SALISBURY PLAIN (CENTRE)
Another Salisbury Plain migrant extravaganza was on the cards and with all the nets and ipod lures set well before daylight we were definitely in the raffle although we had to cut down on the number of nets as Olly unavailable leaving just two of us.
However the Nightjar catch was a fail as was the chat valley net that failed to catch a single bird. This did not effect the mornings totals that much as it soon became apparent that Blackcap's were all over the place and good numbers of Willow Warbler and Whitethroat were also still around.
After a rather busy first net round we started hearing Tree Pipit's going over along with small flocks of Yellow Wagtail's. With a few of the lures switched to Tree Pipit we soon started catching them and ended the morning with a respectable 8 ringed. The interesting thing about this catch was that Matt's team was out on the east ranges about 8 miles away and they only caught one Tree Pipit and heard no others. They however caught 21 Grasshopper Warbler's while we had zero despite 3 ipods playing their song. This just backs up what an amazing area this is for migrants this is.
We also added another 3 Redstart's to our totals but by 0900 the numbers dropped off considerably but we still managed another big day with 190 new and 10 retraps. GD/PD
Tree Pipit 8, Robin 7, Redstart 3, Blackbird 3, Song Thrush 1, Sedge Warbler 11, Reed Warbler 2, Lesser Whitethroat 1, Whitethroat 29(2), Garden Warbler 5(1), Blackcap 95(6), Chiffchaff 6, Willow Warbler 17, Blue Tit (1), Linnet 1, Bullfinch 1
SALISBURY PLAIN (EAST)
After two of the poorest sessions ever at Swindon STW we got the opportunity to get to the Salisbury Plain. We were delighted to be joined by Malcolm, over from South Africa for his annual visit as he is a good ringer and great value for stories and experiences. Over the years he has got to see more and more parts of our operation and he has decided that the Salisbury Plain is his favourite. We were joined at dawn by Paul A and Paul W.
It was only two degrees celsius at dawn and there was a frost on the net poles. The conservation cover held less birds than last time but still provided plenty of Sedge Warblers and a few Whinchats. Species of the day was Grasshopper Warbler with a magnificent 21 ringed from across the whole ringing area, and unusually for ‘Gropper’, birds being caught throughout the morning instead of all at dawn. We were joined by the local farmer who is great bloke and really knows about the birds that use ‘the plain’, he knew all the birds as we showed them to him and then he told us that he has recently seen a Great Spotted Cuckoo and I have not doubt as to his identification.
Despite playing three tape lures we only caught one Tree Pipit so it appears that we had all the Groppers and Graham had all the Tree Pipits. Paul A had to leave early but was delighted to ring a Wheatear just before he left, this is a bird that we do not ring every year. Late on we caught a Redstart which was the first that Malcolm has ringed for years. 220 new was pretty good and along with a two year old Whitethroat and a control Sedge Warbler the day was a great success. MP, PA, PW, MW
Whinchat 6 (1), Redstart 1, Wheatear 1, Tree Pipit 1, Grasshopper Warbler 21, Blackcap 52, Garden Warbler 3, Whitethroat 42 (2), Lesser Whitethroat 2, Sedge Warbler 33 (1), Reed Warbler 2, Willow Warbler 12, Chiffchaff 3, Wren 1, Dunnock 6, Robin 5, Blackbird 1, Swallow 1, Goldfinch 15, Linnet 4, Reed Bunting 2 (1), Blue Tit 4, Great Tit 3
Not content with the above catch I decided to have a go at the 100+ roost of Swallows that have been roosting at Swindon STW so I had my patience tested setting a small but complex net set. Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers kept going in which slowed me down and I only just got out before the Swallows came in. I retrapped the Cettis Warbler that we ringed two weeks ago and enjoyed a little party of Swifts that hawked overhead. The Sedge Warblers were in great condition and one had a maximum fat score of 8 which means that the whole of its abdomen was covered in fat. We only get 1-2 birds this fat every year and this one weighed 18.9g which is the third heaviest I have ever caught (I had one in 2011 that was 20.8g). This is amazing considering their lean weight is 10g. The Swallows came in just before dusk and 35 made it an easy catch to manage. MP
Swallow 35, Sedge Warbler 3, Reed Warbler 4 (2), Whitethroat 3, Reed Bunting 2, Cettis Warbler 0 (1)
