of 16 cabaret-type Redpolls all graced the net at once. There were nine new Goldcrests and five retraps. The Firecrest fest continued with another new bird plus three retraps. Although there were three new Chiffchaffs there were no retraps - maybe they have looked at the approaching forecast. The other new birds were three Blackbirds, two Blackcaps and singles of Blue Tit, Chaffinch, House Sparrow and Robin.
Frustratingly there was a Yellow-browed Warbler calling nearby but it was not interested in getting a ring.
Tuesday 11th
We grabbed a short gap between the wind and rain to get a few nets up Although there were lots of Blackbirds around first thing they quickly moved on and only four were caught. Firecrest continued their great run with another three today. The other highlight was a female Sparrowhawk. The rest were singles of Blackcap, Blue Tit, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest and cabaret-type Redpoll.
Sunday 9th
A calm, mild, morning coincided with a ringing team being available. Seventy-six birds were ringed. It was typical late autumn fare including the first Fieldfare of the autumn. Cabaret-type Redpolls numbered 19 followed by 17 Chiffchaffs, 14 Blackbirds, five Blackcaps, four each of Blue Tit and Goldcrest, three Song Thrushes, two Robins and singles of Chaffinch, Dunnock. Firecrest, Redwing and Wren.
With the mild weather aiding survival it will be interesting to see if we get any evidence that the Blackcaps are UK survivors or birds coming in from the continent to winter here.
Friday 7th
Today was overcast and fairly calm. Despite feeling a bit cooler it is still mild.
Forty-two birds were ringed with the definite star being a Pallas's Warbler. New Blackbirds continue to arrive and 25 were ringed, plus three Redwings and two Song Thrushes. The annual total for Firecrest has now reached an impressive 60 with another new bird today. The other new birds were two each of Blackcap, Blue Tit, Goldcrest and Redpoll, plus singles of Chiffchaff (although there were four subsequent encounters) and Robin.