Linacre Ringing - 26th January 2018

Saturday saw 6 members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group back down at Linacre for the second ringing session of the year. We had a relatively quiet session with just 18 birds ringed, as follows (new/retrap): Coal Tit 0/1, Blue Tit 7/7 and Great Tit 3/0.

Whilst on site we also had the first records of 2019 for Song Thrush (1 bird singing) and Common Buzzard (1 over). Also seen were, Sparrowhawk (2 birds together over the ringing site),  Bullfinch, Siskin and Mistle Thrush (2 seen, and heard singing).

Black-headed Gull EY19562

Back in November 2018 I saw a metal ringed Black-headed Gull on the River Wye, Bakewell. I managed to get its ring number (EY19562), and found out that it had been ringed, as a first year bird, at Westport Lake, Staffordshire, on 10th December 2014, 40km away.

EY19562 - 4th November 2018

Since then, it has been re sighted in the same spot another 3 times; on 10th January 2019, 17th January 2019 (both by my nephew, Luke), and today, by me again. As far as I am aware, it hasn't been seen anywhere else since ringing.

EY19562 - today

Darviced Black-headed Gull at Holmebrook Valley CP

Last Sunday, my nephew, Luke was at his local patch, Holmebrook Valley CP, in Chesterfield, to carry out his monthly WeBS count. He always has a fair few Black-headed Gulls (100+ on a good day), along with the odd Common, Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gull.

He has also recorded several metal-ringed Black-headed Gulls over the last few years, but they have always stayed out on the middle of the lake, too far away for the rings to be read. Sunday, however, was different, and he managed to see and photograph a darvic ringed Black-headed Gull.

Black-headed Gull

As you can see in the photograph, the bird in question was a 1st winter/2nd calendar year bird (born in 2018), with a blue darvic ring. Unfortunately, the number is very difficult to read, but it looks very similar to another ring that Luke and I saw on a bird in Bakewell in August 2018 (see here). That bird had been ringed at Rutland Water in June 2018. We're still awaiting details, but it would be great if we'd found a second Rutland bird here in Derbyshire!

Yorkshire Sculpture Park - 20th January 2019

Jayne and I had a few hours at Yorkshire Sculpture Park on Sunday. Whilst there we walked around the Lower Lake, where we were lucky enough to see a Great (White) Egret that was feeding in the Reedmace just below the bridge. It was first seen in the heronry, before flying down to feed, approximately 40m away. Brilliant views!

Great White Egret

Whilst there, we also spotted Goosander (c.6), a fishing Kingfisher, 100+ Black-headed Gulls, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Canada and Greylag Geese, 2 singing Mistle Thrushes, and an old friend, Mute Swan 691. See here for ringing details and our first record of this bird.

Mute Swan 691

Coal Aston Ringing - 20th January 2019

I was out with 2 other members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group this morning for our first ringing session of the year at our farm site in Coal Aston. The owners of the site had reported that the feeders had been very busy since our last visit, so hopes were high for a good number of birds.

We weren't disappointed with a very respectable 33 birds caught (new/retraps): Blue Tit 15/4, Coal Tit 1/0, Great Tit 9/0, Robin 2/0, Wren 1/0 and Great-spotted Woodpecker 1/0. 

All the retrapped Blue Tits had been ringed at the same site; 2 on 30/09/17 (1 year 4 months ago), and 2 on 07/10/18 ( 3 months ago). They were ringed as 3s, so we know, more or less, how old they are. It'll be interesting to see how long they survive, and whether they breed on site this year.

Linacre WeBS January 2018

This weekend was the date for the first BTO WeBS count of 2019. Luke and I had two hours down at Linacre this morning recording the following birds: Mallard (67), Tufted Duck (28), Mandarin Duck (12), Moorhen (15), Coot (5), Cormorant (1), Grey Wagtail (1), Grey Heron (1), Black-headed Gull (c.35) and best of all.... Whooper Swan (a herd of 8 that flew low over the top reservoir, but, unfortunately, didn't land). This was the first Linacre record since March 2017, and a nice way to get a "year tick" too! Luke managed  this photo as they flew through the mist.

Whooper Swans

Other birds seen/heard around the site included Siskin (year tick), Magpie, Green Woodpecker (heard twice and seen once), Kestrel (1), Redwing (loads!!) and Mistle Thrush (1).

Year List update:
102 - Siskin
103 - Whooper Swan

Czech-ringed Black-headed Gull

On Sunday I went down to Derby to see if I could find my first ringed Black-headed Gull of 2019. I started at Derby River Gardens, where there were approximately 100 - 150 gulls on the river. Although they came in to the bread, I couldn't spot any birds wearing rings. After about an hour, I moved on to Alvaston Park to try my luck there. When I arrived there were 200+ birds, mostly feeding on the grass. I started to feed the 50+ birds that were on the lake, and, after the best part of an hour, spotted  one bird wearing a yellow darvic ring, WN30, a new bird! I was also able to spot Museum Praha on the metal ring, showing it was ringed in the Czech Republic - a new country for me!!

      WN30 (Museum Praha), ES49142

A quick check on the internet (cr-birding.org) confirmed that it was a Czech-ringed bird, the first Czech bird I've found. Details were sent off, and the bird had been ringed on 9th June 2017, as a pullus, near Pistin, 1185km away. Result!!

Year List - 100 species +

This weekend I've managed to add 3 new species to the "year list". The first new species, Waxwing, was added yesterday, when I popped across to Sheffield (Cemetery Avenue), to see a flock of approximately 25 birds.

Waxwing

The next two species, Ring-necked Parakeet (2) and Stock Dove, were both added this morning on a gull ring reading trip to Alvaston Park, Derby (more on that in another post!).

Year List update:
99 – Waxwing
100 – Ring-necked Parakeet
101 – Stock Dove

Linacre Ringing - 5th January 2019

I was down at Linacre on Saturday morning for the first ringing session of 2019 with 5 members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group. As we set up the usual nets, we had a very nice surprise with a hunting Barn Owl, my first ever record on site! What a great way to start the new year. We also had several Tawny Owls calling in the surrounding woods, and a fly over Sparrowhawk.

The ringing session was also a good start to the year with 43 birds ringed, including Woodpigeon, the first since 2016 and Jay, only 1 ringed in 2018 (new/retrap): Woodpigeon 1/0, Robin 3/1, Goldcrest 3/0, Long-tailed Tit 19/1, Coal Tit 0/2, Blue Tit 6/4, Great Tit 0/1, Nuthatch 0/1 and Jay 1/0.

Jay (5, born last year)

In the afternoon I was out at Clumber Park for a family walk, and picked up 2 more "year ticks"; Common Buzzard and Goosander (7; 4 females and 3 males), along with a darvic ringed Mute Swan (104Y), a female with an un-ringed male bird and 3 juveniles (born in 2018).

104Y (back bird) and family

Year List update:

94 – Tawny Owl

95 – Barn Owl
96 – Sparrowhawk
97 - Common Buzzard

98 - Goosander

Norfolk Trip - 4th January 2019

On Friday, Luke and I spent a full day birding and "year listing" in Norfolk. We started off in Wells-Next-the Sea where we managed to pick up a lot of waders, Red Kite, Marsh and Hen Harrier, Guillemot and Dark-bellied Brent Geese (58 to 75). We then drove down to Holkham NNR and St Anne's Drive where we managed to locate (with help from other birders), Snow Bunting, Shorelark and Great White Egret (numbers 76 to 82). Our final two locations were RSPB Titchwell Chiffchaff, Caspian Gull  and numbers 83 to 92, and Thornham Harbour for Twite (93).

Caspian Gull (left)

Year List update:
58 – Guillemot 
59-Brent Goose (DB)
60 – Red Kite 
61 – Marsh Harrier 
62 – Hen Harrier 
63 - Pintail
64 – Oystercatcher 
65 – Ringed Plover 
66 – Grey Plover 
67 –Lapwing
68 – Shelduck
69 – Turnstone
70 – Dunlin
71 – Redshank
72 – Greenshank
73 – Bar-tailed Godwit
74 – Curlew 
75 – Bullfinch
76 – Skylark
77 – Snow Bunting
78 – Shorelark 
79 - Linnet
80 - Meadow Pipit
81 – Great White Egret
82 – Egyptian Goose
83 – Avocet
84 –  Knot
85 – Shoveler
86 – Teal
87 – Common Gull
88 – Caspian Gull
89 – Black-tailed Godwit
90 – Eider Duck
91 – Chiffchaff
92 – Sanderling
93 – Twite

Rother Valley Smew

On Thursday 3rd I popped across to Rother Valley CP to see if I could catch up with a female Smew that had been reported on the Nature Reserve Lake. I got lucky and managed to see it straight away. As you can see from the "year list" below, there were several other species present in the area.

The Pheasant and Treecreeper were recorded layer in the day on the Monsal Trail.

Year List update:
47 – Smew
48 – Pochard
49 – Gadwall
50 – Goldeneye
51 – Little Egret
52 – Mute Swan
53 – Canada Goose
54 – Wigeon
55 – Grey Heron
56 – Pheasant
57 - Treecreeper

Linacre - First visit of 2019

On Wednesday, Luke and I had our first visit of the year to Linacre. We walked around the middle and top reservoirs recording the following waterbirds: Mallard (79), Tufted Duck (11), Mandarin Duck (6), Moorhen (15), Coot (4), Kingfisher (1), Black-headed Gull (76), Little Grebe (1) and Grey Wagtail (2).

We also added another few species to the "year list". Greenfinch was recorded in the garden.

Year List:
31 – Green Woodpecker
32 – Wren
33 – Mandarin Duck
34 – Goldcrest
35 – Wren
36 – Blue Tit
37 – Long-tailed Tit
38 – Nuthatch
39 – Jay
40 – Chaffinch
41 – Little Grebe
42 – Kingfisher
43 – Great-spotted Woodpecker
44 – Grey Wagtail
45 – Dunnock
46 – Greenfinch

Year List 2019 - the first post

We arrived back in the UK on 1st January after a few days in New York. The first bird of the new year was a Starling, seen as we drove out of the airport. On the drive back we saw numbers 2 - 15. Numbers 16 - 30 were seen on a quick trip to Poolsbrook CP, and the final bird of the day, Golden Plover, was seen in fields above Apperknowle.

Year List:
1 – Starling
2 – Magpie
3 – Feral Pigeon
4 – Woodpigeon
5 – Jackdaw
6 – Rook
7 – Mallard
8 - Redwing
9 - Goldfinch
10 – Kestrel
11 – Herring Gull
12 - Lesser Black-backed Gull
13 – House Sparrow
14 – Collared Dove
15 – Black-headed Gull
16 – Coal Tit
17 – Mistle Thrush
18 – Blackbird
19 – Great Tit
20 – Great Black-backed Gull
21 – Moorhen
22 – Coot
23 – Tufted Duck
24 – Great-crested Grebe
25 – Greylag Goose
26 – Pink-footed Goose
27 – Cormorant
28 – Pied Wagtail
29 – Robin
30 – Golden Plover

Year List 2018 - The Final total

Well, what a year 2018 was! I managed to get away three times this year (Iceland in March (see here), Majorca in July/August (see here) and New York in December 2018 (see here). As a result, my "year list" is my highest ever with an amazing total of... 230 species.

Of the 230 species seen this year, I had 171 species in Britain and Iceland, 29 species in Mallorca and 30 species in American.

17 species were "lifers", 2 in Iceland, 1 in Mallorca and 14 in New York.

It's very difficult to say which the highlights were, but obviously the "self found" Harlequin Ducks have to be one, as were all the amazing birds in New York. Hopefully, 2019 will be just as exciting!!

New York!!

I have just returned from a few days with my family in New York. We were last there in May 2014 (see here) and when we left, we said we'd return in the winter to see the city in a different light. Suffice to say, we weren't disappointed, with all the Christmas lights, but, more importantly for this blog, the wildlife. I saw 38 species of birds whilst there, which included 13 "lifers", as well as a few old favourites (American Robin, for example!)

American Robin

Most of the bird species were seen in and around Central Park. The first species we saw was White-throated Sparrow. They turned out to be pretty common around the park, feeding in the flower beds, and were seen on all visits.

Whit-throated Sparrow

Another common winter visitor that was seen daily in good numbers, was the Tufted Titmouse (the first lifer of the trip), a beautiful bird.

Tufted Titmouse

We visited The Pond in the southern section the park because there had been reports of a male Mandarin Duck there. Although it was an escapee (complete with plastic ring), we decided to look for it whilst there. It was present on the pond with a couple of Wood Ducks, dozens of Mallards, Shovelers, 2 American Coots (lifer) and the first Cardinal of the trip.

Whilst there, Jayne and I went for a guided walk with Birding Bob (see here). We spent two hours walking around The Ramble and Turtle Pond area, were we saw 30+ species, including 3 species of owl (Barred, Great Horned and Northern Saw-Whet - all lifers), 2 species of hawk (Cooper's and Red-tailed - Cooper's was a lifer), American Black Duck (lifer), Bufflehead, American Crow (lifer), Red and White-breasted Nuthatches (both lifers), Blue Jays (everywhere), Black-capped Chickadees, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Great Blue Heron (1), Mourning Dove (11), Common Grackle, Eurasian Starling, House Sparrows and American Goldfinch (lifer)!!

Northern Saw-Whet Owl

On the same day I also visited the Reservoir in Central Park, where, along with another 13 Buffleheads, I also recorded 112 Ruddy Ducks, c.200 Canada Geese, 17 Mallards, 4 American Coots, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 10+ American Herring Gulls, 50+ Ring-billed Gulls, 1 Pied-billed Grebe and 4 female  Hooded Mergansers (lifer).

Ring-billed Gull

The final site we visited was The Highline. Not a birding site, but definitely worth a visit, and we managed to see a few nice birds (Ring-billed and American Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Eurasian Starling, White-throated Sparrow, American Crows, a Mourning Dove, and my last lifer of the trip (and year), Northern Mockingbird (2 seen).

Northern Mockingbird

UPDATE: Whilst going through my photos with my nephew, we noticed one bird that I'd originally identified as a Downy Woodpecker. A closer look, and some conformation from America, revealed it to be a juvenile/1st winter Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - my 14th lifer of the trip!!!

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker