Saturday 29 September 2012

September round-up

The weather during September was rather poor as far as ringing at Whitburn was concerned.  The majority of weather was strong SW winds and a fair bit of rain, however we managed 9 ringing sessions over the month.  It was looking like a quiet month until the weather forecast a long period of easterly winds last week.  From Birdguides it was clear that birds were starting to arrive on Tuesday with a white's thrush on Inner Farnes and good numbers of red-breasted flycatchers, yellow-browed and barred warblers along with other common migrants on the east coast. On the 26th Whitburn had a small fall of common migrants but there was very few scarce migrants yellow-browed warblers reported in Marsden Quarry and around Shearwater Estate (southern end of the Coastal Park).  However Whitburns remarkable run of rares continued with a pallas's grasshopper warbler (PG Tips) trapped and ringed.  Remarkably there was also another PG Tips found in Hartlepool earlier in the morning.  No scarce migrants were ringed at Whitburn during September, but we are not grumbling after the star bird.  Below is a list of the species and number ringed during September at Whitburn Coastal Park.  September 2012 has been the most productive September (288 birds) since we started ringing at Whitburn with the last highest total being 161 birds in 2008.

sparrowhawk  3
great spotted woodpecker  3
swallow  2
meadow pipit  1
wren  9
dunnock  7
robin  34
redstart  4
blackbird  7
song Thrush  31  
redwing  2
garden warbler  7
blackcap  10
lesser whitethroat  2
whitethroat  4
sedge warbler  1
pallas's grasshopper warbler 1
willow warbler  5
chiffchaff  14
goldcrest  25
spotted flycatcher  2
pied flycatcher  1
great tit  22
coal tit  20
blue tit  27
chaffinch  16
common redpoll  1
goldfinch  16
greenfinch  5
siskin  3

TOTAL - 288 birds

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