15th October

Rain at dawn and continued NE winds meant hopes were high for a moderate catch, although numbers caught recently at Spurn (444) and Gib Point (314) are shear dreams for us.  Catching started off well with redwings and a single song thrush. Blackcaps arrived in number today as well as more goldcrests.  Surprise of the day came when a goldcrest bearing a ring inscribed with "RKS Museum Stockholm".

Ringing totals = 75 birds of 11 species.
redwing (20), blackbird (13), blackcap (11), wren (5), great tit (3), robin (3), chiffchaff (2) and singles of song thrush, greenfinch and brambling.

13th October

Winds picked up even more but remained from the NE.  A very small number of nets were erected in the most sheltered areas of the Big Mound.  Very very quiet bird wise and it seems like for once we have missed all the migrants which seem to have hit from Spurn to Norfolk.  Hopefully we will get a few more birds soon. Our second mealy redpoll was trapped and ringed in the morning.  The ringing session was stopped with the onset of rain at midday.

Ringing totals: blackbird (2), wren (2), singles of chiffchaff and common redpoll

12th October

The wind was still blowing from the NE but it was soon clear that there were redwings passing overhead.  Ringing was slow with a handful of redwings and the odd robin trapped.  News of a bluethroat came through that was found by Dave Foster in one off the mounds.  A net was set in the mound and it was soon trapped.  It was aged and sexed as a juvenile female.  A cracking addition to the  Whitburn ringing list. It was released where it was caught and continued to feed in the same area. On the next net round a siberian chiffchaff was trapped and ringed.

 bluethroat © Andrew Kinghorn

 siberian chiffchaff © Kieran Lawrence

siberian chiffchaff © Kieran Lawrence

11th October

It was a breezy day with a NE wind.  Nets were erected in the areas of the Big Mound that was sheltered from the wind.  A few migrants were present but nothing in any number. A common redpoll was by far bird of the day.

Ringing totals:
blackbird (4), wren (3), robin (2) and singles of common redpoll.

 Mealy Redpoll © Andrew Kinghorn

Mealy Redpoll © Andrew Kinghorn

OBP picture

The olive-backed pipit trapped on the 5th.

© Andrew Kinghorn

5th October - OBP

Andy, Harry and I arrived early to erect nets and it was rather quiet in the Big Mound with the odd robin calling.  By the second net round it was looking like an empty net round until I extracted the best bird so far this year to be trapped at whitburn - an olive-backed pipit!!! It certainly changed the whole feel of the day. This record constitutes the third record for Durham.  Photos of this cracking bird will follow soon. From that point a trickle of common migrants and resident birds were trapped until midday. Dave Foster found a subalpine warbler in the Nature Reserve however it soon went to ground and did not reappear

Sightings:
subalpine warbler
richard's pipit (2) south via Dave Foster
snow bunting south
marsh harrier south
whooper swan (2) northwest

Ringing: blue tit (4), chaffinch (2), greenfinch (2) and singles of blackcap, goldcrest, song thrush and olive-backed pipit.

4th October

I arrived on site to find thick fog which wasnt forecast but I was not complaining.  Nets were erected by Graham, Andy and myself and we soon were catching some song thrushes.  I could hear a yellow-browed warbler calling across the road and it soon ended up in a net.  Amazing this was the 8th yellow-browed to be ringed at the obs this year.  It was aged as an adult and the first to be ringed at the obs as all the other 13 have been juveniles. At least 5 yellow-browed warblers were in the vacinity of the Coastal Park. The male firecrest was retrapped in the morning and a good variety of other species were trapped througout the day. A red-breasted flycatcher was still in the Lodge garden. A total of 32 birds of 11 species were ringed.

Ringing: blackcap (7), song thrush (7), robin (4), greenfinch (4), goldfinch (3) and singles of redstart, linnet, whitethroat, goldcrest, chiffchaff and yellow-browed warbler.

3rd October - Firecrests

Sightings: Whitburn Coastal Park - red-breasted flycatcher

Ringing: song thrush (10) blackcap (4), robin (3), reed bunting (2), firecrest (2) and singles of goldcrest, dunnock plus a retrap blackbird.

2nd October

Sightings:
Whitburn Coastal Park: yellow-browed warbler, red-breasted flycatcher.

Ringing: song thrush (4), blackcap (2) and singles of redwing, redstart and dunnock

1st October

Another breezy day so few birds trapped today.

Sightings:
Whitburn Coastal Park - red-breasted Flycatcher (3) and singles of yellow-browed warbler, ring ouzel and short-eared owl.

Ringing:
song thrush (4), blackcap (2) and singles of robin, garden warbler, goldcrest and greenfinch.

30th September

Another breezy day at Whitburn.  A few sheltered nets were erected but were visible to grounded migrants.  Ringing totals were 11 birds of 5 species.

Sightings:
willow tit in Marsden Quarry via IM
2 brambling in Marsden Quarry via IM
yellow-browed warbler in Mardsen Quary via JPC
Richard's pipit on golf course and opposite the Coastal Park via JPC

Ringing:
song thrush (5), robin (3) and singles of blackcap, greenfinch and brambling.

Richard's pipit phone scoped by Andrew Walker