Seven Up

The first bird that I had yesterday morning on the five-minute drive from home to the pools at the Obs, was a Barn Owl flying across the road. Funnily enough, I started a new notebook yesterday morning, so a Barn Owl was a good bird to grace the top of the first page!

I am three ringing sessions in to the programme of autumn ringing at the pools, and normally that would lead to each visit starting slightly later than the last, but for some reason I have got progressively earlier, and I was at the pools by 4:30 a.m. yesterday. 

 

I put a couple of nets up under complete cloud cover and it was calm. Perfect conditions for ringing once again, but was there any birds? I only managed to ring twelve birds, but amongst that twelve were seven species of warbler. My totals were as follows (recaptures in brackets):

 

Whitethroat - 3

Blackcap - 2

Sedge Warbler - 2

Reed Warbler - 1

Lesser Whitethroat - 1

Cetti's Warbler - 1

Willow Warbler - 1

Great Tit - 1

 

Lesser Whitethroat

 

First juvenile Sedge Warbler of the autumn
 

Shortly after putting the nets up the Starlings exited their over-night roost, and I estimated that there were about 4,000 birds. In the mornings they don't mess about, no real murmurations, just up, out and away!

 

Starlings
 

The scrape held seven Moorhens (4 juv.'s), a Mute Swan, three Black-headed Gulls, nine Coots (5 juv.'s) and three Mallards. Birds still on territory included singing Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler, Wren, Goldfinch and Whitethroat. 

 

Three Stock Doves and fly-over Curlew, six Lapwings and an Oystercatcher, and that was your lot. So, a quiet morning, but I was pleased with the 'seven up'! 

 

Over on the right you will see that I have updated the ringing totals for Fylde Ringing Group up until the end of June. Five new species for the year were ringed during June and these were, Cetti's Warbler, Oystercatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat. 

 

Below you will fing the 'top 3 ringed in June' and the 'movers and shakers' for the year so far.

 

Top 3 Ringed in June

 

1. Sand Martin - 69

2. Pied Flycatcher - 25

3. Great Tit - 11

 

Top 10 Movers and Shakers

 

1.   Lesser Redpoll - 158 (same position)

2.   Sand Martin - 123 (up from 4th)

3.   Blue Tit - 104 (down from 2nd)

4.   Linnet - 60 (down from 3rd)

5.   Great Tit - 52 (up from 6th)

6.   Chaffinch - 49 (down from 5th)

7.   Goldfinch - 35 (same position)

8.   Coal Tit - 27 (same position)

9.   Pied Flycatcher - 26 (straight in)

      Robin - 26 (up from 10th)

      Blackbird - 26 (same position)

10. Long-tailed Tit - 18 (straight in)