Garden ringing and a tick...

Another few hours' ringing in the garden this morning gave me a new ringing tick (bit of tart's tick if I'm honest) in the form of a beautiful male siskin. There have been small numbers around the garden for a couple of weeks now, mixing in with a sizeable flock of goldfinches. I've seen siskins on the peanut feeders and wondered when one would find its way into the net. After a usual mix of blue tits, blackbird and goldfinches I finally got my hands on one of these incredibly attractive little finches.

What struck me immediately was their small size - noticeably a size smaller that a goldfinch - and the brightness of the plumage. This really is a superb looking bird. The tail is very short, giving it a very characteristic jizz.

Sexing was easy - clearly a male due to the blackish cap (fringed grey) and the bright lemon-yellow throughout. Ageing was relatively straightforward too - all greater coverts were of one age and the tail was fresh - all characteristics of an adult bird, not one born in 2012.

New baby...

At last, we have a new arrival. Our newts have bred! After keeping a few Marbled newts Triturus marmoratus for several years, they have finally managed to produce offspring - well, a single eft - but it's all rather exciting. 

Our new arrival

An injection of new blood in the form of three adults led quickly to some interesting breeding behaviour. With the arrival of females the single male newt rapidly gained his full breeding attire and began dancing away at every opportunity: shadowing the female and frequently whipping his tail in her face. I thought that I spotted some eggs on one occasion but as nothing happened thereafter I assumed that nothing would come of it.

Adult Marbled newt

However, last week I peered into the tank and saw this tiny silver thread swimming around - a baby! Over the following week it has grown into a really rather attractive beast, with fluffy gills and a spotted tail. I have added some more water plants so it can take refuge from the ever-hungry adults. Here's hoping for a successful outcome...

More garden quality...

My second ringing session of the Bank Holiday weekend (in amongst the rain and wind) turned up more quality. Having retreated to the kitchen after checking the nets, I was sitting down to a cup of tea when I heard an almighty noise coming from the garden - I knew exactly what it was....great spotted woodpecker! Sure enough, there he was, looking mightily unhappy at being denied a go at the peanut feeder. As is the case with this species, the feet were in a terrible tangle and it took me some time to extract the bird: the constant screaming most likely woke up everyone in a 200m radius.

Anyway, once safely in the hand I could take a proper look at this cracking bird. The red nape clearly identified it as a male - I had to refer to the ringing guide for ageing techniques. Essentially, as with most bird species it is the presence of feathers of different generations which assists in ageing - in this case, the mix of older, dull and brownish primary coverts amid new glossy black ones led me to age the bird as a 5 - i.e. fledged last year. 

The next few net checks turned up a trickle of blue tits - there are plenty of tits around at the moment and I suspect that several local broods are on the wing for the first time. In amongst this usual fare I had my second ever nuthatch - another piece of quality.

On taking the bird from the net, I was struck by the difference in bill length to the male I trapped previously - the bill was much less robust and I initially wondered if this was a young bird. However, on closer examination the bird had a well-developed brood patch and so was confidently sexed as a female and, given the evidence of breeding, therefore must have been fledged in 2011 or before. Given that I have now ringed a male and female, I suspect that this is the local pair which are likely nesting in the taller trees to the south of the garden.

Productive long weekend...

With a long weekend and a good few days off work to boot, I have been taking every opportunity to get the net up in the garden and, given the terrible weather, two days' ringing have produced some quality birds in my little patch of England.

Bright and early Saturday morning, and what do I find in the bottom panel of the net? A kestrel of all things! I guess it must have been chasing some small bird through the garden and blundered into the net - kestrels are around the village but I've never seen one actually in or over my garden before. I think I was as surprised as it was! After some careful handling I managed to get the bird safely out of the net and into a bird bag without losing any blood...

Needless to say, kestrel is not a bird I am overly familiar with handling in the garden - I have ringed several broods of young birds over the years, but not for some time now. Still, with the Baker guide in hand, I soon set about sexing and ageing the bird. The grey head and chestnut mantle obviously meant this was a male bird, and a combination of tail and flank feather colouration and patterning told me this was a mature adult - hatched in 2010 or previously - i.e. EURING age 6.

So, a cracking if unexpected start to the weekend's ringing session...the remainder of the morning was filled with the usual but still interesting mix of blue tits, chaffinch and greenfinch and, perhaps best of all for me, a nuthatch - my first garden ringing tick.

Nuthatches are such a good-looking bird - the combination of lead blue, chestnut, black and white plumage and that robust, awl-shaped bill gives them a very neat appearance - nuthatches really are one of my favourite groups. Anyway, it was great to finally be able to see one in such close detail - the rich brick-red undertail coverts and flanks made this bird a clear male.

More garden ringing...

Another weekend at home and so another opportunity to set the net in the garden. It's been so mild and sunny that it really looks as though spring is springing. I'd been putting out apples all week and hoped that this may attract a few thrushes or something else - sure enough, I have noticed a lovely male Blackcap in the garden all week - would I be able to catch him?

Saturday morning was a little disappointing, with only three birds caught in total. However, one of these was a lovely male Goldcrest, aged as a 2nd year bird by the shape of the tail feathers and as a male by the presence of orange colouration in the crown feathers. I have these diminutive birds in the garden all year round and I strongly suspect that they nest in a tall fir tree in the garden - they've been singing away all week.

Male Goldcrest

Male Blackcap

Sunday morning (net still up as I write this) is slightly more productive - after a stand-off for most of the morning, Mr Blackcap finally met his match and flew into the net - a small price for a week's worth of apples! This bird was aged as an adult due to the broad and rounded shape of the tail feathers and the absence of any moult limit in the wings. The black crown clearly identifies the bird as male.
 

Male Greenfinch

Female Greenfinch

A late flurry of action resulted in a lovely pair of Greenfinches, a male bird which I couldn't conclusively age (no moult limit and an inconclusively-shaped tail) and a 2nd year female.

Woodcock day roost...?

Whilst out on a site visit this morning in the north of Hampshire, I was tramping my way down a bank on the edge of a lightly-wooded stream channel when I flushed a Eurasian woodcock. As usual, the bird was well-away before I realised what it was, flying off to presumably settle down somewhere else on the site. The bird had clearly been resting (or feeding) up amongst deep leaf litter and soft streamside mud beneath a large oak tree - the ground was a dense carpet of oak leaves. Just out of curiosity I had a closer look at the spot where it flushed from and was surprised to see a little oval patch of bare soil, roughly woodcock-shaped, and with a fresh bird dropping at one (presumably the tail) end.

It struck me that I must be looking at a day roost or scrape which the bird had made whilst it spent the daylight hours in this tucked-away corner of Hampshire. I have done a little web-based research and can find no mention of such a feature. Do woodcock 'make' day scrapes??  I guess not many people consider paying attention to where a flushed woodcock came from and glance up for a fleeting glimpse of the bird's backside...

Apologies - stupid Blogger seems to prevent image rotation - this image should be rotated 90 degrees right...

And again...

As it's the weekend and the weather is fine I thought I'd leave the net furled overnight and open it up again this morning. Very cold this morning thanks to clear skies (amazing night sky though) and a less fruitful day in the end - perhaps this new net-shaped change in their environment has spooked the resident birds?

You easily forget what a stunning little bird a Blue tit can be...

The same goes for the Robin too

A total of six birds so far - a wren, a robin, a dunnock, two blue tits and a great tit. Have now stuck some old apples on the trees to try and tempt some thrushes in, although there is a noticeable lack of either fieldfare or redwing in the village. On the up side, the village house sparrows seems to be spreading and I have seen them venturing down this end of the street for the first time since living here. The local nuthatches also seem to be very active - their calls have been a constant background today, as have those of the very vocal great spotted woodpeckers.

Ringing again...

After a self-imposed break of several years I have at last started ringing again. Yesterday evening I set up a single 12m net behind the apple tree in the back garden, adjacent to the feeders which I've been filling for the last few weeks. Arising at dawn (after little sleep due to a feverish baby) I unfurled the net and awaited a trickle of birds.

Over a couple of hours I had a standard selection of typical garden fare - 2 blackbirds, three greenfinch, two blue tits, a coal tit, a dunnock, a robin and a great tit. 11 birds in all and I suppose not too bad for a relaxed morning at home. The expected pheasants, collared doves and woodpigeons failed to materialise which was a result.

My ageing skills are rusty to say the least but generally speaking I had little trouble with these birds. The only 'tricky' thing was the robin - I could find no obvious moult limit on the greater coverts, all being the same tone and shape. However, there were five small pale wedges to the outermost coverts. After checking with Messrs Svensson, Jenni and Winkler it appears that full adult birds can, and do, show several pale wedges to the greater coverts. The key is that these diminish in size towards the body, rather than forming a neat break. This feature, coupled with a dark interior to the upper mandible, broad and rounded tail feathers and a dark brownish eye led me to age the bird as an adult.



A Natter with Barb

After a somewhat hectic year or so I now have a small person living in my house who tends to shit a lot and cry, and who seems to need me to do just about everything for him. In these circumstances, blog entries tend to go out the window...

Still, of late I have been involved in some interesting work which has enabled me to get to handle some rather splendid bats. Being a licensed bat worker, I am often needed to attend development sites during the stripping of roofs in order to recover any roosting bats found. In the last month I have been working on a lovely historic barn in the north of Hampshire for which we had a Natural England European Protected Species Mitigation (EPSM) licence in place.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the following chap sheltering beneath a roof tile...

Western Barbastelle

I also recovered several roosting Natterer's bats Myotis nattereri from beneath ridge tiles.

 



Tenerife - December 2010

A brief stay on Tenerife, early December 2010...

Probably the best bird in the world...

Managed to get a week's holiday on Tenerife in early December, but only just thanks to a combination of severe snow and striking Spaniards. It wasn't really a birding trip although naturally I did manage to persuade my wife to let me drive to some hopeful spots...

Accommodation was courtesy of Eduardo Garcia-del-Rey who let us stay in a fantastic room in his family business on the outskirts of Santa Cruz. A very useful location - great for getting out and about and for walking to town for food and booze.

The weather for the week was variable, but mostly poor - frequent rain and always thick mist rolling in to shroud the views. However, as Tenerife is not (too) massive you can always drive to the sunshine!

Canary flock at Punta Hidalgo

We deliberately visited the more remote locations, generally at extremities of the island, in the hope of avoiding any tourists - and we certainly did not want to go anywhere near the Christianos/Americas area, or Shameless-by-the-Sea as it is known.

  

Bolle's pigeon

Most dramatic area by far was the Anaga peninsular, a verdant region of impressive peaks covered with misty laurel forest dripping with bryophytes. It is here that the most untouched remnants of the once widespread pristine forest can be found and, of course, their characteristic bird species. Any time spent walking within the forest will turn up the endemic forms of Chaffinch and Goldcrest, as well as Blackbird, Blackcap and the ubiquitous Canary Islands Chiffchaff. The two endemic pigeons, Bolle's and Laurel, are much trickier but time spent at suitable viewpoints is well worth it and likley to result in at least in-flight views.

The other end of the island, within Teno Natural Park, is just as stunning and again supports good quality laurel forest as well fayal-brezal, a distinct vegetation zone dominated by Myrica faya and Erica arborea. The approach road to the lighthouse at Teno is a tad hairy, but just ignore the 'road closed' signs and plough on. This is a good spot to view coveys of Barbary partridge.

The star bird of Tenerife, indeed the entire archipelago, is of course the Blue chaffinch and this chunky bird is found solely within forests of Canary pine. Thanks to the constant mist on the west coast, the prime location of Las Lajas was not great for good views - the birds were there but looking a bit bedraggled. A better spot by far was La Caldera picnic spot, where you can see both Common and Blue feeding together as well as Goldcrest, Blue tit and Grey wagtail.

 

Berthelot's pipit at Punta Hidalgo



tintillon Common chaffinch at La Caldera



Sardinian warbler at Tejina



superbus Robin, Anaga



An underwatched spot is Punta Hidalgo, situated on the north-east coast near Tejina. This area of tamarisk scrub, euphorbias and abandoned plantations is a real migrant trap and is home to large flocks of Canary - several hundred were present, alongside a wintering Black redstart. The rocky shoreline here also held Whimbrel, Grey plover, Ringed plover and Turnstone.

Eduardo and I took a couple of trips down south to the various migrant hotspots - Amarillo Golf, Ten-Bel and El Fraile - and managed to turn up a wintering Golden plover, Gadwall and an unidentified Aythya duck plus species such as Barbary falcon, Kestrel, Berthelot's pipit, Hoopoe, Little egret, Spoonbill, Common sandpiper, Greenshank, Coot and Moorhen. Ten-Bel holds the usual mix of weird exotics such as Ring-necked and Monk parakeets.

A few hours spent wandering around Tejina pools and other nearby reservoirs turned up several Common snipe, Greenshank, Teal, Laughing dove, Sardinian warbler and a Waxbill.

A short trip to the lagoon, La Mareta, at El Medano turned up Teal, Sanderling, Common sandpiper and Dunlin.

More from Down Under...

A few more images from my November trip to Australia...covering the Wet Tropics of Queensland as well as Darwin and surrounds.

Bush stone curlews are a common sight in Cairns - most open grassland such as parks seem to have a resident group. This bird was one of about a dozen keeping watch over the tombstones in Cairns cemetery. Other frequently-seen species in and around Cairns were Pied pigeon, Varied honeyeater, Collared kingfisher, Mangrove robin, Spangled drongo, Rainbow bee-eater, Rainbow lorikeet and many Asiatic waders.

A day trip out to Michaelmas Cay gave superb close views of some mouthwatering seabirds such as Common noddy, Crested and Lesser crested tern, Sooty tern, Bridled tern, Great frigatebird and Brown and Red-footed booby.

The monsoon forest around Fogg Dam in the Northern Territory was baking hot, but there were birds around such as Broad-billed myiagras (flycatchers). Similar habitat at Buffalo Creek north of Darwin held many stunning species such as Yellow fly-robin, Oriental cuckoo, Red-headed myzomela, Yellow white-eye and Rainbow pitta. Stars of the show here though were the pair of Chestnut rails that crept along the mangrove edge early one morning.

Iceland - July 2010

Iceland - Waders and Ducks

Just spent a fantastic 10 days in Iceland, primarily on a bird-ringing expedition as part of Operation Godwit, studying the islandica race of this beautiful shorebird. However, it wasn't all ringing, and I got to see some amazing landscapes and a host of incredible bird species.

Most of our time was spent in the far north-west, in the West Fjords, where the scenery is massive and there are breeding birds everywhere. Before we arrived in the north-west, we took a trip to Flatey, a tiny island home to thousands of breeding waders, terns, ducks and some seabirds. A full day here was a magical experience, with Redshank and Snipe on every fencepost and Red-necked phalaropes running around your feet.

We were attacked by screaming flocks of Arctic terns as we approached their breeding colonies, Black guillemots perched and twittered on rocks, Fulmars battled the wind and Purple sandpipers scuttled around the seaweed. A small pool in the centre of the island was a regular pit-stop for Red-necked phalaropes, and two Grey phalaropes (a rare breeder here) dropped in briefly.

The following few days were spent chasing wader chicks, and we managed to ring broods of Golden plover, Ringed plover, Dunlin, Purple sandpiper, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Whimbrel plus a few Arctic terns.

A trip to the famous seabird cliffs at Latrabjarg gave us the spectacle of thousands upon thousands of breeding auks, including Brunnich's guillemot - a stunning sight.

We also managed a small cannon-net catch of 13 godwits and about 60 Redshank, plus managed to catch ten adult Red-necked phalaropes on a small pool.

Other birds seen whilst we were out and about were White-tailed eagle, Great northern and Red-throated divers, Scaup, male King eider, Red-breasted merganser, Goosander, Harlequin duck, Glaucous gull and Merlin.

Passerines are thin on the ground but nealy every tree or bush held singing Redwing and Redpoll, Northern wheatears flitted amongst the scree slopes and Snow buntings were relatively common throughout. A quick glimpse of an Arctic fox was well-received.

After the West Fjords, we headed east to Reykholar and spent a few days again ringing wader chicks - mostly Whimbrel which are extremely common breeders here. Any large freshwater pool held many Red-throated divers and Slavonian grebes, plus we also had our only Long-tailed ducks of the trip.

Overall, Iceland is a truly amazing land - views to die for and the entire country is a breeding colony for waders, gulls, terns and wildfowl. You can't help but be amazed by the sheer volume of quality birds.

Australia - Instalment 3 - Cairns and The Wet Tropics

Cairns is fantastic, no doubt about it. Within a half hour or arriving we were stood on a viewing platform at the world-famous Esplanade, gazing out across the mudflats at hundreds of Asiatic waders: Great knot, Terek sandpiper, Lesser and Greater sandplovers, Red-capped plovers, FE curlews, Red-necked stints, ST sandpipers, Bar-tailed godwits and Greenshanks as well as Royal spoonbills, Eastern great egrets, Striated herons, Australian pelicans and ibis. The mud was crawling with crabs and mudskippers.

The trees and bushes along the Esplanade held Rainbow lorikeet, Varied honeyeater, Pied pigeons, Figbirds and Little and Black-faced cuckoo-shrikes, the grass lawns had a pair of feisty Masked lapwings, and the mangrove edge to the north gave us Mangrove robin, Yellow oriole and a pair of Collared kingfishers. Several White-throated needletails powered by.

Cairns is an ideal base for trips out to the Barrier Reef as well as the rainforest areas further north. One of the highlights of the entire trip was our morning with Chris Dahlberg on the Daintree River. In a 2-hour boat trip we racked up loads of lifers, many at extremely close-range. Bird of the trip was easily the monster Great-billed heron that flew over the boat at about 10 feet, but we also had great views of Black bittern, Double-eyed fig-parrot, Shining flycatcher, Brown-backed honeyeater and a Papuan frogmouth and chick on the nest.

Australia - Instalment 2...

After leaving the Brisbane area we started our mammoth drive north to Cairns. Between Ipswich and Noosaville we called in at the wonderful Mary Cairncross Rainforest Park, a tiny remnant forest reserve preserved thanks to the wisdom of Ms Cairncross. Along the short boardwalk trail we saw Green catbird, Spectacled monarch and Logrunners as well as a beautiful Wompoo fruit-dove sat on its nest overhead.

After Noosaville and Inskipp Point, pitstops along the way included Yeppoon, near Rockhampton, where we could relax on deckhairs overlooking the ocean and watch Glossy black cockatoos, Far Eastern curlews, Whimbrels, Red-capped plovers, Black kites and a Beach stone curlew out on the sand.

After Yeppoon we spent a night at Airlie Beach, where the hostel grounds gave us our first Bush stone curlews, hunting under the streetlights and the seaside trees held Noisy friarbird, White-breasted woodswallow and Peaceful doves.

The next major stop was at the charming village of Paluma, where we stayed two nights at the Forestmist B&B, run by the very friendly and welcoming Annie and Andy, who made our stay all the more enjoyable. From our verandah we could take in the deafening dawn chorus of rainforest birds including Chowchilla, Spotted catbird. Victoria's riflebird, Bower's shrike-thrush, Grey-headed robin and Satin bowerbird - an unforgettable experience.

Within the village, a couple of short trails bring close encounters with Rainbow pitta, Eastern spinebill and White-cheeked and Macleay's honeyeater - the spinebills and honeyeaters gorging themselves on pollen and nectar from the flowering bottlebrush trees.

An early morning stroll through the village gave us magnificent close views of Rainbow Pitta, but we were unlucky in our search for both Golden bowerbird and Red-necked crake. At Birthday Falls however we were treated to a fine Tooth-billed bowerbird in full song. We watched in awe as he performed beautifully over his arena of upturned fresh leaves. What a bird.

Leaving Paluma, we headed north to Cairns. I loved Cairns - a cracking little city with some of the best birding you'll ever get.

Australia - Bottom to Top - November 2009

Installment 1...

In the absence of a full trip report (to come on Travellingbirder.com), thought I'd post a few of my favourite bird images captured during an amazing  month-long trip around Australia with my Dad. Starting off in Melbourne, we travelled up to Brisbane and then drove all the way to Cairns before spending some time in and around Darwin and Kakadu.

Overall highlights were watching Logrunners and an Albert's lyrebird in the pouring rain at Lamington NP; vast flocks of waders and wildflowl at Werribee Treatment Plant; bowerbirds, chowchillas, pittas and honeyeaters in the Paluma Ranges; top birding in and around Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands; Daintree River Cruise with Chris Dahlberg; and a pair of Chestnut rails in the murky dawn near Darwin.

To say the birding in Australia is good is a huge understatement - we managed a trip total of 296 species, the vast majority of which were lifers. Photographic opportunities abound, with many speies proving extremely confiding. The Aussies themselves were very friendly and welcoming and the various landscapes were stunning.

Amongst all the common and widespread (but still new for me) species, we also managed to encounter some rare or very localised birds. Inskipp Point, a short trip from our digs in Noosaville, turned up a pair of gorgeous Black-breasted buttonquail scuffling around in the coastal scrub: they must make a tasty snack for the huge goannas we saw here. The same spot also yielded an adult White-bellied sea-eagle powering over our heads at about ten feet.

A real problem was keeping up to speed with all the small brown/grey birds that seemed to flit about anywhere wooded. Perhaps the most ubiquitous was the White-browed scrubwren, closely followed by Brown thornbill. I'm certain we missed several species through poor views and our general unfamiliarity with the birdlife.

The available field guides for Oz are not the best - we used Simpon & Day mostly, but tended to dip into Pizzey a bit too. The 'new' Moorcombe guide is poor, with pictures like cartoons.

The Melbourne area highlight was Werribee Treatment Plant -  a vast complex of lakes, ditches, scrapes, coastal heath, grassland and intertidal habitats. The views of Asiatic waders is superb and the sheer number of pelicans, cormorants, terns, and ducks is mind-boggling. Raptors such as Swamp harrier, Black kite and Brown falcon are very common. The coastal heath held many pairs of White-fronted chat, a beautiful species.

One of the commonest species, especially in Queensland and the NT, was Masked lapwing, with any patch of open grassland, road verge or shore supporting several birds.

At the end of our first week, we stayed with friends in Ipswich just south-west of Brisbane. From here we were able to drive easily to the famous Lamington NP. After the monster, winding 25km drive up to O'Reilly's, we had no sooner stepped out of the car when we had Crimson rosellas land on our heads and an Australian brush-turkey walk up to us - what a start!

In the absolutely pouring rain we walked the various boardwalks and soon came across a party of delightful Southern logrunners - these were perhaps my star bird of the whole trip, calling softly to one another as they sifted through the leaf litter with almost double-jointed legs. Male and female are easily told apart by their respective white and orange gourgets. All the logrunners we encountered seemed to be shadowed by Yellow-throated scrubwrens. Also present and quite common at Lamington were both Satin and Regent bowerbirds, although we only saw one male of the latter - I think I actually preferred the female anyway - beautiful mossy-greens and subdued browns seemed to fit with the surroundings. We also encountered Wonga pigeons, Topknot pigeon, Rufous fantail and we were so fortunate to come across an Albert's lyrebird: we watched mesmerised as it scratched about then wandered along the track in front of us.