|
WELCOME TO THE SORBY BRECK RINGING GROUP BLOG FOR 2010
A new year and a new blog! Our Group Blog will include interesting anecdotes and photos to illustrate the group's ringing activities throughout the year. Blogs for the previous 2 years can be accessed via the links. We hope you enjoy them.
Quick Links: '2008 Blog' '2009 Blog' 'January' 'February' New trainee Jack Baddam's initiation ceremony was going really well at Bondhay, until his left arm fell off! (07/02/2010) Trainee Jack learnt that a Blue Tit up the sleeve really knows how to peck on the soft tissue of an underarm. Thankfully Geoff was at the rescue and the explorative escapee bird was successfully ringed despite its intimate encounter with our newest ringer.
Ageing Treecreepers (24/01/2010) Treecreepers are not the easiest birds to age according to plumage (Svennson, 1992) although he mentions a method of ageing based on the size and shape of the pale tip on the 3rd outermost primary covert. However, he also claims that this method needs more testing. In an excellent article, Suorsa and Hakkarainen (2007) presented their findings of testing this method of ageing, and demonstrated that it is a useful field character for ageing Treecreepers. The authors showed that the pale tips on the outer webs of the outermost primary coverts on young birds are larger and more drop shaped than those of adults.
The picture above shows a 2nd year (5) bird caught at Bakewell SF on Sunday. The prominent pale spot on the longest primary covert clearly identifies this bird as 2nd year, rather than an adult. It is important to look at the outermost primary coverts, as the pale tips on the inner primary coverts can be inconspicuous like those on an adult. The picture also clearly shows a colour contrast between the longest unmoulted alula feather and the darker replaced feather above it, another feature cited by Suorsa and Hakkarainen (2007). References 1. Identification Guide to European Passerines, Svennson, 1992, p 247 2. Ageing and Sexing in the European Treecreeper, Suorsa and Hakkarainen, Alula 4, 2007 pp 146-150. Weight gain in urban Blackbirds (21/01/2010)
During the adverse weather, a reasonable number of Blackbirds were caught by our group. I ringed a small number in my garden and noticed, along with other group members, that there was a definite upward trend in the weights of the Blackbirds caught. The average weight of four birds I ringed on the 3rd January was 112g, but by the 9th January the average weight of a further three birds was 123.9g and fat scores for these birds were 4 using the BWG system. One bird caught on the 9th January, an adult female, weighed 120.9g. This same bird caught as a first year in December 2008 before last Winter's cold snap, weighed only 95.3g at that time. Eleanor, who ringed a larger than usual number of Blackbirds at Whitwell Wood and noticed some possible trends, is going to combine the results for the Blackbirds caught by the group during the recent cold spell and an analysis of the data will be presented on the website. Care was taken not to interfere with birds feeding during ringing activities in this period. Sean What do ringers get up to when they can't ring? (16/01/2010) The answer to that is probably quite a variety of things, not all of which should be shared here! Regular visitors to our site will have noticed that the blog has not been updated for a couple of weeks. This is because the inclement weather has meant that ringing has either not been possible or we have voluntarily decided not to ring in the best interests of the birds. In such harsh weather conditions, birds need to be able to feed uninterrupted, and the limited amount of ringing we have been doing as a group has been to look at how birds fare in such conditions, the data being of scientific value to the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology).
Before cutting back However, in answer to the question of 'What do ringers do..' one of the useful things that can be done is site and habitat management. Ringers are heavily involved in managing sites for wildlife as this, obviously, encourages more birds to use the area. So to make the most of not being able to ring, Kevin and I went down to Blackburn Meadows yesterday to cut back the Willow Scrub. This will ensure thick new growth providing excellent habitat for Chiffchaff, Willow Warblers and other birds. I was only there in the morning, but Kevin stayed into the afternoon and was rewarded by a Peregrine flying over and landing on the Magna building.
After cutting back A new bird for the new year (and an older ringer! - 02/01/2010) An early start at Williamthorpe Nature Reserve and cold enough for some to wear thermals at -7 degrees Celsius produced some good birds. The decade started as the previous year with both Snipe and Jack Snipe ringed. The value of Williamthorpe as an ice-free marsh fed by its mine pump-water was evident today by the good to reasonable weights of the waders ringed. The site certainly has more snipe species when the temperatures are low as they were today.
However, the star bird of the morning was a Water Rail, ringed by Dave Atkinson. Despite many years of ringing Dave had never ringed a Water Rail so an excellent ringing start for 2010. The pictures show an immature bird, but its measurements were inconclusive as to sex.
Water Rail - Photos Courtesy of Dave Atkinson.
|
