And now for the migrants

The migrants have been trickling slowly through over the last few days, with Crossbill, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Ruff, Dunlin (which we were trapping today), Green Sandpiper and Golden Plover all logged on the daily census! There have also been a few stand out birds so far, and two lifers for me! A Sooty Sheerwater on the ferry over was a first for me, and a Wood Warbler provided an excellent start to my stay here yesterday. Today's two birds have to be my favourite so far, one in the form of a Pied Flycatcher, and the other in the form of an Icterine Warbler, my other life tick so far! Rain is forecast for tomorrow, which bodes well for a potential fall of migrants on Wednesday!



Dunlin, Calidris alpina



Wood Warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix

Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca



Icterine Warbler, Hippolais icterina



First update from Fair Isle

So I've been on Fair Isle for two days, and I'm already in love with the place! The wild and rugged landscapes are simply stunning, and the birds have been equally as wonderful. The island is populated with Skuas, both Arctic and Great, as well as Wheatear, Meadow and Rock Pipit, Fulmar, Snipe, Twite and many others at this time of year!




Great Skua, Stercorarius skua

 



Great Skua, Stercorarius skua






Arctic Skua, Stercorarius parasiticus,
 pale and intermediate morph displaying

 




Arctic Skua, Stercorarius parasiticus

 









From this......

 



To This..... Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis

 



Twite, Carduelis flavirostris

 

                                                    

Back to Mumbling

It's been a long time since I was ringing last, and it felt great to be up at 4.30 on Saturday morning to get back into the swing of things..... Although the strong cup of coffee and beautiful sunrise helped perk me up!
At this time of year, we expect many juveniles to be around, and this was certainly the case. Juvenile Blackcap, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Reed Warbler, Robin, Blackbird and a rare-for-the-site Coal Tit were all rung. However, my personal highlight was my first Sedge Warblers in the hand, in the form of two pristine juveniles. I get the pleasure of seeing these little birds performing their song flight at work almost every day, but it's very rare that you get a prolonged view of one, and I had never before appreciated just how beautiful they are. Remarkable to think that this little bird can only have been alive for anything up to 2 months and it will soon be faced with a 7000km journey to its wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa! Hopefully this litte bird will pass through The Mumbles agian next year, or even decide to breed in the reedbed!

Sedge Warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

A Magic Moment in Somerset

So, a visit to Cheddar for a dormouse ecology course gave me an excellent excuse to bird the Somerset Levels and visit Slimbridge WWT. Despite this being probably the quietest month of the year for birders, what happened was one of those "this will only happen once" type moments, and it was fabulous.
We started out the day at Ham Wall RSPB reserve, and spent the morning walking around the reserve, where we picked up Great Crested and Little Grebe with young, some scruffy looking tufted duck, a few cormorants and some vocal Reed and Cetti's warblers.

Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus with young

After this very quiet round, we thought our luck was out, and returned to the main viewing platform overlooking the reedbeds for a chat with an RSPB volunteer, hoping to find sites where our fortunes may improve (where we had just missed a Bittern!!) After about 5 minutes, a call from another birder alerted us to a juvenile Great Egret flying over the reedbed. This gave fabulous views for a minute or so, and as it was flying off over the trees, it was joined by a Bittern! This flew right in front of us, and not 10 seconds later was followed by a Hobby which swooped low over the reedbeds before both disappeared out of sight! A truly magical moment.
Buoyed by this we headed over to Shapwick Heath, where more Hobbys and another Great Egret were seen. No luck with any otters though. Attached is a rather poor record shot of the Great Egret on its nest with its summer plumage all-black bill just showing. Great to see that these graceful birds have managed to breed in England successfully!

Great Egret, Ardea alba

A visit to Slimbridge the following day was quiet but none-the-less enjoyable, with some sunshine probably the rarest thing seen. Wader numbers were good out on the mudflats, with Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Redshank, Common and Green Sandpiper and a nice group of Dunlin seen. There was also a Peregrine and a pair of Buzzards keeping the waders on their toes!

Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos

Ringing..... a rather special bird

A once in a lifetime opportunity? I certainly hope not, but it did feel that way as i arrived at Woods Mill last Tuesday to ring their resident Barn Owl chicks. The nest has been observed closely over the past few weeks, and it appears there is only one adult feeding the chicks, a female! Whats more, it doesn't seem to have a ring, meaning its not of last years brood. None the less, upon examination of the box, we found 4 healthy male chicks and I was lucky enough to be given the chance to ring one of them. As the eggs are laid 1-2 days apart, and consequently hatch 1-2 days apart, there is a distinct pecking order (pardon the pun) and the youngest chick will be fed last, so only in a good year will as many as 4 survive!
The ages ranged from 39 to 49 days, with fledging usually taking place around 56 days, so these birds are nearly ready to leave the nest. As is obvious in the photos, the wings are well on their way to developing, but they still retain a lot of the down that keeps them warm as chicks. At this age, they are often very vocal and needy as they need to be fed alot, and it is not uncommon for the adult bird to roost somewhere else for a bit of peace and quiet, and only return to the nest to feed them.

What a day......

Me ringing a Barn Owl chick, Tyto alba,

Ever wondered how to weigh a Barn Owl chick?

Full profile of Barn Owl chick, Tyto alba, with its new ring



The photo of me ringing the chick was kindly taken and is copyrighted to David Plummer.

Nearly-Fledgling Whitethroat

So, a quick trip to Pulborough in rather blustery conditions didn't yield much in the way of birds for us, but luckily we were treated to an adult Whitethroat feeding its very nearly fledged chicks just in front of one of the hides; for a good half an hour. While the shots aren't great, mainly due to some rather mobile nettles that kept getting in the way, I managed to grab a couple of snaps, including one telling the end of a Common Blue Damselfly. From what I could see, it was the male feeding them as it was a particularly bright bird, with the females often being duller in contrast! Whitethroat young take around 12 days to fledge, and from the looks of things these chicks are pretty much there. Perhaps time for a second brood?

Common Whitethroat, Sylvia communis chicks asking to be fed!



Common Whitethroat, Sylvia communis; with food, Common Blue Damselfly, Enallagma cyathigerum

Common Whitethroat, Sylvia communis fledglings together

Other Flying Beings

So this post is not about birds, but about some interesting flying creatures I have found over the last week. These are creatures I know virtually nothing about, and my iPhone just about records a picture adequate enough for me to I.D them at home. So first of all was this White Ermine Moth I found on my friends patio doors. These little wonders aren't particularly rare, but that doesn't make them any less exquisite. The degree of speckling can vary greatly depending on where you are in the country; this is an example from Herefordshire! These night-flyer's are also poisonous, and thus are not at risk of being eaten, perhaps why this one was so happy to be hanging out in the sun.

My next find was not far from home, in Rewell Wood in Sussex. I have been working on the site for the last few weeks, and have been permanently surrounded by Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterflies. These butterflies are a priority BAP species since populations have been declining dramatically. Common Dog-Violet is the caterpillars favoured foodplant, but it will also use Heath Dog and Marsh Violet. The adult is less picky, using bugle as their primary source but also favouring a  number of other plants species, including birds-foot trefoil, Buttercup, Dandelion and Bluebell. This species relies heavily on woodland clearings for suitable habitat and nectar, and if these are not maintained and become overgrown, whole colonies of Pearl-boarders die unless there is more suitable habitat nearby.

This next moth was a new one found last week. Turns out it's a Cream-Spotted Tiger Moth. Again, not hugely rare, but the size and colour of this one was really startling! They are also nocturnal moths, and this one had recently emerged as when found it was still unfolding its wings. The caterpillars of this species are not fussy at all, and will eat a variety of plants.