North Wilts Group

8th September

With clear overnight conditions there could have been a massive clear out of migrants, but then this is Salisbury Plain, the best inland ringing area in the country so there was no real need to worry even if thick fog did come down right on first light.

This was going to prove to be out best ever day for Blackcap's with 194 ringed and this was backed up with 61 new Chiffchaff's. We also caught a few of the now dwindling migrant species with a couple more Grasshopper Warbler's, a few Reed and Sedge and a single Garden.

We also found a a rather nice Hummingbird Hawk Moth at rest.

The day turned out to best the highest single days catch our part of the ringing group have ever taken with 304 new and 7 retraps. GD/PD/OF

Meadow Pipit 10, Dunnock 2, Robin 7(1), Blackbird 1, Song Thrush (2), Grasshopper Warbler 2, Sedge Warbler 6, Reed Warbler 2, Whitethroat 12, Garden Warbler 1, Blackcap 194(1), Chiffchaff 61(3), Willow Warbler 2, Great Tit 1, Starling 2, Goldfinch 1

10th September

We were joined by two of the boys from the West Wilts RG for the morning and as it turned out it was just as well as we eclipsed our day catch record set on Monday by a staggering number.

Early morning fog patches gave way to a bright warm and sunny morning. The catch was again dominated by Blackcap with another massive 161 ringed alongside 53 Chiffchaff. Blackcap's are a sucker for an ipod lure and as a result we have now reached the 2000 mark for the year, our best total by far.

The pipit nets were a bit of a bust as few Meadow Pipit's were on the move. Some of the nicer birds caught were another 2 Grasshopper Warbler's, 2 Tree Pipit's and a Stonechat which is a scarce bird at this site.

By 0930 some Swallow's started moving through so we changed over the lure quickly and soon caught a few along with 3 House Martin's which were our first of the year and not something we get to catch each year. On the off chance we changed another ipod lure on another net to House Martin to see if we could get a few more.

While ringing the few warblers we had left and the Swallow's we noticed around 60 Swallow's resting in the tree by the pipit nets attracted to the lure but way off beyond them we could see a cloud of House Martin's around the martin lure so a good catch of a few more was anticipated. By the time we got to the net about 70 had gone in followed next round by another 70 and by the end we ringed 190.

This is the kind of day that happens to ringers very rarely and we ended the session with 457 new, 2 retraps and 2 controls. Absolutely amazing! GD/PD/OF/RT/MH

Swallow 21, House Martin 190, Meadow Pipit 4, Tree Pipit 2, Stonechat 1, Robin 2, Dunnock 2, Blackbird 4, Grasshopper Warbler 2, Reed Warbler 2, Sedge Warbler 5, Whitethroat 3, Garden Warbler 1, Blackcap 161 (2,+2 controls), Chiffchaff 53, Goldcrest 2, Spotted Flycatcher 1, Great Tit 1, Bullfinch 1

SWINDON STW

We have been waiting for the Blackcap invasion to hit as it always does in September and there always seems to be a week when it happens and the numbers of other species drops and this week has been that week. Great conditions all week led to a perfect ringing morning with no wind and overcast sky. I was a bit concerned about the lack of team and so I was very pleased to have my brother Andy out again after a bit of a break and even better he brought some home made bread pudding which was luscious.

 SALISBURY PLAIN (CENTRE)

Flat calm conditions and an overcast sky promised a good catch and so were not suprised when we ended up with our largest catch of the year so far.

We had all our normal nets in place wit hthe exception of the chat valley net as we have now switched to catching Meadow Pipit's with 2 nets set to see what we could get.

The first net round was reasonable and included 3 new Grasshopper Warbler's and a Spotted Flycatcher and many, many Blackcap's. The second round was especially busy with many, many more Blackcap's , a Redstart, and another Spotted Flycatcher and a nice male Sparrowhawk. As the morning progressed we caught a few of the other warbler species still hanging around such as Whitethroat and Willow Warbler and Garden Warbler but numbers of these are now dwindling down as its now well past their migration peak.

The Meadow Pipit nets produced the expected Pipit's although numbers have yet to build up significantly yet as well as a Tree Pipit that was obviously confused about its species.

Number died off from 0900 but by then we had got to 270 new and 14 retraps. GD/PD/OF/AB

Sparrowhawk 1, Tree Pipit 1, Meadow Pipit 18, Wren 2(1), Dunnock (1), Robin 8, Redstart 1(1), Blackbird 2(2), Grasshopper Warbler 3(1), Sedge Warbler 6, Reed Warbler (1), Lesser Whitethroat 1, Whitethroat 11(2), Garden Warbler 2, Blackcap 164(5), Chiffchaff 39, Willow Warbler 5, Goldcrest 1, Spotted Flycatcher 2, Blue Tit 1, Great Tit 1, Bullfinch 1(1)

SALISBURY PLAIN (CENTRE)

With the weather forecasting rather breezy conditions it was with some suprise that we arrived to flat calm conditions with a light mist over the lower parts of the site.

With all 18 nets up nice and efficiently we went to shake to dew off of the chat valley net while it was still dark and were pleased to find 6 Whinchats in the net including a rather nice colour ringed control which probably originates from a PhD students project on the Imber Ranges of Salisbury Plain to the west of our site.

We decided to clear what was in the nets while it was still pretty dark and were greeted at each net to the sound of Blackcap's calling from the scrub all around. This proved a good move as we had 60 birds from that round which was followed by a second net round of 100 birds with Blackcap's piling into the nets.

While Blackcap's made up the majority of the catch we still caught good numbers of the other common warbler species with Whitethroat and Willow Warbler numbers still high. Two Grasshopper Warbler's were caught durung the morning including an adult female with a feathering over brood patch. We also caught 2 Tree Pipit's out of the 20 or so that flew over. This number would have been higher if stupidity hadn't intervened when I set Meadow Pipit playing on one of the ipod's by mistake although this did mean we caught our first Meadow pipit's of the Autumn.

A very busy morning produced 246 new, 16 retraps and 1 control. GD/PD/OF

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Tree Pipit 2, Meadow Pipit 2, Wren 1, Dunnock 3(1), Robin 9(1), Redstart 1, Whinchat 5(1), Blackbird 3, Song Thrush 1(1), Grasshopper Warbler 2, Sedge Warbler 9, Reed Warbler 3, Lesser Whitethroat (1), Whitethroat 23(2), Garden Warbler 5(1), Blackcap 136(7), Chiffchaff 24, Willow Warbler 12, Blue Tit 2, Bullfinch 2

SALISBURY PLAIN (EAST)

SALISBURY PLAIN (CENTRE)

Another Salisbury Plain migrant extravaganza was on the cards and with all the nets and ipod lures set well before daylight we were definitely in the raffle although we had to cut down on the number of nets as Olly unavailable leaving just two of us.

However the Nightjar catch was a fail as was the chat valley net that failed to catch a single bird. This did not effect the mornings totals that much as it soon became apparent that Blackcap's were all over the place and good numbers of Willow Warbler and Whitethroat were also still around.

After a rather busy first net round we started hearing Tree Pipit's going over along with small flocks of Yellow Wagtail's. With a few of the lures switched to Tree Pipit we soon started catching them and ended the morning with a respectable 8 ringed. The interesting thing about this catch was that Matt's team was out on the east ranges about 8 miles away and they only caught one Tree Pipit and heard no others. They however caught 21 Grasshopper Warbler's while we had zero despite 3 ipods playing their song. This just backs up what an amazing area this is for migrants this is.

We also added another 3 Redstart's to our totals but by 0900 the numbers dropped off considerably but we still managed another big day with 190 new and 10 retraps. GD/PD

Tree Pipit 8, Robin 7, Redstart 3, Blackbird 3, Song Thrush 1, Sedge Warbler 11, Reed Warbler 2, Lesser Whitethroat 1, Whitethroat 29(2), Garden Warbler 5(1), Blackcap 95(6), Chiffchaff 6, Willow Warbler 17, Blue Tit (1), Linnet 1, Bullfinch 1

SALISBURY PLAIN (EAST)

Two early morning visits were made this week (Thursday and today) with the idea of catching as many birds as possible before the predicted 15mph wind picked up each day and killed of the ringing.

The Thursday session produced a nice male Redstart which went in while it was still pitch black and putting the net up. Other than that it was a good spread of common migrants with the morning finishing on 65 new and 2 retraps.

This morning with the same nets in the same locations I was aiming for a good catch of Blackcap's as I was about to reach a significant number caught on my rings since I first got a C permit in 2003. I needed to catch 43 new which was a bit of a tall order but I managed to get there with some birds to spare. I even managed to finish off with a Grasshopper Warbler, a good bird for this site and ended with 75 new. GD

Wren 3, Dunnock 3, Robin 12, Redstart 1, Blackbird 1, Song Thrush 1, Sedge Warbler 7, Reed Warbler 3, Grasshopper Warbler 1, Whitethroat 8, Lesser Whitethroat 1, Garden Warbler 4, Blackcap 76, Chiffchaff 9, Willow Warbler 2, Treecreeper 1, Long Tailed Tit 4(1), Great Tit 1, Bullfinch 2(1)

Another chance to catch migrants saw us at our Salisbury Plain site nice and early to set the nets in the dark to make the most of the lures we use. 

While setting the nets we kicked a Nightjar off of the main track but sadly we didn't catch it. Chat Valley was shrouded in mist so a quick check of the net in the dark to shake off the water returned us 3 Whinchats. A Wheatear perched on fence post couldn't however be pushed nearer the net despite trying to use the car to flush it nearer.

We again caught some nice birds with 3 Grasshopper Warbler's in the first round and 4 Redstart's later on in the morning. The photo below shows the difference between juvenile and adult with the juvenile on the left with the buff fringes to the greater coverts and the adult on the right with the grey fringed greater coverts.

Today was certainly a big warbler day with our highest Whitethroat catch of the year so far, an increase in Blackcap numbers and a very sizeable Willow Warbler catch. 191 new and 23 retraps was the highest catch of the autumn so far. GD/PD/OF

Tree Pipit 3, Wren 5, Dunnock 1, Robin 9(4), Redstart 4, Whinchat 4(1), Blackbird 3(2), Song Thrush 1, Grasshopper Warbler 4, Sedge Warbler 14, Reed Warbler 1, Lesser Whitethroat 2, Whitethroat 62(4), Garden Warbler 3(2), Blackcap 44(10), Chiffchaff 5, Willow Warbler 23, Yellowhammer 3