I can't believe that it has been over a week since my last post, particularly as we are in Autumn! However, it reflects on the weather over this past week, which has been marginal at best, and atrocious at worst.
Between my last post and now, I was only out in the field once, and that was a few days ago when Gail and I were at Lytham Hall for one of their excellent local history talks. And the person giving the talk was a birder himself. Before the talk, we managed to have a forty-minute walk around the grounds, but it was quiet. Two Grey Wagtails, a late Migrant Hawker and Common Darter, two Nuthatches, and singles of Song Thrush and Great Spotted Woodpecker, and that was it.
Yesterday morning, was my first morning's ringing since I was out with my old friend Graeme on 23rd September. I was at the Nature Park for 0630, and was greeted with full cloud cover and a 10 mph westerly wind. However, the fly in the ointment was the murky conditions out in the bay, and I suspected that there would be very little going over, and I was right. It is autumn after all, so I soldiered on.
The constant soundscape to the Nature Park is the almost continuous explosive song of Cetti's Warblers. I have mentioned this before, but it is hard to get a handle on how many are singing, because they move around the reeds and scrub so much. I put three in my notebook, which is probably inaccurate, as I ringed two!
As stated above, there was no, well next to no, visible migration. The only vis I had were three high-flying Magpies heading south-east, some Pink-footed Geese that I could hear but couldn't see, and a handful of Meadow Pipits and a single Chaffinch. A few Greenfinches must have been going over as I caught some via an MP3 playback of their song. They aren't on site, but as soon as I put the player on, they appear!
on its plumage
A single Song Thrush and Raven, six Long-tailed Tits and a flock of 30 - 40 Goldfinches are virtually all that made it into my notebook.
I ringed 23 birds as follows:
Wren - 3
Goldcrest - 4 (there must have been some grounded migrants)
Greenfinch - 7
Great Tit - 3
Cetti's Warbler - 2
Robin - 2
Reed Bunting - 1
Goldfinch - 1
Gail and I are south of the Ribble tomorrow for our first October visit of the wintering bird survey we are completing, so we are looking forward to that, even though it is work for me. And the rest of the week, until Saturday, is looking unsettled. However, at the moment the forecast over the weekend is looking like I'll be able to get out, perhaps both days. I hope I haven't just jinxed that!
In September's British Birds under the 'News and Comment' section, there was an interesting piece about Cuckoos being unable to shift their annual migration. It said that new research from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has revealed why Common Cuckoos are unable to shift the timings of their annual migration response to a changing climate. The research showed that Cuckoos must wait for the arrival of spring rains in West Africa, the timing of which has remained constant, before they can cross the Sahara.
This constant timing of rains in Africa, juxtaposed with the shift towards an earlier spring in Europe, has resulted in the Cuckoos' arrival on their breeding grounds being out of sync with peak availability of prey and the breeding cycle of many of their host species. This lack of response has been linked to severe population declines in some migratory species. For Cuckoos, the results suggest that they may be exposed to a greater risk of death as they are forced to travel in unfavourable conditions to make it to their breeding grounds on time. This increased mortality could be one mechanism through which populations are impacted.
Providing better-quality habitat at strategic locations along Cuckoo migration routes is one way in which the species could be helped to complete its migration in a more timely and less energetically costly way.
Over on the right, you will see that I have updated the ringing totals for Fylde Ringing Group up until the end of September. Five new species for the year were ringed during the month, and these were, Wheatear, Jay, Bullfinch, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail.
Below you will find the 'Top 5 Ringed in September' and the 'Top 10 Movers and Shakers' for the year.
Top 5 Ringed in September
1. Goldfinch - 44
2. Meadow Pipit - 28
3. Linnet - 18
4. Great Tit - 17
5. Blue Tit - 14
Top 10 Movers and Shakers for the Year
1. Goldfinch - 110 (up from 3rd)
2. Blue Tit - 99 (same position)
3. Great Tit - 74 (up from 4th)
4. Meadow Pipit - 39 (straight in)
5. Chaffinch - 34 (same position)
6. Lesser Redpoll - 28 (up from 8th)
7. Reed warbler - 27 (down from 5th)
8. Pied Flycatcher - 23 (down from 7th)
9. Reed Bunting - 21 (same position)
Chiffchaff - 21 (up from 10th)
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