Long Tailed Tits | My Garden Birds

I was so excited today to see a flock of Long Tailed Tits in my Garden.

I had glanced out of the window and spotted a Coal Tit on one of the feeders, then immediately noticed a second one fly over to it from the Pear Tree. As I was telling Mrs "W" that I could see Two Coal tits on the feeder, I noticed what I thought to be a third Coal Tit then realised I was looking at a Long tailed Tit.

I was so excited today to see a flock of Long Tailed Tits in my Garden.

I had glanced out of the window and spotted a Coal Tit on one of the feeders, then immediately noticed a second one fly over to it from the Pear Tree. As I was telling Mrs "W" that I could see Two Coal tits on the feeder, I noticed what I thought to be a third Coal Tit then realised I was looking at a Long tailed Tit.

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Bump into some old friends today

6 Twite colour ringed at the Point of Ayre today

Colour code for the Isle of Man is

Left Leg White {Isle of Man} above Green White Split ring {Year 2010}

Right Leg BTO Metal

6 Twite colour ringed at the Point of Ayre today

Colour code for the Isle of Man is

Left Leg White {Isle of Man} above Green White Split ring {Year 2010}

Right Leg BTO Metal

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

To all my family, friends and readers of this blog:

MERRY CHRISTMAS
From The Woodpecker and my Garden Birds

To all my family, friends and readers of this blog:

MERRY CHRISTMAS
From The Woodpecker and my Garden Birds

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More Snow and the birds must be fed

Once more we awoke to find that outside of the warmth and shelter of our house, everywhere was covered in a fresh fall of Snow and the birds must be fed.
They depend on us more and more in this weather and so we do what we can to help them out.






Here is a nice freshly made bird cake made with lard, currants, sultanas, mixed seed and grain. Mmm, delicious.


Some fresh water;

Snow cleared

Once more we awoke to find that outside of the warmth and shelter of our house, everywhere was covered in a fresh fall of Snow and the birds must be fed.
They depend on us more and more in this weather and so we do what we can to help them out.






Here is a nice freshly made bird cake made with lard, currants, sultanas, mixed seed and grain. Mmm, delicious.


Some fresh water;

Snow cleared

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Rain and Good Timing Bruny Island P3

After a long sleep in a comfortable hotel, we were off to Bruny Island. I was hoping to see Black-faced Cormorant at the ferry terminal, but that was not the case. Our first stop on Bruny was the start of what we thought was a rainforest walk that had the potential for Scrubtit. Turns out we were in the wrong spot, but I did tick off BLACK-HEADED HONEYEATER and CRESCENT HONEYEATER.

We eventually found the right place, Mavista Nature Walk. I had been expecting to get Scrubtit in the south-west, but apparently I was mistaken… anyway – the Bruny Island brochure said this was a short walk through rainforest, which sounded good for Scrubtit, and this was my best guess because I’d neglected to research this location... 30 minutes, 20 leeches, and 10 scrubwrens later as we were approaching the car (about 50m to go) it occurred to me that there was probably going to be one at the end of the walk according to the laws of birding… 3 seconds later a SCRUBTIT flies in front of us!!! A great bird to have as number 500 for me!

Anyway, it turned on 2:00, and we went to check in at Inala. Run by Tonia Cochran, this property is set up specifically for birdwatchers, and the conservation of Swift Parrots and Forty-spotted Pardalotes. As always, we had just walked into our lodge when it started to rain. It didn’t stop raining for 2 hours…

Later that day, we did another rainforest walk – this one was much longer and much higher altitude, therefore colder. I was hoping to get better Scrubtit views, but this walk was almost completely birdless, save for 1 Yellow-throated Honeyeater, a few Crescents and a Black Currawong calling in the distance. Just as we got back to the car, it stated raining… maybe now you can see why I named this report “all about timing”

Eventually, this rain stopped too, and I went for a walk around the property. Every Pardalote was checked, but none were the forty-spot. I didn’t see a lot of birds in my 2 hour wander, and when I got back to our accommodation my dad told me someone had come over to check we were comfortable and given him the location for Swift Parrots and the Forty-spots… turned out I’d been looking in the wrong place for 2 hours!!! I did manage to find some TASMANIAN NATIVE-HENS though…

Anyway, I walked down to the right place at 8:30 (yes, the sun was still out until 9:30, and it wasn’t dark until 10:30), and commenced my search for Forty-spots. About an hour of checking Pardalotes, I was about to give up when I noticed a flash of green in a low down tree. Yes! I’ve done it! If finally bagged myself a SHINING BRONZE CUCKOO!!! :-/ Ticking this much needed bogey-bird must have been a consolation, as the Forty-spots didn’t show.

The next morning, I headed up to the Swift Parrot spot with the camera. No Swifties, but on the way down a flash of white alerted me to the white phase Grey Goshawk sitting in a tree in front of me.

Bruny Island is famous for its white animals. The white phase goshawk is particularly prominent percentage wise, compared to “grey” birds, but most people come to see the white Red-necked Wallabies. I’m not sure why there are so many white wallabies here, but throughout our stay, we saw about 4 of them.

Heading back down to the Pardalote spot, I finally found a FORTY-SPOTTED PARDALOTE low down in the tree, and took a few bad photos, accidentally deleted later... Oh well, they were bad photos anyway!

Adventure Bay was next, aiming for Swift Parrots and, embarrassingly, the last endemic I needed, the Yellow Wattlebird… saved the easiest to find for last! A YELLOW WATTLEBIRD was found as we pulled into the car park, and a walk into an abandoned caravan park yielded about 7 SWIFT PARROTS in a flowering gum tree. The only flowering gum tree I saw on the entire trip! Every tree on Bruny Island had close-to-flowering buds, so I’m guessing Max is going to have a ball when he’s down there next week ;)

With all 14 endemic/breeding endemic birds ticked, I turned my attention to better views of Scrubtit. Another go at the Mavista Nature Walk found me a family party or 3 (maybe 4), giving some great views, but no photos, because using a camera in a rainforest on an overcast day is hell :lol:

Some BLACK-FACED CORMORANTS in the distance at adventure bay proved to be my last lifer for the trip. The next day was really bad, with rain pretty much the whole time, and missing all the birds I aimed for.

Satin Flycatcher = Dip

Pink Robin = Dip

Flame Robin = Dip

Grey Currawong = Dip

We left Bruny and headed back to Hobart, pondering what to do with the 3 hours until our flight. Due to my lack of research, I didn’t know where Fern Tree Gulley or Peter Murrell Reserve were (not that it would have been much use, with the constant rain and all ;) ), so we decided to head to the Botanic Gardens. I was hoping for Greenfinches or Skylark, but that was not the case, and most of our time was spend looking at plants… oh well ;)

Overall, I ticked 25 new birds, and throughout the trip saw 75 species. The only big dips were the 4 mentioned just above. A good weeks birding! A big thankyou to my dad for accompanying me, and my mum for booking everything. Also, thanks to Ben for giving me some last-minute info on Melaleuca and Bruny.

Oh, I forgot - on the second last day I saw 11 endemics in 3 hours and 15 minutes, and all 12 in 4 hours and 50 minutes (that's how long it took me to find a Yellow-throated Honeyeater) Just shows how awesome Bruny is for Tasmanian birds!

After a long sleep in a comfortable hotel, we were off to Bruny Island. I was hoping to see Black-faced Cormorant at the ferry terminal, but that was not the case. Our first stop on Bruny was the start of what we thought was a rainforest walk that had the potential for Scrubtit. Turns out we were in the wrong spot, but I did tick off BLACK-HEADED HONEYEATER and CRESCENT HONEYEATER.

We eventually found the right place, Mavista Nature Walk. I had been expecting to get Scrubtit in the south-west, but apparently I was mistaken… anyway – the Bruny Island brochure said this was a short walk through rainforest, which sounded good for Scrubtit, and this was my best guess because I’d neglected to research this location... 30 minutes, 20 leeches, and 10 scrubwrens later as we were approaching the car (about 50m to go) it occurred to me that there was probably going to be one at the end of the walk according to the laws of birding… 3 seconds later a SCRUBTIT flies in front of us!!! A great bird to have as number 500 for me!

Anyway, it turned on 2:00, and we went to check in at Inala. Run by Tonia Cochran, this property is set up specifically for birdwatchers, and the conservation of Swift Parrots and Forty-spotted Pardalotes. As always, we had just walked into our lodge when it started to rain. It didn’t stop raining for 2 hours…

Later that day, we did another rainforest walk – this one was much longer and much higher altitude, therefore colder. I was hoping to get better Scrubtit views, but this walk was almost completely birdless, save for 1 Yellow-throated Honeyeater, a few Crescents and a Black Currawong calling in the distance. Just as we got back to the car, it stated raining… maybe now you can see why I named this report “all about timing”

Eventually, this rain stopped too, and I went for a walk around the property. Every Pardalote was checked, but none were the forty-spot. I didn’t see a lot of birds in my 2 hour wander, and when I got back to our accommodation my dad told me someone had come over to check we were comfortable and given him the location for Swift Parrots and the Forty-spots… turned out I’d been looking in the wrong place for 2 hours!!! I did manage to find some TASMANIAN NATIVE-HENS though…

Anyway, I walked down to the right place at 8:30 (yes, the sun was still out until 9:30, and it wasn’t dark until 10:30), and commenced my search for Forty-spots. About an hour of checking Pardalotes, I was about to give up when I noticed a flash of green in a low down tree. Yes! I’ve done it! If finally bagged myself a SHINING BRONZE CUCKOO!!! :-/ Ticking this much needed bogey-bird must have been a consolation, as the Forty-spots didn’t show.

The next morning, I headed up to the Swift Parrot spot with the camera. No Swifties, but on the way down a flash of white alerted me to the white phase Grey Goshawk sitting in a tree in front of me.

Bruny Island is famous for its white animals. The white phase goshawk is particularly prominent percentage wise, compared to “grey” birds, but most people come to see the white Red-necked Wallabies. I’m not sure why there are so many white wallabies here, but throughout our stay, we saw about 4 of them.

Heading back down to the Pardalote spot, I finally found a FORTY-SPOTTED PARDALOTE low down in the tree, and took a few bad photos, accidentally deleted later... Oh well, they were bad photos anyway!

Adventure Bay was next, aiming for Swift Parrots and, embarrassingly, the last endemic I needed, the Yellow Wattlebird… saved the easiest to find for last! A YELLOW WATTLEBIRD was found as we pulled into the car park, and a walk into an abandoned caravan park yielded about 7 SWIFT PARROTS in a flowering gum tree. The only flowering gum tree I saw on the entire trip! Every tree on Bruny Island had close-to-flowering buds, so I’m guessing Max is going to have a ball when he’s down there next week ;)

With all 14 endemic/breeding endemic birds ticked, I turned my attention to better views of Scrubtit. Another go at the Mavista Nature Walk found me a family party or 3 (maybe 4), giving some great views, but no photos, because using a camera in a rainforest on an overcast day is hell :lol:

Some BLACK-FACED CORMORANTS in the distance at adventure bay proved to be my last lifer for the trip. The next day was really bad, with rain pretty much the whole time, and missing all the birds I aimed for.

Satin Flycatcher = Dip

Pink Robin = Dip

Flame Robin = Dip

Grey Currawong = Dip

We left Bruny and headed back to Hobart, pondering what to do with the 3 hours until our flight. Due to my lack of research, I didn’t know where Fern Tree Gulley or Peter Murrell Reserve were (not that it would have been much use, with the constant rain and all ;) ), so we decided to head to the Botanic Gardens. I was hoping for Greenfinches or Skylark, but that was not the case, and most of our time was spend looking at plants… oh well ;)

Overall, I ticked 25 new birds, and throughout the trip saw 75 species. The only big dips were the 4 mentioned just above. A good weeks birding! A big thankyou to my dad for accompanying me, and my mum for booking everything. Also, thanks to Ben for giving me some last-minute info on Melaleuca and Bruny.

Oh, I forgot - on the second last day I saw 11 endemics in 3 hours and 15 minutes, and all 12 in 4 hours and 50 minutes (that's how long it took me to find a Yellow-throated Honeyeater) Just shows how awesome Bruny is for Tasmanian birds!

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Rain and Good Timing SW Tassie P2

After my success with the Ground Parrot, the weather cleared up enough for us to head out on our hike. The plan was the walk 13km south to the coast, Cox Bight. Most of this walk was through button grass, so I was optimistic of finding more Ground Parrots. Unfortunately, we only flushed one from the side of the track. I did get some brief views of a BLACK CURRAWONG, and a few Yellow-throated Honeyeaters were also around, but not much else.

The birding really picked up as soon as we got to the beach. A beachcombing Black Currawong gave fantastic views – apparently they’re notorious for not being frightened of people in the slightest. This one sure wasn’t.

A few lifers quickly followed the Currawong. FOREST RAVENS were flying around the area, and two KELP GULLS were resting on the beach, amongst some Pied Oystercatchers. The highlight of the beach was 3 little birds sitting above the high tide mark, HOODED PLOVERS! When you look at the field guides, you wouldn’t think they’re particularly well camouflaged. Down here, I learnt quite the opposite. Try and spot the plover in the second photo (you might want it on full size).

Arriving at our beach front campsite, we quickly set up the tent. No less than 20 minutes later, it started to rain… heavily. For the whole hike, the rain clouds had been blown just to the east of us (literally, there was heavy rain 1km away from us pretty much the whole time!). Another “all about timing” moment – had we still been hiking, we would have been very wet indeed.

After an hour sitting in the tent, the rain finally stopped, and I got outside to tick off PACIFIC GULL, TASMANIAN THORNBILL and TASMANIAN SCRUBWREN. Most of the afternoon was spent trying to see the Crescent Honeyeaters calling all around me. Surprisingly, I didn’t see one! There was one in a dense bush 3m in front of me at one stage, and I couldn’t see it (except a brief, untickable flash as he flew off)

The hike back to Melaleuca the next day was also relatively quiet. Heard about 4 Ground Parrots call throughout the hike (not sure why the field guides say before dawn/after dusk – I heard one at 12:30), and flushed one of them. While looking for the parrot where it had landed, I finally found a pair of STRIATED FIELDWRENS, who were reasonably cooperative with a bit of pishing.

After arriving back at the huts, there was a 30 minute gap before the rain started… and didn’t stop for 4 hours! Another case of perfect timing. At one stage when the rain lessened for a few minutes, I raced over to the bird hide. As it is enclosed, it’s the perfect place to spend rain periods – warm, dry with great views of birds, including the resident OLIVE WHISTLER.

The next morning was meant to be our last day in the south-west. I spent my morning helping with the OBP count (as I had been doing every morning and afternoon). While walking back to the hut for some breakfast, dad felt something moving in his raincoat hood. Sure enough, when he put his hand in to get it out, a Pygmy Possum jumped out and ran into a clump of button grass. Helen picked him up and we took him back to the hut, where the night before he must have got into the raincoat. As for the species, it’s either a Little PP or Eastern PP – I’m leaning towards Eastern due to the colouration…

Anyway, at about midday we were told we couldn’t fit on the flight out… and the weather was meant to be cr#p until Monday night, so we wouldn’t be able to fly out until Tuesday… We were a bit worried for a while there, we wouldn’t make it to Bruny if that was going to happen.

At 7:00, we were starting to get used to the fact we’d be there for a few more days. Suddenly, we heard the plane in the distance. A rush to pack up, and by 7:30 we were in the air. In my opinion, the south-west of Tasmania is a fantastic place, full of birds, other animals and fantastic scenery. I highly recommend going down there, preferably staying for a few days, just so you can see it all.

After my success with the Ground Parrot, the weather cleared up enough for us to head out on our hike. The plan was the walk 13km south to the coast, Cox Bight. Most of this walk was through button grass, so I was optimistic of finding more Ground Parrots. Unfortunately, we only flushed one from the side of the track. I did get some brief views of a BLACK CURRAWONG, and a few Yellow-throated Honeyeaters were also around, but not much else.

The birding really picked up as soon as we got to the beach. A beachcombing Black Currawong gave fantastic views – apparently they’re notorious for not being frightened of people in the slightest. This one sure wasn’t.

A few lifers quickly followed the Currawong. FOREST RAVENS were flying around the area, and two KELP GULLS were resting on the beach, amongst some Pied Oystercatchers. The highlight of the beach was 3 little birds sitting above the high tide mark, HOODED PLOVERS! When you look at the field guides, you wouldn’t think they’re particularly well camouflaged. Down here, I learnt quite the opposite. Try and spot the plover in the second photo (you might want it on full size).

Arriving at our beach front campsite, we quickly set up the tent. No less than 20 minutes later, it started to rain… heavily. For the whole hike, the rain clouds had been blown just to the east of us (literally, there was heavy rain 1km away from us pretty much the whole time!). Another “all about timing” moment – had we still been hiking, we would have been very wet indeed.

After an hour sitting in the tent, the rain finally stopped, and I got outside to tick off PACIFIC GULL, TASMANIAN THORNBILL and TASMANIAN SCRUBWREN. Most of the afternoon was spent trying to see the Crescent Honeyeaters calling all around me. Surprisingly, I didn’t see one! There was one in a dense bush 3m in front of me at one stage, and I couldn’t see it (except a brief, untickable flash as he flew off)

The hike back to Melaleuca the next day was also relatively quiet. Heard about 4 Ground Parrots call throughout the hike (not sure why the field guides say before dawn/after dusk – I heard one at 12:30), and flushed one of them. While looking for the parrot where it had landed, I finally found a pair of STRIATED FIELDWRENS, who were reasonably cooperative with a bit of pishing.

After arriving back at the huts, there was a 30 minute gap before the rain started… and didn’t stop for 4 hours! Another case of perfect timing. At one stage when the rain lessened for a few minutes, I raced over to the bird hide. As it is enclosed, it’s the perfect place to spend rain periods – warm, dry with great views of birds, including the resident OLIVE WHISTLER.

The next morning was meant to be our last day in the south-west. I spent my morning helping with the OBP count (as I had been doing every morning and afternoon). While walking back to the hut for some breakfast, dad felt something moving in his raincoat hood. Sure enough, when he put his hand in to get it out, a Pygmy Possum jumped out and ran into a clump of button grass. Helen picked him up and we took him back to the hut, where the night before he must have got into the raincoat. As for the species, it’s either a Little PP or Eastern PP – I’m leaning towards Eastern due to the colouration…

Anyway, at about midday we were told we couldn’t fit on the flight out… and the weather was meant to be cr#p until Monday night, so we wouldn’t be able to fly out until Tuesday… We were a bit worried for a while there, we wouldn’t make it to Bruny if that was going to happen.

At 7:00, we were starting to get used to the fact we’d be there for a few more days. Suddenly, we heard the plane in the distance. A rush to pack up, and by 7:30 we were in the air. In my opinion, the south-west of Tasmania is a fantastic place, full of birds, other animals and fantastic scenery. I highly recommend going down there, preferably staying for a few days, just so you can see it all.

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Rain and Good Timing SW Tassie P1

That’s really what bird watching is all about – getting the right timing. If you’re a minute earlier, you might have seen that button-quail walk across the path. If you’re a minute later, you might not have noticed the honeyeater fly into the tree. This year, I decided it was the right time to go tick off the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity for my dad and I to go on a hiking/birding trip to the south-west of Tasmania.

Not bothering to go to the last day of school for the year, we both got on the plane and headed off to Tasmania. After a bit of a wait for the right weather conditions in Hobart, we finally got onto our Par Avion flight into the south-west.

After an exhilarating flight (lots of wind, so the plane was a bit shaky), we landed at Melaleuca. On the way to the hiker huts, we noticed the clouds looked a bit dark – we picked up the pace, and with about 200m to go, the heavens opened. We broke into a sprint – of course that was the point we flushed about 7 ORANGE-BELLIED PARROTS from the side of the track! Unfortunately, the rain was increasing, and we couldn’t stop, so we continued to the huts. Waiting for 30 minutes while the rain poured down felt like eternity. Eventually, it lessened and we headed over to the bird hide. Straight away, we were rewarded with fantastic views of 4 OBPs.

The rest of the day was spent in the hide, taking photos of the various birds that visited the feeder. Highlights included a small family of GREEN ROSELLAS, Beautiful Firetails, YELLOW-THROATED HONEYEATERS, a lone BLUE-WINGED PARROT (constantly being bullied by the OBPs) and a Rufous-bellied Pademelon. Later in the day, I found a foraging group of STRONG-BILLED HONEYEATERS near our hut, and a family group of DUSKY ROBINS were also around the general area.

The next morning brought slightly better weather, so I headed off in search of my second target for Melaleuca, the elusive Ground Parrot. After about an hour of tramping around through the button grass, I headed back to the hide when it started to rain, and had another wonderful session with the OBPs and Blue-winged Parrot. After chatting with the parrot volunteers, Helen and Mick, I learnt that all the females (currently in their nesting boxes), and the 12 males currently frequenting the feeder represented the entire known wild population. If all the males were paired with a female, that means 24 birds at Melaleuca, and none anywhere else according to a survey done earlier in the season… not a promising outlook.

Anyway, it was about that stage that the university student doing research on Tassie Devils ran back to the hide to inform me (knowing I’d been looking) that she’d just seen a Ground Parrot back near the huts. We hurried back over, and after tentatively stepping towards the spot it had flushed to, we flushed it again, a magnificent GROUND PARROT! We got brief views as it flew off about 100m into the grass. A quick attempt to re-locate it failed…

After breakfast, I decided to have one more go at Ground Parroting before we headed off on our hike. I walked down into the grass, well away from the huts. I heard a trill way off to my right that sounded like a field-wren (would have been a lifer), so I headed off towards that. I heard a noise, and turned around to see a small, green blob running away through the button grass. Another Ground Parrot! This one was a polite Ground Parrot, and decided it was more convenient to walk away from me, rather than flush. He would walk a few metres in front of me, and as I tried to circle round to the side, he circled round too, so I ended up herding this Ground Parrot around for about a minute before he flushed off about 20m. Luckily, I found him again, and he continued walking away from me. This was one of the highlights of to trip for me, and now when someone asks me what my favourite bird experience is, I’ll probably reply with “chasing Ground Parrots through the button grass moorlands of south-west Tasmania”. Oh, and I got a passable photo too!

That’s really what bird watching is all about – getting the right timing. If you’re a minute earlier, you might have seen that button-quail walk across the path. If you’re a minute later, you might not have noticed the honeyeater fly into the tree. This year, I decided it was the right time to go tick off the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity for my dad and I to go on a hiking/birding trip to the south-west of Tasmania.

Not bothering to go to the last day of school for the year, we both got on the plane and headed off to Tasmania. After a bit of a wait for the right weather conditions in Hobart, we finally got onto our Par Avion flight into the south-west.

After an exhilarating flight (lots of wind, so the plane was a bit shaky), we landed at Melaleuca. On the way to the hiker huts, we noticed the clouds looked a bit dark – we picked up the pace, and with about 200m to go, the heavens opened. We broke into a sprint – of course that was the point we flushed about 7 ORANGE-BELLIED PARROTS from the side of the track! Unfortunately, the rain was increasing, and we couldn’t stop, so we continued to the huts. Waiting for 30 minutes while the rain poured down felt like eternity. Eventually, it lessened and we headed over to the bird hide. Straight away, we were rewarded with fantastic views of 4 OBPs.

The rest of the day was spent in the hide, taking photos of the various birds that visited the feeder. Highlights included a small family of GREEN ROSELLAS, Beautiful Firetails, YELLOW-THROATED HONEYEATERS, a lone BLUE-WINGED PARROT (constantly being bullied by the OBPs) and a Rufous-bellied Pademelon. Later in the day, I found a foraging group of STRONG-BILLED HONEYEATERS near our hut, and a family group of DUSKY ROBINS were also around the general area.

The next morning brought slightly better weather, so I headed off in search of my second target for Melaleuca, the elusive Ground Parrot. After about an hour of tramping around through the button grass, I headed back to the hide when it started to rain, and had another wonderful session with the OBPs and Blue-winged Parrot. After chatting with the parrot volunteers, Helen and Mick, I learnt that all the females (currently in their nesting boxes), and the 12 males currently frequenting the feeder represented the entire known wild population. If all the males were paired with a female, that means 24 birds at Melaleuca, and none anywhere else according to a survey done earlier in the season… not a promising outlook.

Anyway, it was about that stage that the university student doing research on Tassie Devils ran back to the hide to inform me (knowing I’d been looking) that she’d just seen a Ground Parrot back near the huts. We hurried back over, and after tentatively stepping towards the spot it had flushed to, we flushed it again, a magnificent GROUND PARROT! We got brief views as it flew off about 100m into the grass. A quick attempt to re-locate it failed…

After breakfast, I decided to have one more go at Ground Parroting before we headed off on our hike. I walked down into the grass, well away from the huts. I heard a trill way off to my right that sounded like a field-wren (would have been a lifer), so I headed off towards that. I heard a noise, and turned around to see a small, green blob running away through the button grass. Another Ground Parrot! This one was a polite Ground Parrot, and decided it was more convenient to walk away from me, rather than flush. He would walk a few metres in front of me, and as I tried to circle round to the side, he circled round too, so I ended up herding this Ground Parrot around for about a minute before he flushed off about 20m. Luckily, I found him again, and he continued walking away from me. This was one of the highlights of to trip for me, and now when someone asks me what my favourite bird experience is, I’ll probably reply with “chasing Ground Parrots through the button grass moorlands of south-west Tasmania”. Oh, and I got a passable photo too!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Woosh Net working well

Last 2 Afternoons and this morning

18 Blackbirds 

13 Starlings

3 Song Thrush

2 Pied Wagtails

2 Chaffinch

1 Greenfinch

More apples required

Last 2 Afternoons and this morning

18 Blackbirds 

13 Starlings

3 Song Thrush

2 Pied Wagtails

2 Chaffinch

1 Greenfinch

More apples required

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TODAY

The day started with 7 Starlings and 2 Blackbirds  in the woosh net.

 I then went down to Ramsey Harbour to meet Kev.

 High Tide was 11ish today so we decided to try for a few more Mute Swans.

6 Swans Caught  5 new and 1 retrap all had new colour rings fitted

Kev tell me that one swan which already had a BTO ring on the right leg 

U3465 is now on its 3^rd colour ring!

 It has previously been known as A33 & then A51! It’s parents were A16 (dad) & A19 (mum)

It was ringed on 1^st Sept 1993 in Ramsey harbour as a 3 and has been seen since as follows:

29 May 1994 Newtonabbey, Co Antirm, Northern Ireland

13 Oct 1994 Cliftonville, Belfast

30 Oct 1994 Ramsey, IOM

22 Jul 1995 Ramsey

06 Jan 1996 Ramsey

16 Aug 1996 Ramsey – colour ring A51 added

06 Jun 2008 – caught by Kev near his Mums in Ronague walking in road with a young brood of cygnets, sexed as Male.

25 Oct 2010 Ramsey – caught by me

21 Dec 2010 Ramsey – caught and colour ringed by us today and given colour ring C21

17 years 111 days after first ringing as a fully fledged 3

That why we ring birds 

Fantastic

We tried for some Black Headed Gulls down near the Grand Island Hotel

but no luck.

Took Kev back to his car and we ringed a Male Mallard

after saying goodbye to Kev 

i went back to the Grand Island and managed to get 

2 more Herring Gulls

The day started with 7 Starlings and 2 Blackbirds  in the woosh net.

 I then went down to Ramsey Harbour to meet Kev.

 High Tide was 11ish today so we decided to try for a few more Mute Swans.

6 Swans Caught  5 new and 1 retrap all had new colour rings fitted

Kev tell me that one swan which already had a BTO ring on the right leg 

U3465 is now on its 3^rd colour ring!

 It has previously been known as A33 & then A51! It’s parents were A16 (dad) & A19 (mum)

It was ringed on 1^st Sept 1993 in Ramsey harbour as a 3 and has been seen since as follows:

29 May 1994 Newtonabbey, Co Antirm, Northern Ireland

13 Oct 1994 Cliftonville, Belfast

30 Oct 1994 Ramsey, IOM

22 Jul 1995 Ramsey

06 Jan 1996 Ramsey

16 Aug 1996 Ramsey – colour ring A51 added

06 Jun 2008 – caught by Kev near his Mums in Ronague walking in road with a young brood of cygnets, sexed as Male.

25 Oct 2010 Ramsey – caught by me

21 Dec 2010 Ramsey – caught and colour ringed by us today and given colour ring C21

17 years 111 days after first ringing as a fully fledged 3

That why we ring birds 

Fantastic

We tried for some Black Headed Gulls down near the Grand Island Hotel

but no luck.

Took Kev back to his car and we ringed a Male Mallard

after saying goodbye to Kev 

i went back to the Grand Island and managed to get 

2 more Herring Gulls

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Northern Harrier, Thornham

After having a wasted journey into London yesterday for the cancelled Arsenal v Stoke game, I hoped to have a slightly less wasteful day today by heading up to Thornham Marsh and try to get some better views of the Northern Harrier that has been hanging around in Norfolk since October. Mark Golley and I saw the bird a few weekends ago at Stiffkey, but the views weren't great and I wanted to see the bird a bit better. After standing around in temperatures well below zero the bird appeared and promptly dumped itself onto the side of a water channel, where it sat in the open for about half-an-hour giving really nice views. After this the bird got up and spent some time hunting around the harbour, west towards Holme and then headed off towards Titchwell (from where I saw it again later). There were two other ringtail Hen Harriers around too, giving a good comparison to the much darker, rufous Northern Harrier.

Most of Titchwell was frozen over, but there were 3 Water Pipits showing well from the shiny new Parinder Hide on the Saltmarsh and 15 Twite flew over calling. There were a few hundred Common Scoter on the sea, but there was a bit of a swell so it was really hard to look through them for anything more interesting.
Finally, on the way back to the reserve visitors centre, there were a couple of Water Rails showing quite well  in the ditches near the feeders.

After having a wasted journey into London yesterday for the cancelled Arsenal v Stoke game, I hoped to have a slightly less wasteful day today by heading up to Thornham Marsh and try to get some better views of the Northern Harrier that has been hanging around in Norfolk since October. Mark Golley and I saw the bird a few weekends ago at Stiffkey, but the views weren't great and I wanted to see the bird a bit better. After standing around in temperatures well below zero the bird appeared and promptly dumped itself onto the side of a water channel, where it sat in the open for about half-an-hour giving really nice views. After this the bird got up and spent some time hunting around the harbour, west towards Holme and then headed off towards Titchwell (from where I saw it again later). There were two other ringtail Hen Harriers around too, giving a good comparison to the much darker, rufous Northern Harrier.

Most of Titchwell was frozen over, but there were 3 Water Pipits showing well from the shiny new Parinder Hide on the Saltmarsh and 15 Twite flew over calling. There were a few hundred Common Scoter on the sea, but there was a bit of a swell so it was really hard to look through them for anything more interesting.
Finally, on the way back to the reserve visitors centre, there were a couple of Water Rails showing quite well  in the ditches near the feeders.

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Large and small

I Set off today to try and get some more BH Gulls 

only 1 ringed today

then tried for Canada Geese in the harbour

1 ringed

I then set up the small mesh woosh net in my garden and chucked a few apples out

6 Blackbirds 

5 Starlings

and a Pied Wagtail

in the woosh net  this afternoon

plus

 5 new Siskin 

3 Goldfinch

1 Robin

1 Chaffinch

1 Coal Tit
1 retrap Wren

in the Mist Nets

So from ther size of a Canada Goose right down to Wren size today

Nice day

I Set off today to try and get some more BH Gulls 

only 1 ringed today

then tried for Canada Geese in the harbour

1 ringed

I then set up the small mesh woosh net in my garden and chucked a few apples out

6 Blackbirds 

5 Starlings

and a Pied Wagtail

in the woosh net  this afternoon

plus

 5 new Siskin 

3 Goldfinch

1 Robin

1 Chaffinch

1 Coal Tit
1 retrap Wren

in the Mist Nets

So from ther size of a Canada Goose right down to Wren size today

Nice day

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Snow hits Ramsey

Open the curtains today to 2 inch of snow in the garden and the roads a nightmare. Niki had a hair appointment at 12:30 so spent the morning filling up the feeders and breaking the ice on the bird bath.

By 12 o'clock i got car out and crawled up the hill in 4 wheel drive low box.

After dropping Niki off i went for a drive around the harbour and decided to buy some more seed

then i though I've got the big Moudry Gull trap in the back get some bread and give it a go.

1 Hour Later 3 Black-headed Gulls ringed

New Species for the group this year

and a Herring Gull Colour ringed

good old snow

Check out Kanes blog they caught 41 BHG by hand yesterday

Herring Gull Colour Ringed

Moudry trap in back ground

Open the curtains today to 2 inch of snow in the garden and the roads a nightmare. Niki had a hair appointment at 12:30 so spent the morning filling up the feeders and breaking the ice on the bird bath.

By 12 o'clock i got car out and crawled up the hill in 4 wheel drive low box.

After dropping Niki off i went for a drive around the harbour and decided to buy some more seed

then i though I've got the big Moudry Gull trap in the back get some bread and give it a go.

1 Hour Later 3 Black-headed Gulls ringed

New Species for the group this year

and a Herring Gull Colour ringed

good old snow

Check out Kanes blog they caught 41 BHG by hand yesterday

Herring Gull Colour Ringed

Moudry trap in back ground

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SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE: FALSE ALARM

Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti). Adult perched next to its nest. Monfragüe, spring 2010. Photograph taken from 2.5 km away (Javier Prieta).

A previous blog entry expressed some alarm at the apparent fall of Extremadura's population of Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti) from 49 to 41 pairs in two years. These fears were based on the figures sent up by the Regional Government of Extremadura to the national Environment Ministry. At the time, given the unofficial nature of the information we published this bad news with all due caveats. Happily, this apparent decline turns out not to be true, since Extremadura's actual Spanish Imperial Eagle population in 2009 was 47 pairs. This more up-to-date information comes from regional press reports of a visit by EU officials to assess the results of the EU "LIFE Programme" initiative to help conserve this raptor in Spain [read more here]. While waiting with bated breath for the official 2010 figures, which might be somewhat brighter, at least we know that the species has been holding pretty steady in the region in recent years, with a medium term increase since reliable counts have been made. We publish below new graphs of the Spanish Imperial Eagle to correct the ones previously shown in this blog.

Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti). Adult perched next to its nest. Monfragüe, spring 2010. Photograph taken from 2.5 km away (Javier Prieta).

A previous blog entry expressed some alarm at the apparent fall of Extremadura's population of Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti) from 49 to 41 pairs in two years. These fears were based on the figures sent up by the Regional Government of Extremadura to the national Environment Ministry. At the time, given the unofficial nature of the information we published this bad news with all due caveats. Happily, this apparent decline turns out not to be true, since Extremadura's actual Spanish Imperial Eagle population in 2009 was 47 pairs. This more up-to-date information comes from regional press reports of a visit by EU officials to assess the results of the EU "LIFE Programme" initiative to help conserve this raptor in Spain [read more here]. While waiting with bated breath for the official 2010 figures, which might be somewhat brighter, at least we know that the species has been holding pretty steady in the region in recent years, with a medium term increase since reliable counts have been made. We publish below new graphs of the Spanish Imperial Eagle to correct the ones previously shown in this blog.

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400TH Linnet Ringed

Up at the Point of Ayre this morning in sunshine and calm weather, while the south of the island was in chaos from snow.

 45 more Linnets caught today bringing the total for the year up to 400 not bad for a small patch of nyger seed in the middle of no where.

No retraps today and only 7 since i started 

Looking through the data amazingly sexes are quite evenly divided 

192 Males

208 Females

yesterday had a new visitor to my garden that had me confused for a while .

i noticed a bunting feeding with chaffinch's on the lawn at about 3pm the light was fading and i was trying to get a shot of it  through the window. It looked reed Bunting size and smaller than Chaffinch 

God i thought of all the possibilities trying to make it into a Little Bunting.  Rustic so on then after  zooming in on photos 

Yellow Hammer, funny growing up in Norfolk i used to see these birds all the time and never gave them a second look see one today and i am looking in books to id them .

Nice garden tick anyway

Check out Kevs blog for some more controls just in

Up at the Point of Ayre this morning in sunshine and calm weather, while the south of the island was in chaos from snow.

 45 more Linnets caught today bringing the total for the year up to 400 not bad for a small patch of nyger seed in the middle of no where.

No retraps today and only 7 since i started 

Looking through the data amazingly sexes are quite evenly divided 

192 Males

208 Females

yesterday had a new visitor to my garden that had me confused for a while .

i noticed a bunting feeding with chaffinch's on the lawn at about 3pm the light was fading and i was trying to get a shot of it  through the window. It looked reed Bunting size and smaller than Chaffinch 

God i thought of all the possibilities trying to make it into a Little Bunting.  Rustic so on then after  zooming in on photos 

Yellow Hammer, funny growing up in Norfolk i used to see these birds all the time and never gave them a second look see one today and i am looking in books to id them .

Nice garden tick anyway

Check out Kevs blog for some more controls just in

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

New visitor to garden

A bit of garden ringing this aft 

25 birds caught

22 new birds  3 retraps

10 Goldfinch  all new

6 Siskin  4 new 2 retraps

2 Blue Tits 1 retrap

2 Robins new

1Coal Tit new

1 Greenfinch new

1Dunnock new

1 Chaffinch new

and 

1 Brambling yahoo

A bit of garden ringing this aft 

25 birds caught

22 new birds  3 retraps

10 Goldfinch  all new

6 Siskin  4 new 2 retraps

2 Blue Tits 1 retrap

2 Robins new

1Coal Tit new

1 Greenfinch new

1Dunnock new

1 Chaffinch new

and 

1 Brambling yahoo

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PREPARING THE WINTERING HERON COUNT: LOOKING FOR ROOSTS

Mixed heron roost on the River Alagón (Montehermoso, Cáceres). In winter 2007-2008 the count was 5281 Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis), 150 Little Egrets (Egretta garzetta) and 8 Great White Egrets (Egretta alba). In October 2008 it was occupied anew before being abandoned in November and has never been used since (figures provided by César Clemente and Javier Mahillo).

Every year SEO/BirdLife organises one or more counts of particular bird species or families. In 2011 it's the heron family's turn. A count of wintering birds will be carried out in January before tackling a count of breeding colonies later on. A particular value of this winter count is that it will then be fed into the Spanish Atlas of Wintering Birds, just like the recent coordinated counts of Cranes (December 2007) and gulls (January 2009).

Although several members of the heron family winter in Extremadura, only roost-forming species really lend themselves to systematic counts. The most abundant species in Extremadura is the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), followed by the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and at some distance by the scarcer Great White Egret (Egretta alba). The other heron species have been ruled out of the count, for various reasons. The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), although quite numerous, does not form roosts and is not usually gregarious. The Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), although it forms big roosts in Doñana, is basically a summer visitor in Extremadura (albeit with the odd wintering bird). Other summer visitors that sometimes linger on into winter are the Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) and the Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea). Lastly, the Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) and Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), both very shy, have also been left out of this count.

The first step in the project is to find the roosts where the herons congregate each evening. The aim is to sound out the situation before 10 January 2011 and, if possible, by 31 December 2010. The next step will then be to count the birds in all known roosts in January. The ideal situation, volunteers permitting, would be coordinate all counts in the weekend of 14 to 16 January 2011, otherwise the count would have to extended to other dates in January. We therefore need your help: first by communicating any Extremadura heron roosts you may know about and secondly by then taking part in the count (for both purposes send an email to seo.caceres@gmail.com).

The only previous info on wintering herons in Extremadura comes from the Iberian counts carried out in 1992 and 1993 (Fernández-Cruz and Farinha, 1992; Sarasa et al., 1993). The overall results of both counts threw up figures of about 160,000 Cattle Egrets, 10,000 Little Egrets and 1500 Night Herons, with a few Great White Herons, Squacco Herons and Purple Herons thrown in for good measure. The results were broken down by river-catchment areas, so no regional figures are available. Even so, we estimate ball-park figures of 42,000 (1993) and 53.000 (1992) Cattle Egrets in Extremadura, above all in irrigated farmland and more numerous in the Guadiana catchment area (30-35 thousand) than in the Tagus catchment area (13-17 thousand). The Extremadura population is therefore very important (one third of the Iberian total); in 1992 the region also boasted Iberia's biggest roosts (the biggest with 7820 birds in Arroyo Concejo, Cáceres). The Little Egret, with a more coastal range, is less common in the region, accounting for 10% of the Iberian total. Even so the estimated Extremadura winter population is about 1500 for 1992 and 700 for 1993. Once more the Guadiana catchment area comes out tops. The lower 1993 figures for both species can be put down to the drought that hit the area at that time. This information, quite old by now, is only a rough guide for tackling the 2011 count, because many variables might well have changed since then, such as the number and site of landfill sites, new reservoirs, new irrigated farmland and ricefields,...). Prima facie, there now seem to be fewer but bigger roosts than in 1992 and 1993. Anyway, enough chat and let's get down to it!

Distribution maps of Cattle Egret roosts (top) and Little Egret roosts (bottom) in January 1992 (Fernández-Cruz & Farinha, 1992).
.
References:
- Fernández-Cruz, M. & Farinha, J. C. 1992. Primer censo de ardeidas invernantes en la penínsulas Ibérica y Baleares (1991-92). Airo 3:41-54. [PDF]
- Sarasa, C. G., Bartolomé, J., Fernández-Cruz, M. & Farinha, J. C. 1993. Segundo censo de ardeidas invernantes en la penínsulas Ibérica y Baleares (1992-93). Airo 4:41-50. [PDF]

Mixed heron roost on the River Alagón (Montehermoso, Cáceres). In winter 2007-2008 the count was 5281 Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis), 150 Little Egrets (Egretta garzetta) and 8 Great White Egrets (Egretta alba). In October 2008 it was occupied anew before being abandoned in November and has never been used since (figures provided by César Clemente and Javier Mahillo).

Every year SEO/BirdLife organises one or more counts of particular bird species or families. In 2011 it's the heron family's turn. A count of wintering birds will be carried out in January before tackling a count of breeding colonies later on. A particular value of this winter count is that it will then be fed into the Spanish Atlas of Wintering Birds, just like the recent coordinated counts of Cranes (December 2007) and gulls (January 2009).

Although several members of the heron family winter in Extremadura, only roost-forming species really lend themselves to systematic counts. The most abundant species in Extremadura is the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), followed by the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and at some distance by the scarcer Great White Egret (Egretta alba). The other heron species have been ruled out of the count, for various reasons. The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), although quite numerous, does not form roosts and is not usually gregarious. The Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), although it forms big roosts in Doñana, is basically a summer visitor in Extremadura (albeit with the odd wintering bird). Other summer visitors that sometimes linger on into winter are the Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) and the Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea). Lastly, the Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) and Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), both very shy, have also been left out of this count.

The first step in the project is to find the roosts where the herons congregate each evening. The aim is to sound out the situation before 10 January 2011 and, if possible, by 31 December 2010. The next step will then be to count the birds in all known roosts in January. The ideal situation, volunteers permitting, would be coordinate all counts in the weekend of 14 to 16 January 2011, otherwise the count would have to extended to other dates in January. We therefore need your help: first by communicating any Extremadura heron roosts you may know about and secondly by then taking part in the count (for both purposes send an email to seo.caceres@gmail.com).

The only previous info on wintering herons in Extremadura comes from the Iberian counts carried out in 1992 and 1993 (Fernández-Cruz and Farinha, 1992; Sarasa et al., 1993). The overall results of both counts threw up figures of about 160,000 Cattle Egrets, 10,000 Little Egrets and 1500 Night Herons, with a few Great White Herons, Squacco Herons and Purple Herons thrown in for good measure. The results were broken down by river-catchment areas, so no regional figures are available. Even so, we estimate ball-park figures of 42,000 (1993) and 53.000 (1992) Cattle Egrets in Extremadura, above all in irrigated farmland and more numerous in the Guadiana catchment area (30-35 thousand) than in the Tagus catchment area (13-17 thousand). The Extremadura population is therefore very important (one third of the Iberian total); in 1992 the region also boasted Iberia's biggest roosts (the biggest with 7820 birds in Arroyo Concejo, Cáceres). The Little Egret, with a more coastal range, is less common in the region, accounting for 10% of the Iberian total. Even so the estimated Extremadura winter population is about 1500 for 1992 and 700 for 1993. Once more the Guadiana catchment area comes out tops. The lower 1993 figures for both species can be put down to the drought that hit the area at that time. This information, quite old by now, is only a rough guide for tackling the 2011 count, because many variables might well have changed since then, such as the number and site of landfill sites, new reservoirs, new irrigated farmland and ricefields,...). Prima facie, there now seem to be fewer but bigger roosts than in 1992 and 1993. Anyway, enough chat and let's get down to it!

Distribution maps of Cattle Egret roosts (top) and Little Egret roosts (bottom) in January 1992 (Fernández-Cruz & Farinha, 1992).
.
References:
- Fernández-Cruz, M. & Farinha, J. C. 1992. Primer censo de ardeidas invernantes en la penínsulas Ibérica y Baleares (1991-92). Airo 3:41-54. [PDF]
- Sarasa, C. G., Bartolomé, J., Fernández-Cruz, M. & Farinha, J. C. 1993. Segundo censo de ardeidas invernantes en la penínsulas Ibérica y Baleares (1992-93). Airo 4:41-50. [PDF]

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Last week

My good mate Andy Jowett  paid a visit to the island on Monday to Friday all to do with his work. Assessing bird control for airports.

I met up with him on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thurday and spent the day checking the13 km area around Ronaldsway airport.

Great to get out with him again and do some good birding.

Chough

Greenshank

Knot

Snipe

Peregrine

Hen Harrier

all images ©2010 grayimages

See More at www.grayimages.co.uk

Last few days 4 more Rock Pipits Colour Ringed
27 Linnets ringed
2 Starlings
2 Blackbirds
3 Mallards

My good mate Andy Jowett  paid a visit to the island on Monday to Friday all to do with his work. Assessing bird control for airports.

I met up with him on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thurday and spent the day checking the13 km area around Ronaldsway airport.

Great to get out with him again and do some good birding.

Chough

Greenshank

Knot

Snipe

Peregrine

Hen Harrier

all images ©2010 grayimages

See More at www.grayimages.co.uk

Last few days 4 more Rock Pipits Colour Ringed
27 Linnets ringed
2 Starlings
2 Blackbirds
3 Mallards

reade more... Résuméabuiyad