Though I get a bit sad to see the wintering flocks break up I have been looking forward to April to start the Tree Sparrow 'Retrap Adults for Survival Project' (RAS) for the year. RAS requires us to catch a certain number of adults of a certain species during the breeding season which is counted as between April to the end of August so that survival rates can be calculated. Tree Sparrows are one of the most challenging species to catch but we found that the data we collected last summer was of such high quality that the effort was well worth the while.
I have left ringing this site for a month so that it was primed for the first session in April but it can only be ringed when the weather is flat calm so there are no guarantees that we can ring it. On my way to the site it was raining but with the forecast set to improve, I carried on and as I arrived on site the rain stopped and the wind calmed down to nothing.
The first round was brilliant as I took a couple of Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler out and then I saw the bright pink legs that can only mean one warbler - Grasshopper! I knew immediately that this was a notable record because I normally hear my first ones in mid April. It turned out that is was in fact the earliest ever Grasshopper Warbler to be recorded in Wiltshire. It really was a strange place to catch such a fantastic bird. Grasshopper Warblers favour long grassy areas but this one was caught by a pile of tyres around a silage clamp but I guess that it was grounded by the rain that went through just before dawn.
There was a lovely flock of about 80 Corn Buntings and I did really well catching 5. Yellowhammers and Tree Sparrows trickled in in decent numbers for the time of year and a Pied Wagtail was a nice surprise and despite the fact that they are ever present on site it was the first full grown one that I have ringed at the site since 2001!
Tree Sparrows are always interesting because the retraps tell us the story of how they move around the downs and todays retraps were all ringed as nestlings and included 4 from 3km west, 2 from 2km north and 1 from 12km away on the Marlborough Downs. Same site retraps included 2 from last year and 2 from 2014.
I was on my own today and it was quite nice to bimble around on my own but a group of birders came over to see me and we had a really nice chat and though they missed the Grasshopper Warbler they did get to see Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer close up. MP
Tree Sparrow 9 (11), Corn Bunting 5, Yellowhammer 32 (6), Chaffinch 11, Linnet 2, Goldfinch 2, Chiffchaff 4, Willow Warbler 1, Grasshopper Warbler 1, Pied Wagtail 1, Wren 2, Blackbird 2, Robin 2
