North Wilts Group

Group totals up to the end of April.

Although I've been ringing my site of Salisbury Plain since 2003 this is the first year it's being run as a CES. With the weather having been terrible for the past week time was running out to get a first session in so we decided to make the best ot it this morning and get things done. Despite early morning spits of rain and the breeze picking up at the end of the session we managed to get the full 6 hours done.

We didn't catch too many new birds but we did get a record number of retraps including a seriously large number of returning warblers best of which were a Garden Warbler ringed in spring 2009 and another from 2010. Best of all we caught one of the 2 Nightingale's on site which was also ringed in spring 2009 on the same day as the Garden Warbler mentioned above. PD, GD, OF

36 new, 72 retrap

Wren (4), Blackbird 2(1), Song Thrush 2(5), Dunnock 2(6), Robin (3), Nightingale (1), Whitethroat 2(9), Lesser Whitethroat (1), Blackcap 7(7), Garden Warbler 3(7), Willow Warbler 3(7), Chiffchaff 3(8), Blue Tit (2), Great Tit 2(2), Long Tailed Tit (3), Chaffinch 1(3), Bullfinch 4(2), Linnet 5(1)

Another productive morning on Salisbury Plain today despite early morning fog which gave a rather chilly start to the morning.

Blackcap's are still streaming through the area with 71 ringed of which over 85% were female which may mean that all the males have already passed through.

We caught every common warbler species except Grasshopper with Garden Warbler, Reed Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat making their first appearances of the year and another nice Redstart late on. Also, 2 Nightingale's on site which spent the morning singing continuously.

Whitethroat numbers have increased greatly since last week with a good 20 or so singing from the tops of the gorse bushes. One we trapped today had originally be caught here in 2012 and we called trapped a Willow Warbler from 2012. GD OF

 107 new, 29 retraps. 

Sparrowhawk 1, Wren 2, Dunnock (5), Blackbird 3(5), Reed Warbler 1, Sedge Warbler 1, Whitethroat 5(3), Lesser Whitethroat 2, Garden Warbler 1, Blackcap 71(2), Willow Warbler 5(6), Chiffchaff 3(4), Long Tailed Tit 1(1), Blue Tit 1(1), Bullfinch 2(1), Chaffinch 2, Goldfinch 2, Linnet 4, Yellowhammer (1)

SALISBURY PLAIN (CENTRE)

With the weather last weekend too windy to get out and do any ringing and this coming weekend looking exactly the same I took advantage of a break in the weather to go to The Plain and catch up on a few more spring migrants.

On arrival at 0415 there were at least 4 Barn Owl's and 2 Tawny Owl's calling along with something else that despite nearly 40 years of birding experience I had absolutely no idea what it was. On listening to birds calls on an ipod later in the morning the most likely candidate appears to be Dotterel.

Half way through putting the nets up the first Nightingale of the season started up singing as did a Grasshopper Warbler.. The Nightingale spent the morning eluding the nets while touring the scrub but at least the Grasshopper Warbler found a net while it was still dark.

Dawn brought on misty conditions but the first full net round showed that there must have been a massive movement of Blackcap's overnight with over 100 ringed during the first two hours of daylight.

The first Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat of the year were caught later on and every clump of bushes seemed to have a Willow Warbler singing away in it.

An entertaining morning's effort finished with 135 new and 11 retraps. GD

Song Thrush 1(1), Blackbird (1), Robin (1), Grasshopper Warbler 1, Sedge Warbler 1, Whitethroat 1, Blackcap 109(1), Willow Warbler 13(1), Chiffchaff 3(4), Blue Tit (2), Goldfinch 1, Chaffinch 1, Bullfinch 3, Yellowhammer (1)

LIDDINGTON HILL

A few days ago I was on site at dusk doing some work and saw over a hundred Pied Wagtails fly low over the site at dusk with some of them dropping into a  reed bed so even though I have never tried a wagtail roost in the spring I thought it was worth a punt. I met Simon and Paul A at 18:00 and we set two nets and then proceeded to the duck traps to set up a hopper system that Paul has devised in our continued efforts to catch ducks. Simon had to go but Paul and I returned to the reed bed and watched the wagtails dropping in. Our first Sedge Warbler of the year was singing and then decided to grace our nets and then the wagtails showed us how adept they are at avoiding nets. We ended up ringing a decent number of Pied Wagtails and retrapping one originally ringed in a small roost in December.

 

This was a very satisfying little session having got the duck traps improved and our first ever catch of Pied Wagtails in April. MP, PA, SW

 

Pied Wagtail 17 (1), Reed Bunting 1 (3), Sedge Warbler 1