SALISBURY PLAIN (CENTRE)
With hazy conditions as we left Swindon, which turned into floor to ceiling fog once we climbed onto the Marlborough Downs, which turned into something from a Charles Dicken's classic by the time we reached our site, any chance of a good catch had well and truley gone. Fog here we have learned from plenty of experience reduces the catch by around 60% but today it seemed more like 90%.
While Matt's team was at Swindon STW catching 250 Chiffchaff's and Blackcap's our totals never really go going and by 0830 we had ringed less than 40 birds. This weekend last year saw us catch 147 Chiffchaff's and 112 Blackcap's so todays catch of 17 and 55 respectively was a complete disaster.
Meadow Pipit's were very much in evidence all morning but for 4 hours we only caught one or two per net round and the only birds of real quality we caught were 2 late Redstart's.
The morning crept along slowly so it gave us a chance to examine all the pipit's in detail and to look at some of the very fat Blackcap's many of which were over 24g. We also caught a lot of new Robin's many of which were obviously not local birds as they were carrying fat scores of up to 5.
Eventually we just about got to 100 new birds and started taking the nets down. By this time more Meadow Pipit's were around (800 passing through in the course of the morning) and Swallow's started to move. A quick change to the lures meant a final net round of 60 new birds including some more House Martin's but it was all too little too late.
160 new and 8 retraps was all there was and about half what was expected for this site at this time of year. Just as well be filled our boots last week. GD/PD/OF
Stock Dove 2 pulli, Swallow 9, House Martin 13, Meadow Pipit 39, Wren 2(1), Dunnock 3(1), Robin 9(1), Redstart 2, Song Thrush 1, Blackcap 55(2), Chiffchaff 17(1), Goldcrest 5(1), Blue Tit (1), Greenfinch 1, Reed Bunting 2
SWINDON STW
We expected that today would be Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps and we were not disappointed. Once again we had a good team out with my brother, Simon, Paul W and Biff. This late in the season we hope to pick up a late migrant or two and so amongst the clouds of Chiffs and Blackcaps we also ringed a Whitethroat and best of all a Spotted Flycatcher, we are having a mega year for the latter. The second Cettis Warbler of the summer shows that they have had a good summer, this one is a female so for the first time ever we have a male and female on site at the same time.
I love this time of year at Swindon STW because we target the Snipe and soon it will also be Jack Snipe. Snipe are Biffs favourite bird so I set a net especially for them. A check at dawn and just after produced nothing which was disappointing but then at 10am one went in and I was delighted to see that it was one that we ringed last year. The great thing was that when Biff saw it he was ecstatic at just seeing a Snipe, then to realise that it has returned from last year he was even more pleased. This bird was ringed in October last year and is our third year to year retrap and we had one once that was three years old so it shows that some Snipe show good site fidelity. We put a lot of effort into habitat management for Snipe and it appears to be working. An early Jack Snipe was a good site but it missed the net narrowly which would have made it our earliest ever capture of this species.
Control Blackcap and Chiffchaff add to a successful few weeks for controls and we also retrapped some of Simons nestling Reed Warblers that are still hanging around. 266 new and 25 retraps made for another spectacular day. MP, AP, SW, PW, AM
Chiffchaff 112 (7), Blackcap 109 (7), Reed Warbler 8 (4), Sedge Warbler 6 (3), Whitethroat 1, Cettis Warbler 1, Spotted Flycatcher 1, Goldcrest 1, Swallow 5, Snipe 1 (1), Reed Bunting 2, Robin 2 (1), Blackbird 1 (1), Song Thrush 1,
Wren 1,
Dunnock 9 (1), Long Tailed Tit 2 (1), Blue Tit 1, Great Tit 1
