Ringing Update

The only ringing at Woolston this week was on No.3 bed this morning when Kieran and I were joined by Justin Garner. In calm overcast conditions we deployed 19 nets and made 122 captures ( 61 new and 61 retraps) . New birds included first juveniles of the year for Dunnock, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Bullfinch and Chiffchaff, our first juvenile warblers of 2014. Juvenile Robins were out in good numbers and 14 new robins were ringed. The retraps included a British control Reed Warbler. there were no sightings of note.

Ringing Update

Dave is away on Fair Isle so I am subbing for a couple of weeks. Dave was on No.1 bed on 21st and had the kind of ringing session that makes you want to take up knitting. With four nets open from 5am to 11.30 am he caught just 7 birds ( 4 new and 3 retraps). One of the retraps was a Willow Warbler ringed as an adult on 27th April 2012. Sightings included broods of Little Grebe ( 3 large young), Coot ( 2 small young) a Water Rail, 2 Mistle Thrushes and 3 Stock Doves flying south. Kieran and Margaret were on No3 bed on Sunday 25th catching 51 birds ( 22 new and 29 retraps) New birds included the first Sparrowhawk and Garden Warbler of the year. Sightings included a Hobby and 2 broods of Shelducks.

The week totals included a brood of Great Tits ringed in one of the nest boxes.

Dave Riley was on No1 bed on the Friday when he was joined by Surrey based ringer Sam Bailey, 36 birds were caught with 19 new, including the first Garden Warblers of the year, possibly a breeding pair, another first for the year was a Song Thrush along with the first juvenile Dunnock. Amongst the retraps was a Bullfinch originally ringed on 30th April 2010 and a Willow Warbler ringed on 9th August 2012. Sightings during the session included a Red-throated Diver, only the third record for the Eyes, 1 Raven, 1 Hobby, 30+ Swifts, 6 Buzzard and 2 Water Rails.

Ringing took place on No3 bed on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. On Wednesday and Friday the main emphasis was to complete the check of the nest boxes during which Mike Miles ringed a further 69 tit pulli, 5 Blackcap pulli were also ringed on the south bank. The Saturday was hot and bright, not ideal conditions but Mike Baron, Sam Bayley and Mike Miles caught 46 birds with the star being their second Grasshopper Warbler of the year they also caught their first Whitethroat of the year. Juveniles included Robin, Long-tailed Tit and Greenfinch. An adult female Willow Tit had started wing moult with three new feathers growing and a moult score of 6. Sightings during the session were limited to a Lesser Whitethrout singing by the first barrier and a Tawny Owl calling around the North Meadow.

Other sightings during the week included: 1 Greenshank, 1 Hobby, Red Kite (13th), Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Garden Warblers singing, 2 Hobbies, 1 Marsh Harrier and 4 Oystercatchers (all 17th).

There was no ringing on No1 bed during the week.

On No3 bed ringing took place on the Thursday and Saturday mornings, albeit restricted by the weather. They caught 64 birds over the two sessions (16 new and 48 retraps), with the new birds included their first Magpie of the year and two Woodpigeons. The retraps included 19 different Bullfinches making 26 Bullfinches trapped in the two sessions and two very “occasional” Chaffinches, V852318, a 6M, was ringed as a 3J on 13th August 2008 and caught once in 2010 and once again in 2011, X928096 was ringed as a 3F on 13th November 2009 and not re-encountered since. They also ringed the first 10 broods of pulli in the boxes, the 5 broods of Great Tits averaged 6.4 chicks per brood and the 5 broods of Blue Tits averaged 8.6 chicks per brood, these numbers are at the top end of what they have seen in recent years at Woolston. The 24 active boxes currently have zero egg stage failures and just 1 chick stage failure. With 14 boxes still “in play” they may be heading for a good total of ringed pulli this year. Sightings during the sessions included the female type Marsh Harrier, a drake Garganey, 3 Mediterranean Gulls, the first brood of Pochard ( 8 ducklings) and a brood of 3 Lapwings.

Other sightings during the week included 1 Hobby and 3 Little Ringed Plovers on 8th.

Photo of a Black-tailed Skimmer from No.1 bed this morning.

Cheers David

Another superb sunny morning covering No.3 bed and then as far as the fields to the east of Rixton Paddocks. Reached a provisional total of 74 species, with highlights being: 4 Little Ringed Plovers, Hobby, 2 Ruddy Ducks, Water Rail, Garden Warbler, loads of Black-necked Grebes, Willow Tit, the year’s first brood of Gadwall, both Peregrine and Kestrel at active nest-sites, Yellowhammer, Great Black-backed Gull and Common Gull. Both dragonflies and butterflies were out in force. Of the former, Black-tailed Skimmer and Banded Demoiselle were good records among the masses of commoner stuff. The butterflies included excellent numbers of Common Blues, Small Skippers, Speckled Woods and Green-veined Whites, with a few Red Admirals, Peacocks, Small Whites and Orange Tips for variety. Among the day-flying moths, Cinnabars were common and Ste found a single Mother Shipton.

Cheers David (along with David Spencer, Al Warford, Brian Baird, Ste Dodd and Helen Allan)

A Hobby, 200 Swifts, 4 male Ruddy Ducks and at least 15 Black-necked Grebes were the highlights from this morning.

Cheers David Bowman (with Brian Martin, David Spencer and Dave Steel et al)

Longhorn Beetle

Black necked Grebe

Silver-ground carpet moth (Xanthorhoe montanata)

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)

Lapwing (Vanellus vanillas)taken from South Pool viewing screen.

Pheasant (Phasianus colchicum)taken from the John Morgan Hide

Blue Tit (cyanistes caeruleus)taken from John Morgan Hide.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) taken from the John Morgan Hide

A list of the 75 species seen today (see David Bowman’s report): Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Grey Partridge, Pheasant, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Peregrine, Water Rail, Moorhen, Coot, Little Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Willow Tit, Skylark, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Grasshopper Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Bullfinch, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting

This morning we decided to combine a breeding warbler survey of No.1 bed with an attempt at a “Big Day”. The weather was surprisingly good early on. We covered from No.3 bed east to the fields beyond Rixton Paddocks and managed a total of 75 species, the highlights being: 9 species of warbler (including 1 Grasshopper, 1 Garden and1 Lesser Whitethroat), 1 Marsh Harrier, 16 Black-necked Grebes, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 1 Willow Tit, 1 Water Rail, 1 Grey Partridge, 7 Yellowhammers, at least 6 Kingfishers, 1 Peregrine and 1 Great Black-backed Gull. So, nothing out-of-the-ordinary but, interestingly. 61 of the species seen are Woolston breeding bird. We missed out maybe another six possible species, so 80 species should be possible with a bit of luck.

Cheers David (with David Spencer, Al Warford and Paul Hazlehurst)

The Marsh Harrier was again on No.3 bed this morning. Good numbers of Swifts and hirundines were hawking low over the bed. One of the Black-necked Grebes was feeding close in below the John Morgan Hide

Hobby and Little Ringed Plover on No.3 bed this afternoon, along with 18 Black-necked Grebes, 1 drake Ruddy Duck, 70 Swifts, 15 House Martins, 12 Sand Martins and 6 Swallows.

Cheers David

Photo of a brood of Mute Swans from No.3 bed today

Cheers David

Photo of a Red Admiral from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

One of those lovely, late spring afternoons on No.3 bed, with not much moving through but the first broods of waterbirds showing well and butterflies and dragonflies becoming plentiful. Broods of all three grebes, Coot, Moorhen, Greylag and Canada Goose, as well as 88 occupied Black-headed Gull nests (with 7 chicks) were counted. 16 adult Black-necked Grebes was a minimum count. Overhead, 40 Swifts and a few hirundines of all three species of hirundine fed voraciously. Under the footbridge, scores of Azure and Common Blue Damselflies were ovipositing, while butterflies included: 1 Brimstone, 1 Red Admiral, 2 Orange Tips, 6 Speckled Woods and 10 Green-veined Whites.

Photo of a Black-necked Grebe on No.3 bed today

Another beautiful morning. A walk round No.1 bed produced 9 Common Blues and a Small Copper whilst on No.3 bed there were broods of Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Canada Goose and Moorhen. Photo; wild flowers on No.1 bed

Several Brown Silver-line moths were recorded in the sunny conditions

Star of Bethlehem on the south meadow

The warm sunny conditions provided my first dragonflies of the year with two Broad-bodies Chasers and several Azure Damselflies.

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)taken from the Tower Hide

Coot (Fulica atra)taken from the Rotary Hide

Coot (Fulica atra)taken from the Rotary Hide

Canada Goose (branta canadensis)taken from the John Morgan Hide

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)taken from the John Morgan Hide

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) from the John Morgan Hide

A really enjoyable morning spent scanning from the John Morgan Hide on No.3 bed, followed by a breeding bird survey of No.2 bed, then back onto No.3 bed. Highlights were a Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Garden Warblers singing on No.2 bed, with No.3 bed proving good for raptors with: 2 Hobbies, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 male Peregrine flying over with prey, heading towards the nearby breeding site, along with plenty of Buzzards and the odd Kestrel and Sparrowhawk. Four Oystercatchers on the scrape was a good count for the bed. Butterflies included: 7 Common Blues, 1 Small Copper and 1 Speckled Wood.

Photo of the Oystercatchers on the Morgan Hide scrape today.

Cheers David

Photo of a Common Blue butterfly, taken on No.2 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of Black-headed Gull gathering nest material.

Cheers David

An excellent morning ringing on No1 bed with visiting ringer Sam Bailey, highlights included 2 Garden Warblers (male and female in breeding condition) and a juvenile Dunnock, sightings included Woolston’s third Red-throated Diver flying west along the line of the MSC before seeming to change direction to SW near the viaduct, 1 Hobby, 1 Raven and 6 Buzzards.

Dave Riley

As I was leaving No.3 bed at 5.20 pm, a superb Red Kite was turning on the air, low over the south-east corner of the bed. As soon as it saw me it glided away over the tree and I couldn’t re-find it. Cheers. David

A Greenshank flew round No.3 bed calling this afternoon, before heading off to the west. Then a Hobby made two passes over the bed at the feeding Swifts, Swallows and House Martins. Eleven Black-necked Grebes, 2 drake Ruddy Ducks and 2 Stock Doves were other sightings of note. Cheers. David

Greylag Goose (Anser anser) taken from the John Morgan Hide.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) with Eel taken from the John Morgan Hide

Gadwall (Anas strepera)taken from the John Morgan Hide.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)taken from the John Morgan Hide.

Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)on far side of pool taken from John Morgan Hide

Record shot of today’s Garganey

A drake Garganey was present on No.3 bed all morning, showing intermittently from the John Morgan Hide. It was still present at 1.00 pm. Other sightings included: a female-type Marsh Harrier, c.70 Swifts, 30 Swallows, 13 Sand Martins, 20 House Martins, the usual numbers of Black-necked Grebes plus recently fledged Pochard and Lapwing young.

An Arctic Tern arrived mid afternoon and was still present early evening

A 1st summer Mediterranean Gull spent most of the afternoon roosting in front of the John Morgan hide

One Hobby and 3 Little Ringed Plovers were on No.3 bed this afternoon. Other sightings of interest were:18 Black-necked Grebes, 1 Water Rail, 1 Swallow (!), 3 Collared Doves and 1 Stock Dove (the latter two being relatively uncommmon on No.3 bed).

Cheers David

One of the two Little Gulls, both of which were still present this evening.

This evening there were 5 Dunlin from the John Morgan hide; 2 flew west across the bed and 3 were on the ridges

Two Little Gulls in front of John Morgan Hide this morning - reported by Les Jones.

Also today, 2 first summer Common Gulls passed through mid-morning

A Black-necked Grebe was feeding immediately below the John Morgan Hide today.

Ruddy Duck

Stunning Male Pochard from Rotary Hide

Female Harrier upsetting the Gadwalls

Heron in action from second hide

View of the Morgan Hide this afternoon.

Cheers David

View from the Morgan Hide this afternoon

Cheers David

A pleasant afternoon though with not much migration in evidence. The female-type Marsh Harrier was active and a Lesser Whitethroat was singing on the west side of the bed. Less pleasingly, a Lesser Black-backed Gull ate a Coot chick on the Morgan Hide scrape - see photo!

Picture of a lesser black backed gull eating prey.Roger Riley

Nice few hours at the reserve the usual ducks and gulls with a nice view of a black neck. The swan count today was 26 a gadwall with three chicks, a lesser black backed gull arrived on the end scrape with a chick it went down in one gulp.Roger and Gill Riley

Greylag Goose (Anser answer)one of three broods that were on the south pool.

Greylag Goose (Anser answer)one of three broods that were on the south pool.

Greylag Goose (Anser answer)taken from the John Morgan Hide

Magpie (Pica Pica)taken from the John Morgan Hide

Coot (Fulica atra)taken from the John Morgan Hide

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)taken from the Rotary Hide

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)taken from the Rotary Hide

Cowslip (Primula veris) No3 Bed meadows

Great White Egret found and photographed this evening by John Barber

Twenty Black-necked Grebes were on No.3 bed together with the usual wildfowl and 15 Mute Swans. At the eastern end of the Reserve a Cuckoo and a Raven were heard calling to the south of the canal. A Garden Warbler has been singing on the canal track opposite the ferry for the past few days. On No.2 bed I found my first Coot brood of the year. Photo; Ramsons on No.3 bed