Moorhen colour ringing season again.

Last years successful breeding pair, H23 & H24 have been usurped and chased off the pond in Grovesnor Park, Chester. They've been seen on the nearby river Dee with young so I'm not sure whether they were actually chased off or if they decided the river was better breeding habitat. I feel its the former as last time we went to ring them H23 was calling from inside a holly tree and H24 was nowhere near the pond while new male patrolled its edges. The new pair are unringed and have already successfully reared 4 full grown young and have recently hatched a 2nd brood.

Various things, included a dislocated shoulder, have prevented me from getting down there but we managed a trip recently and managed  to catch one of this years juveniles from the resident pairs 1st brood. They’ve already hatched the 2nd brood and we watched the older chicks feeding their younger siblings.

H27 -the 1st of this years new cohort

Once we've caught one Moorhen we usually find the others become very suspicious and stay away from the traps. However, we generally persevere for a little longer and this time had the bonus of catching a drake mallard just entering eclipse. A ringing tick for Ursula.

Aged as Euring 6 (at least two years old) by the solid black tips to greater coverts 4-6. Its not often I catch Mallard so it was nice to refresh my memory!

Black-headed Gull ringing, Shotton

I was lucky enough to get an invite to Tata Steel at Shotton recently with the Merseyside ringing group to ring Black-headed Gulls at the raft nesting colony on their lagoons. Thus colony had been previously hit badly by avian flu but seems to have bounced back with a recce a couple of weeks ago showing good numbers of nests and newly hatched young. 

A great if noisy afternoon where we ringed a total of 170 Black-headed Gull chicks and colour ringed 150 of those with black darvics with a four number numeric code.

Black-headed Gulls are on the amber list of birds of conservation concern in the context of a UK breeding species. Many more spend the winter here from Europe but its important to monitor UK colonies such as these and collect data such as juvenile survival rates and movements to help monitor and protect populations.

Although most of the pairs had well grown chicks close to fledging there were still some late nesters still with clutches of eggs. Hopefully they'll be successful but as with all colony nesting birds there is safety in numbers and once the older chicks have fledged the adults will leave the colony leaving the late ones more vulnerable to predation.

The rafts are also home to a colony of Common Terns and they also seem to be doing well. We'll go back to ring them later.

Another blast from the past: Shetland September 2009

I started this blog in 2008 primarily as a vehicle to record my birding trips so, in old age when memories fail, I had some thing to look back on and remind me of the incredible adventures I've had over the years with some good mates. I've already written about our first trip to Shetland in spring 2007 for Killdeer and how we went back again in September here. This post carries on from where I left off with a trip to Fetlar and Foula.

With Jason, Al and Malc we'd arrived on Shetland a few days previously and were staying at Hoswick. A busy few days had us touring the mainland mopping up a few species the guys needed for their year lists.

Spot the real scarecrows

It was the 28th September and we'd been watching an elusive female Sardinian Warbler at Spiggie and I was chatting to the owner of the garden the bird frequented (who'd had kindly allowed us to view from inside the garden) when one of the local birders told us about a Swainsons Thrush that had just been found on Fetlar. Given that it was several hours and three  islands away involving two ferries and a long drive we were advised to leave immediately if we wanted to see it that day. What we didn't realise as we set off was that a 1st winter mle Siberian Thrush had just been found on Foula and the locals had all chartered a flight - in those days, pre- AirTask, inter island flights could be chartered if there was enough interest.  We had no chance of getting on that flight so carried on to Fetlar. Jason contacted Jon Dunn on Whalsay who gave us the name of a boat skipper who'd be willing to take us to Foula the next day and could take 14 people.  Putting a message out through Rare Bird Alert (RBA) he filled the boat within minutes and we agreed to meet the skipper in Lerwick early the next morning.

Jase, Al & me on inter island ferry to Fetlar. Note the binoculars of preference in those days were Leica's

Me, Jase, Al & Malc on Fetlar

Arriving at Fetlar we drove the short distance to Houbie and parked at the interpretive centre before strolling up the hill towards the community hall. We weren't quite sure where we were going as the message was rather vague as to where the bird was stating only that it was ' along the road towards the community hall'. 

As usual Al was strolling along fag in hand when he suddenly announced he'd got it. The Swainsons Thrush had literally hopped on the wall in front  of him before landing in an adjacent field. 

We enjoyed watching this American catharus thrush as it foraged in fields along the road until it flew down hill and out of sight. With time pressing we went back towards the car taking in a Red- backed Shrike in the gardens of Leagarth House and a wander up Feal Burn for a Blyth's Reed Warbler.

The next day was the big boat trip to Foula and all the guys making the trip met up in Lerwick for a cooked breakfast before embarking on our transport for the day the 'Marie Rose' skippered by the indomitable Davey. Joining us that day were Stu Piner (of RBA), John Bell and Pierre-Andre Crochet with another french birder. News wasn't looking good with local on Foula reporting there was no sign by the time we left. Knowing how elusive Siberian Thrushes can be we weren't unduly worried......

Three hours later we arrived for our 1st visit to Foula. Skipper Davey gave us a time to be back at the quay and we split up and headed off in different directions looking for the elusive Sibe. Nothing, zilch. All we had for our efforts were several Yellow-browed Warblers, a Snow Bunting and a flyover Citrine Wagtail that Al & I followed until it landed and got brief views before it took off again. 

Despondent we trudged back to the quay to find our skipper had laid on cheese and biscuits for us aboard the Marie Rose! Not only that but it was his last charter of the year and he had an immense quantity of spirits and beers that needed to be drunk.....

The weather was beautiful with calm sea and blue skies. Davey asked if we wanted some music and proceeded to put on a CD (!) of Scottish reel music as we hurtled along with a creamy white wake behind us. Spotting a fishing boat, being followed by a number of seabirds, he took us alongside where we enjoyed good views of Blue Fulmar and Sooty Shearwater whilst he yelled abuse at the crew of the other boat who he obviously knew well. It was all getting quite surreal.

News came through that the Killdeer we'd seen in the spring had been re-found on the Pool of Virkie so Al asked Davey to drop him off at Grutness as he wasn't with us in the spring. We carried onto Lerwick making sure we demolished the rest of the free drinks on offer. Apparently it was all going to be poured down the drain if we didn't drink it. It was a slightly tipsy but happy crew that disembarked and went our separate ways. Jason, our designated driver, had remained sober and drove us towards Geosetter where a Red-breasted Flycatcher had been located before heading south to pick Al up. 

What followed has been the subject of years of ribbing. Whilst searching the burn at Geosetter I tripped and somehow my old Nokia 3310 phone got dislodged from my pocket never to be seen again. Its still there somewhere. Luckily I still had my works Blackberry personal organiser which, back then, were all the rage for business use as they were able to send and receive emails as well as make calls! 

Jase took a phone call from a slightly inebriated Al asking how long we were going to be. It turned out he'd got lost and ended up walking along the runway at Sumburgh in his attempt to get to the Pool of Virkie and was picked up by an airline stewardess who kindly dropped him off at the correct place. He then cadged a lift to the off licence by  Mainlands Mini market at Dunrossness. By this time it was late afternoon and all the shops shut at 4 pm on Saturday but he knocked on the door of the store and persuaded the woman to sell him 4 cans of Stella and a pack of cigarettes. When we finally met up with him we found him sharing a can of Stella with the stores owner on the doorstep......

A great trip and the first of many autumn visits to Shetland which has got noticeably busier over the years as other birders recognise the islands as rarity magnets. 

Pied Flycatchers, Ruthin

Almost  three years ago Al invited me to a woodland reserve near Ruthin to help ring Pied Flycatchers breeding in nest boxes - see here. The weather, as we can all recall, was abysmal last year and the nest boxes weren't checked as there never seemed to be a dry day! 

All went to inspect the boxes a few weeks ago and found 6 were occupied by Pied Flycatchers. An increase in numbers since our last visit. Late may we went back to check them again and found two boxes with young big enough to ring and we also caught and ringed an adult female. Two boxes held blind and naked young and another bird was on eggs. Unfortunately 1 very young brood were dead in the box. Despite the fantastic dry weather we'd had in early spring the dreaded rain had struck again and its likely these youngsters just weren't getting enough food as their parents struggled to find caterpillars that had been washed off the leaves.

Planning to go back a week later we were again thwarted by the weather and had to wait another few days until it was dry enough to check the boxes again. Again another two broods were ringed and the final brood had already fledged with no sign of the young or adult. 

With a brighter sky today I took the camera in the hope of getting some photos of the adults and was lucky enough to get some shots of one of the adult males.

This wood is also well known for its Greater Butterfly Orchids but the dry spring has meant orchids in many parts of the country haven't flowered as well.  Here was no exception and whereas, in a previous year, we found plenty of both butterfly and Common Spotted Orchids we struggled to find more than half dozen Greater Butterfly orchids and no Common Spotted at all!

All the Pied Flycatchers were ringed under licence as part of a national project monitoring these long distance migrants whose numbers have dropped alarmingly in recent years.

A blast from the past: Killdeer, Shetland

Killdeer have become remarkably rare in recent years. Back in 2007 when Malc and Jason were year listing, a Killdeer turned up on Shetland and was apparently paired up with a Ringed Plover. People thought we were mad to travel all that way just for a Killdeer but there hasn't really been a twitchable one since in the UK and wit ha supporting cast of Melodious Warbler, Blyths Reed Warbler, Common Rosefinch and a spring male Red-breasted Flycatcher plans were made to drive to Aberdeen and fly to Sumburgh to spend a few days mopping up a few good species in early June.

This was to be my first visit to Shetland since July 1976 when I went up with friends as a 15 year old birder specifically to see Albert the Black-browed Albatross at Hermaness but also Fetlars resident Snowy Owls and Red-necked Phalaropes.

The flight from Aberdeen was foggy but the pilot hoped it would clear before we reached Sumburgh. Unfortunately it didn't and, despite two passes with the landing gear down, we ended up back in Aberdeen and having to make a mad dash in a taxi across Aberdeen to the Northlink ferry terminal where we spent an uncomfortable night trying to sleep in the restaurant. Luckily we'd managed to contact Bolts car hire who met us from the ferry rather than Sumburgh airport. Unluckily it had been a clear night and a lot of birds had moved on. 

The Killdeer had been seen around a muddy pool north of th Pool of Virkie so we headed there first. Despite searching we couldn't find it although I was convinced I'd heard it. With Common Rosefinch being reported as being still at Sumburgh Hotel I elected to stay whilst the others took the hire car and went to salvage a year tick. 

I continued searching the area pausing only to try and photograph a Shetland Wren. Distracted I didn't hear the distinctive sound of a Bonxies wings as a pair attacked me in full aggressive flight mode and the next thing I knew I was flat on my back with blood dripping into my left eye and trying to fend an angry Bonxie off with my camera. Eventually, honour satisfied, the pair went back to survey their handiwork from a nearby mound whilst I beat a hasty retreat.

Working my way back to the muddy pool on top of the cliffs I once again thought I heard the Killdeer and sure enough the bird flew in and landed just in front of me and promptly went into its distinctive broken wing distraction display. Quickly phoning the others I stayed a respectful distance until they arrived. In the meantime another birder had arrived and proceeded to get ever closer to the Killdeer until I warned him he was liable to get pushed headfirst into the pond by some angry mancs if her persisted. Luckily he was sensible about it and stood watching from a distance alongside me.

Satisfied we headed back to our hotel in Lerwick detouring on the way for a Red-breasted Flycathcer that had been reported from Geosetter.

This is still the only Killdeer I've seen in the UK after an abortive trip to Alston, Lancs  in 2013 for the bird that only stayed a few hours

That spring trip was the start of my love for Shetland birding and we went back again in the autumn where we caught up with a Melodious Warbler, for the lads year list, on Unst and a lifer in the form of Swainsons Thrush on Fetlar - my first trip to Fetlar since 1976. We also caught up with Red-backed Shrike on Fetlar and a Sardinian Warbler at Spiggie.

Melodious Warbler, Sept 2007, Baltasound, Unst

Swainsons Thrush, Houbie, Fetlar with Al & Malc in the background! 

Unfortunately we couldn't get to Foula that day for the 1st winter male Siberian Thrush but Jason managed to get us a boat charter the next day when, due to form, the Siberian Thrush had done a bunk! Thats a write up for another day.

I've now been going to Shetland every year since 2007 and some times twice a year.  Fair Isle and Fetlar are two of my favourite places on earth.

Woodchat Shrike, Cheshire

 I was nonchalantly having a late breakfast around 8.20,  after checking the moth trap, and contemplating the day ahead when my phone pinged! Fred had put the message out that Pete Brash had found a Woodchat Shrike along the canal towpath off Delph Lane, Daresbury! A quick look at Google maps confirmed it was only 20 minutes away and, for once, there were no delays on the M56.  Next I phoned Fred to confirm where to park & told him I was on my way. I’d only been bemoaning to Steve that Cheshire was due another Woodchat Shrike as the last one was in 1998 - a juvenile caught & ringed on Hilbre. With birds recently in North Wales, Staffs and Bardsey the influx seemed to have past us by.

Arriving at the designated parking spot I met Pete just heading off and he informed me that Fred was still watching it a few hundred metres along the canal towpath. Result! Slightly breathless I arrived to find Fred & Malc waiting for me to arrive. Firing off a few record shots and using Fred’s ‘scope I relaxed and we chatted for a few minute before the bird got flushed by a Carrion Crow and disappeared. Luckily for the birder that had just arrived I wandered down the towpath and relocated it a few hundred metres further on. 

It was great to catch up with Fred & Malc again and enjoy a Cheshire rarity & a Cheshire lifer with only the three of us watching and less than  18 miles from home! I was back home by 10.00 tidying my breakfast things away.

It was also nice to see an array of Southern Marsh Orchids along the canal towpath. The dry spring has meant many orchids have suffered but these were doing well. 

Looking through the records this constitutes possibly the 6th record for Cheshire. T Hadley Bell, in his birds of Cheshire, says that there were a pair seen in Congleton on 2nd May 1908. These birds were mentioned by Coward in his Fauna of Cheshire and it appears he was happy with the description. Unusually for that period they weren’t ‘collected’.

Following that the next record was 22nd June until early July of a bird in Birkenhead in 1954  followed by a bird on Hilbre in 1958 that constitutes the 1st ratified record for Cheshire by the rarities committee.

Cheshire birders had to wait then until 1996 when a juvenile graced Frodsham between 4th-7th September followed relatively quickly by a juvenile trapped and ringed on Hilbre between 9th -11th September 1998. With the last twitchable Cheshire bird being nearly 27 years ago this bird was always going to be popular and a steady stream of grateful observers visited during the day.