More Redpoll

Managed to get out for a couple of hours before the weather kicked in during the last few days.

another 20 Redpoll ringed with 4 Redwing, 5 Blackbirds 2 being Continental bird's, few more Goldcrests and Coal Tits another Jay and a Drake Mallard that came to close to the car while we were ringing

Redwing ageing as well as Tail shape white wedges show on the young birds

Tertials

Managed to get out for a couple of hours before the weather kicked in during the last few days.

another 20 Redpoll ringed with 4 Redwing, 5 Blackbirds 2 being Continental bird's, few more Goldcrests and Coal Tits another Jay and a Drake Mallard that came to close to the car while we were ringing

Redwing ageing as well as Tail shape white wedges show on the young birds

Tertials

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Twite season ends

Reports this week from Dr Guy Anderson down on The Wash at Terrington Marsh that he had a good flock of Twite with a mixture of colour rings some Nicks and some ours from this Autumn RED/WHITE above Pink and a few 2008 birds and 2007 birds.

So they are on there way again.

This year i have caught 307 Twite in the Pennines with 227 of them being new birds

{Unringed}

Since August i have ringed 143 birds that were born this year.

That with Nicks pulli project of 250 birds

makes 393 1st year birds ringed in 2009.

Also report of unringed Twite still being seen, so all in all not a bad year for this cracking little bird, again lets hope all is being done to try and improve Breeding grounds, wintering grounds

feeding areas etc so this bird can keep making its journey back and fourth for years to come.

Reports this week from Dr Guy Anderson down on The Wash at Terrington Marsh that he had a good flock of Twite with a mixture of colour rings some Nicks and some ours from this Autumn RED/WHITE above Pink and a few 2008 birds and 2007 birds.

So they are on there way again.

This year i have caught 307 Twite in the Pennines with 227 of them being new birds

{Unringed}

Since August i have ringed 143 birds that were born this year.

That with Nicks pulli project of 250 birds

makes 393 1st year birds ringed in 2009.

Also report of unringed Twite still being seen, so all in all not a bad year for this cracking little bird, again lets hope all is being done to try and improve Breeding grounds, wintering grounds

feeding areas etc so this bird can keep making its journey back and fourth for years to come.

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Meadow Pipit Turns up

Just got news of a Meadow Pipit we ringed at Kex Gill Quarry in 2007 {two pink rings on left leg} was recaught at Thistledown, nr Nympsfield in Gloucestershire on 13/10/2009 . Nice to know they are still out there.

Thanks to Phil Williams for letting us know.

Also had a quite week as have been laid up with the most awful cough since Sunday

managed to open net in the garden with a few more Starlings ringed

and the Goldfinch number is now touching 70 well 69.

hope to be out at the weekend weather don't look good.

Just got news of a Meadow Pipit we ringed at Kex Gill Quarry in 2007 {two pink rings on left leg} was recaught at Thistledown, nr Nympsfield in Gloucestershire on 13/10/2009 . Nice to know they are still out there.

Thanks to Phil Williams for letting us know.

Also had a quite week as have been laid up with the most awful cough since Sunday

managed to open net in the garden with a few more Starlings ringed

and the Goldfinch number is now touching 70 well 69.

hope to be out at the weekend weather don't look good.

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Timble

Another great morning at Timble with 35 more Redwing Ringed and 26 Redpoll.

Also 4 More Goldcrest and Coal Tits and Blue/Great Tits.

Good Flock of 29 Crossbill near nets but not playing.

Like most Thrushes you can Age Redwing on Tail Shape

The rounded tail feathers belonging to the Adult birds

Euring age 4

{Hatched before current calendar year}

Pointed tail Feathers belonging to the juvenile bird

Euring age 3

{Definitely hatched during current calendar year}

Another great morning at Timble with 35 more Redwing Ringed and 26 Redpoll.

Also 4 More Goldcrest and Coal Tits and Blue/Great Tits.

Good Flock of 29 Crossbill near nets but not playing.

Like most Thrushes you can Age Redwing on Tail Shape

The rounded tail feathers belonging to the Adult birds

Euring age 4

{Hatched before current calendar year}

Pointed tail Feathers belonging to the juvenile bird

Euring age 3

{Definitely hatched during current calendar year}

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15 Oct 09 - Pied Wheatear, Horsey Gap, Norfolk

Dashed out for an extended lunch today for a quick twitch up to Horsey Gap to see the 1st-winter male Pied Wheatear sat on the pillbox just south of the NT car park. The bird called quite often, a soft "chit", similar to a Stonechat, but without the hard 'tacking' property. It often flew in the air and hovered a-la Eurasian Skylark and this enabled viewers to see the sooty underwing and characteristic tail pattern.

The bird was really co-operative and sat on the pillbox at close range for extended periods. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the Paddyfield Warbler at Snettisham. After sitting on news of it for 6 hour, word finally got out but the bird had gone. Thanks guys - not!

Dashed out for an extended lunch today for a quick twitch up to Horsey Gap to see the 1st-winter male Pied Wheatear sat on the pillbox just south of the NT car park. The bird called quite often, a soft "chit", similar to a Stonechat, but without the hard 'tacking' property. It often flew in the air and hovered a-la Eurasian Skylark and this enabled viewers to see the sooty underwing and characteristic tail pattern.

The bird was really co-operative and sat on the pillbox at close range for extended periods. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the Paddyfield Warbler at Snettisham. After sitting on news of it for 6 hour, word finally got out but the bird had gone. Thanks guys - not!

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13 Oct 09 - Raptors in Oxon

Whilst driving around Oxfordshire looking for gulls, there was a number of photo opps for raptors, particularly a nice perched-up Common Buzzard and numerous Red Kites.
Here's a selection....

Whilst driving around Oxfordshire looking for gulls, there was a number of photo opps for raptors, particularly a nice perched-up Common Buzzard and numerous Red Kites.
Here's a selection....

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13 Oct 09 - Azorean Yellow-legged Gull in Oxon

After seeing London's Brown Shrike I headed off to Didcot and spent the rest of the day searching for the Azorean Yellow-legged Gull that Ian Lewington found last week at the dump between Didcot and Appleford. After going back and forward between the fields and the dump pool for 5 hours, I finally decided enough was enough and decided to give the fields one last look, but before I could start sifting through all the gulls a Perigrine attacked them and all the gulls from all the fields flew up and headed to the dump, so I decided to give the pool one last look and sure enough, there it was swimming around with the LBBG's. Azorean Gull is a real beast as can be seen from the photos below.

After seeing London's Brown Shrike I headed off to Didcot and spent the rest of the day searching for the Azorean Yellow-legged Gull that Ian Lewington found last week at the dump between Didcot and Appleford. After going back and forward between the fields and the dump pool for 5 hours, I finally decided enough was enough and decided to give the fields one last look, but before I could start sifting through all the gulls a Perigrine attacked them and all the gulls from all the fields flew up and headed to the dump, so I decided to give the pool one last look and sure enough, there it was swimming around with the LBBG's. Azorean Gull is a real beast as can be seen from the photos below.

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