Habitat management

Last winter John spent many hours reducing the height of a small area of ash trees and this area looked great in the summer with dense greenery at net height.  This winter we decided to do the job properly and get the help of members of the Coastal Conservation Group. For two saturdays, a group of 8 guys took to coppicing the trees on the big mound.  We managed to get a considerable area cut. The plan is to coppice areas of the big mound on a rotation bases. Below are some photos from this weekend gone.

Habitat pile for nesting wrens

(c) Adrian George

10th November - More Bluetails

Peter Hog was out birding in the coastal park and found the third red-flanked bluetail this year at Whitburn.  It was being chased by robins in the southern end of the coastal park along the eastern edge of Shearwater Estate.  It is remarkable how many bluetails have now turned up in and around Whitburn coastal park.  The total now stands at 5 birds with the first bird being found in Marsden Quarry in 2002.  The second and third birds were trapped in the coastal park in 2009 and 2011.  The forth was found in Whitburn in 2011 and the fifth in the coastal park in 2011. 


Lets hope the bird turns up in one the nets at the weekend!!

8th November

Easterly winds have been forecast for today for the past week.  John and I arrived at the coastal park and it was still blowing easterly with fog.  It looked good for a mega or good numbers of migrants, however the day started slow with a few blackbirds and a blackcap being trapped. Throughout the day the birds trickled into the nets and a total of 50 birds were trapped.  Frustratingly a woodcock got out of a net just as I got to it.  Today was likely to be one of the last sessions in the coastal park as migrant numbers drop off.  Depending on the weather a session may be done at the weekend.

Ringing totals included 26 blackbird, 10 robin, 5 redwing, 4 song thrush and blackcap plus a single siskin.

5th November

Another morning at Whitburn with John, Jason and Phil.  It was a fairly good start to the day with a few song thrush and blackbirds being trapped.  A total of three woodcock were caught, with two in one round!!  The afternoon was very quiet though with very few birds about.  A firecrest was present in the big mound and made a few flights over the top of one of the nets but it was net shy and was not trapped.  Another sparrowhawk was trapped which brings the total to 5 ringed this year at the coastal park.  The sparrowhawk was trapped with its dinner which happened to be one of the redwings that had been ringed a few hours beforehand.

Ringing totals included 10 blackbird, 4 song thrush, 3 chaffinch and woodcock, 2 redwing and lesser redpoll, and singles of blackcap and sparrowhawk.

Retraps included 5 blackbird and blue tit, 2 goldcrest, and singles of great tit, robin and wren.

29th October

Again it was quite breezy at Whitburn but the two mounds gave some shelter from the wind.  We were joined today by Paul House, a ringer from the Chew Valley ringing group.  Ringing started fairly slow with the odd robin and chaffinch being pulled in by the tapes.  During a net round a flock of long-tailed tits flew into the big mound followed by a distictly smaller bird.  I was hoping for a pallas's warbler, I had my fingers crossed.  A few net rounds later we caught the long-tailed tit flock and in with them was a stonking juvenile male firecrest. This is only the second firecrest to be ringed at the obs. It certainly was a long tailed tit day with a total of 31 new birds trapped plus a control bird which was ringed elsewhere (EAR502 do you recognise it?).  A male bullfinch was observed getting out of the net which was gutting but a female was sat in the next net.  This was the first bullfinch ringed at the obs.

Ringing totals included 31 long-tailed tit, 4 chaffinch, 2 robin and singles of coal tit, dunnock, firecrest, song thrush. Retraps included 2 robin and singles of blackcap, blackbird, chiffchaff and the control long-tailed tit.

 Firecrest © Adrian George

28th October

Early in the week the forecast looked great for ringing on Friday.  I got clearance from week to cram in a weeks work into 4 days.  Unfortunately by thursday the forecast had changed, as usual, and looked quite breezy.  Ringing went well tho with a few robin and blackcap being trapped. The afternoon was particularly quiet although the roost catch proved fruitful with 3 new robins and 3 blackbirds.

Ringing totals included 7 robin, blackbird and blackcap, 6 blue tit, 5 chaffinch and singles of song thrush, wren, chiffchaff and goldcrest. Retraps consisted of 6 blackbird and a wren.

26th October

Ringing totals included 10 blackbird and singles of song thrush, redwing, blackcap and great tit.