Askam Pits 30/12/2009

Present: JAF

A visit for ride-maintenance on a very blustery day but a net put up in thick willow carr caught 13 new birds: Sparrowhawk, 1; Blackbird 2; Goldcrest 1; Coal Tit 1; Blue Tit 7; Great Tit 1.

Askam Pits are a relic of the old iron-ore mining era of the 1800's and offer a diversity of habitats including hawthorn and bramble scrub, open water, a little reed bed, and thick willow and alder carr. Feeding station in willow carr is indicated.
Ringing with permission of Ray Steele

Feeding station in the willow carr

Roudsea Woods - behind the hut 29/12/2009

Present: JAF, ES, Josh Blanchard Lewis

38 birds processed, 5 new (Great Tit 4; Blue Tit 1); 33 local retraps.

Roudsea Woods and Mosses National Nature Reserve
The diagonal scar running through the wood is a line of power cables

Emily extracts a BlueTit

Josh processes R295207, a colour-ringed Marsh Tit from the very first cohort, ringed on 23 December 2002 (7 years almost to the day) and is the oldest known bird in the wood!

Roudsea Woods - beaten by the snow, 22/12/2009

Present: JAF

A speculative visit in which the new "Quarry Ride" was fully deployed with its chain of three sixty-footers for the first time. The weather was poor and only two birds were caught, a Wren and a female Reed Bunting.

A section of the triple-sixty-footer in Quarry Ride winds its way between the Christmas trees

Marsh Tit R736051, ringed as a first-winter on 3/12/09 is identified from the colour-rings

Eskmeals Bullfinch Bonanza - 19/12/2009

Present: J.S. K.H. & A.Mac.

120 birds processed with 26 retraps of 14 species, see list from last week. Although there was no snow at this time there was a cold weather movement of 28 Bullfinches and 13 Blackbirds. Some of these were obviously by their size of Scandinavian origin. Below is a photograph of a resident female Sparrowhawk.

Sparrowhawk, notice the pupils

Eskmeals - Warblers and Winter Thrushes

Present: J.S., A .Mac. & K.H.

A promising session with 48 birds processed. 38 were new and the 15 species were as follows:-Chaffinch 8; Blackbird 6; Bullfinch 6; Robin 4; Dunnock 2; Coal Tit 2; Song Thrush 5; Goldcrest 4; Sparrowhawk 1; Blackcap 2; Greenfinch 1; Fieldfare 3; Redwing 1; Wren1; Great Tit 1.

Typical Eskmeals Habitat - The West Coasts Answer To Spurn.
February looks good for large numbers of Fieldfares

Spurn does not provide a backdrop as good as this.

Askam Twite Finally in the Net

Present: J.S. and K.H.

The first birds of this year, none were caught in the spring, were caught in late November. Only 50+ are on this winter site down approximately 50%. The catch of 24 with none escaping were 94% this years pulli. We have noticed in the past, two separate sections of the flock. As with waders different ages loosely stay together, this may be some sort of pecking order. Statistically 70% of what we catch are 3s with the expected sex ratio of 50%.The actual ringing site is in the middle of the slag bank shown , known locally as the Pier as it sticks out into the Duddon Estuary.

Haybridge to Norway

A Blackbird ringed on the 27th of February 2005 was controlled at Svensbo, Vindafjord, Rogaland on the 25th of July 2009 some 783 km

Ringers' Conference 4-6 December 2009

Present: KH, JS, ES, MW, JAF

Five members of 01229-Ringing Group attended the Annual Ringers' Conference (Swanwick, Derbys) which this year celebrated the Centenary of the British Ringing Scheme. With five present representing a quorum, the opportunity was taken to hold the Annual General Meeting of the Group, with Emily elected to take the Chair, when the principal business was the Toast to Absent Friends.

01229-R.G. Annual General Meeting: Maynell, Jim, Ken, Emily (Chair), Jack

During the Conference, two reports of ringed birds affecting the group became available.

Long-tailed Tit BXC466, ringed at Leighton Moss, Lancashire on 6 October 2007, was controlled at Roudsea Woods and Mosses on 18 October 2009, almost exactly 2 years later, a distance of 17 km (this is the bird referred to in this post).

Mute Swan W15499 Ringed at Hodbarrow on 6th August 2008 was found dead (flown into overhead power cables) at Holme, Cumbria on 16 September 2009, just over a year later, 36 km to the East.

Roudsea Woods and Mosses 03 December 2009

Present: JAF, PM

A good session with 52 birds processed of which 17 were new, including the first Kingfisher for Roudsea.

New birds: Kingfisher 1; Goldcrest 1; Long-tailed Tit 4; Marsh Tit 2; Coal Tit 3; Blue Tit 5; Great Tit 1.

Pam seems happy to process the first Kingfisher ever ringed in the wood

The amount of orange on the lower mandible indicates this is an adult female

"Old Faithful" - Blue above Red on right leg was ringed on 2nd March 2003 in the first cohort of Marsh Tits.

It is the oldest known bird in the wood