Redwing & Late Chiffchaff

Only 24 hrs after returning from the Portugal trip, I was back at Brook Vale with Tineke to try and catch any late migratory Blackcaps and Chiffchaff that were still hanging around. I had heard Chiffchaff calling on Sandy Road when I was feeding up on Friday, so the Chiffchaff call was on the mp3 ready to go! The nets were up, as usual, before dawn and the Redwing call played, resulting in an early catch of eight Redwing. After the initial Redwing, it was a while before the catch rate picked up, with Greenfinches and Chaffinches proving the most active at the feeding station. I put the Chiffchaff and Goldcrest calls on following the early Redwing, which brought the Chiffy and a pair of Goldcrests.

A late Chiffchaff

Goldcrest - 2
L.T.Tit - 7 (3)
Chiffchaff - 1
Wren - 1
Blue Tit - 7 (2)
Great Tit - 7 (3)
Chaffinch - 7
Greenfinch - 8
Redwing - 8
Blackbird - 2
Robin - (1)
Dunnock - (2)

TOTAL: 50 (12)

Whilst most people were sleeping off a hangover, or just enjoying that extra hour in bed, myself and Moxey were out at the new site, Fulwood Marsh, to see if we could catch some more Redwing, Reed Buntings and other finches. Since setting up a small feeding station at the site, we have only ringed there twice. The Redwing were abundant with small flocks of 15-25 responding well to the calls we were playing, however only three were caught. The height of the surround willows meant that the birds were reluctant to come down low enough to be caught. We tried a couple of different locations which turned up Bullfinch and Goldcrest, later on Linnet and Reed Bunting responded to the calls.

Encouragingly, Siskin, Redpoll and Brambling were all either seen or heard, as well as flocks of upto 40 Fieldfare flying over. Whilst I don't expect to ever catch large numbers at this new site, it does offer prospects of a wider range of species to any of our other sites.

A juvenile female Goldcrest

Bullfinch - 1
Coal Tit - 1
Redwing - 3
Blackbird - 1
Wren - 1 (1)
Great Tit - 3
Blue Tit - 11
L.T.Tit - 2
Robin - 1 (1)
Goldcrest - 3
Linnet - 1
Reed Bunting - 1
TOTAL: 29 (2)

Over the next few days I will blog on me and Moxey's trip to Portugal and some of the ringing sessions while we were there - lots to show and tell!