Apologies this has taken a while to update. I usually update my blog on a
Sunday then upload it on a Monday lunchtime, however things have been very
hectic the last week so I haven't, until now, had chance to do so.
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| Black Winged Stilt |
Last week ended on a birdy note, watching Hirundines hawking an insect hatch
over Ivy Lake, part of the Chichester gravel pit complex. The reason for my
visit to the lake was a reported adult Little Gull but alas this was not
present when I was. Numbers of Swifts built steadily as I watched and my final
count before heading to Pagham was ca.300 birds, quite a spectacle! I headed
down the road to Pagham Harbour RSPB where a Black Winged Stilt had been
reported on Siddlesham Ferry Pool. Sure enough the bird was up the back of the
pool feeding away quite happily. I had been told by a chap at Ivy Lake that
this was possibly last years breeding female from Medmerry. However upon
observation this appeared to be a 2nd year individual.
The back of an
adult bird is jet black whereas this seemed quite dull, its legs
too were dull pink in comparison to the adult and the head, nape
and the neck seemed a smudged brownie colour. Although not the
speculated breeding female of last year, it is not outside the realms of possibility,
given its proximity and age, that this bird could be one of last years juvs. The
Ferry Pool was fairly quiet, a few Icelandic Godwits about, Avocet, Greenshank
and a number of Shelduck were also present. A little galling then that a Red
Neck Phalarope was found at the same site the next morning with the lingering
Stilt! However a nice addition to the day was a couple of Spotted Flycatchers
at Church Norton, not a species I encounter often in my neck of the woods but a
very welcome site.
Saturday saw ringing resume at Farlington Marshes and owing to our success north
of the A27, this is where we erected the nets once again. It is Juvvie season
on the reserve now and we had a number of fledglings in the nets, including Great
Tit, Greenfinch and Robin. We still had numbers of Reed Warbler through the
nets which, as they undergo a complete moult in Africa are impossible to age
older birds unless clearly Juvenile or previously ringed. This means they go
into IPMR as age code 4 meaning: Hatched before current calendar year - exact
year unknown. There were a few more unusual catches as the session wore on. One
of our net rides was very near to a Greater Spotted Woodpecker,
Dendrocopos major, nest, so we kept a
special eye on that net having witnessed parent birds attending to the young
with food. We were right to keep an eye on the net as the female parent bird
was trapped. Knowing as we did the growing young she had in the nest we
processed and released her back to the same spot to ensure the supply to the
young birds was not substantially interrupted. She took with her half of
Duncans finger having decided he was suitable for a Wood pecking demonstration!
On our way back from releasing the Woodpecker we saw an elongated shape
sitting in one of the net pockets, I was charged with extracting the bird and
as I got close I realised it was a Swallow,
Hirundo rustica. Jason had the pleasure
of ringing the bird. It turned out to be a male with CP, and characteristic
tail streamers. Having only ever seen them on a telegraph wire or in flight,
occasionally at a nesting site, it was amazing to see this bird up close and
appreciate its stunning colouration and perfectly streamlined build. Having
been ringed the bird was released back to hawk insects with all the grace and
finesse of an aerial ballet dancer!
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| Tail Streamers |
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| Male Swallow |
Our next unusual bird was a Lesser Whitethroat. Far more skulking than its
extroverted cousins, the Common Whitethroat, with all together more subdued
plumage. The primaries and coverts are a dull brown/grey to the Commons russet
tones. The eye also differs, with the Lesser lacking the distinct white eye
ring of the Common. Both species breed on the reserve with the Lesser breeding
in smaller numbers. It is nice to see that through our ringing work we know
there are at least 2 breeding pairs this year, with the distinct possibility of
more that have avoided our nets.
The session continued with a total of 15 different species being caught and
ringed, this is a very good diversity of species for such a small site. The
notable absence was that of Sedge Warblers. Two weeks ago we had a number of
individuals caught, leading to speculation that these were passage birds and we
had just had an influx that week.
Wednesday evening I joined the Hampshire Wildlife Trust walk in search of
Nightjars and Woodcock at Havant Thicket. I am not usually one for group
birding walks as I find the noise of 30 people walking and talking impedes the
experience somewhat, there again, they are excellent at introducing people who,
perhaps have limited exposure to such birds to the delights of roding Woodcock
and churring Nightjar. This perhaps sounds a little pretentious but hey each
have their preferred style when doing something. For me I would go alone or
maybe with a friend and walk slowly around the reserve taking in the birds
going to roost, the crepuscular animals foraging and the nocturnal wildlife
coming to the fray. I hung around the very back of the group and soon I had
heard the churring around 60m off the track, I showed a couple of the other
participants and they seemed chuffed to be hearing it for the first time. The
one part of the walk that fascinated me was the chap from the Hampshire Bat
Group. Bats have always interested me but I must admit to being a little intimidated
by all the detectors and sonograms. However, I am pleased to announce dear
readers that I will in fact be purchasing a Bat detector very soon and starting
my journey into another obsession. Although the detector the chap had was around £1000 and showed realtime sonograms that you could record and download, I was using a simply Magenta Bat5 detector and had great fun as Common Pippistrelles whirred overhead hunting. My friend, Trevor Codlin I know, has been a
long time Bat surveyor so I am hoping I can chat to him regarding what is
involved and some ID/ detecting tips etc…..
All in all I have had an excellent week and look forward to ringing this
weekend, weather permitting!
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
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| Juv Robin |
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| Greater Spotted Woodpecker or 'Fleshpecker' |
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| Juv Greenfinch |
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| Juv Great Tit |
