After an awful week of bad weather and a sick car, it was a relief to get out on Sunday morning. The forecast was for it to be dry but breezy. With the wind being forecast to come from the south-west, Webb’s Wood was the obvious choice, as the mass of the wood should act as a decent windbreak and the alternative was another trip to Ravensroost. I was joined by David, Teresa and Andy. We met at 7:00 and set the following nets:
I put on multiple lures for Lesser Redpoll, Siskin, Brambling, Redwing and Goldcrest. Two out of five worked. For the second session running there were no Redwing. This is a bit of a surprise: I am just wondering if the wet weather has prompted them to move on out of the Braydon Forest.
We had the nets open just before 8:00 and started catching immediately. Fourteen birds in the first round bade well for a good session, and it didn’t disappoint. It started with a small group of five Great Tits in nets 1 and 2 and a small flock of six Long-tailed Tits in net 4 plus a couple each of Coal Tit and Goldcrest.
Subsequent rounds didn’t reach that number, but the catching was regular and plenty interesting enough. Round 2 produced three Lesser Redpoll, and we caught one or two in most rounds thereafter. The turn around in the catch of this species in the wood is marked: it all dates from the massive thinning operation in the main beechwood in winter 2020 / 21. We ended up with a total of 11 in the session. With the encouraging catch of them in Ravensroost last Monday, perhaps we will be in for a good haul of the species this winter. The main catching site is at Somerford Common: which I hope to get to this week.
The list for the day was: Blue Tit 4; Great Tit 8; Coal Tit 6; Long-tailed Tit 7(2); Goldcrest 5(1); Chaffinch 1; Lesser Redpoll 11. Totals: 42 birds ringed from 7 species and 3 birds retrapped from 2 species, making 45 birds processed from 7 species.
There were a couple of additional highlights to the Lesser Redpoll: nice haul of Coal Tits and a cracking juvenile male Chaffinch. Chaffinch are usually only caught when there is a feeding station set up and we average fewer than four each year at the site. We have had four so far this year (three back in March, inevitably at the feeding station), so perhaps we might be lucky enough to have a better than average year for them as well. Ageing Chaffinch can be a bit of a challenge. The two central tail feather of juveniles are narrow and very pointed. However, if the lose their tail it will be replaced by adult type feathers, which leaves you relying on retained greater coverts. Fortunately, this bird very clearly had two retained greater coverts:
Juvenile male Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs
As you can see within the circle, the two outermost greater coverts are paler than the inner greater coverts (the reflection from the camera flash on the next two greater coverts next to the old ones notwithstanding).
If ageing Chaffinch is difficult then doing the same for Coal Tit can be a nightmare for some people. The difference can be subtle, and some people just cannot see it. Fortunately, usually I can:
Juvenile Coal Tit, Periparus ater
This one isn’t too difficult, as the three old greater coverts are very obvious. Apart from being paler and browner the fringing on the OGC’s is yellowish, the fringing on the adult feathers is a pale grey. It is not always that easy to identify.
It was an easy, enjoyable session, although the wind did not conform to the forecast. In fact, it seemed to veer all over the place but, fortunately, it didn’t particularly impact upon our session. We started closing the nets at 11:30, extract the odd bird and close the nets as we went, processing each bird extracted before moving on to take down the next set of nets. As a result, we left site just after 12:45. One final point: on leaving the site last time the supporting pillar for the pole gate came away at the base. It took ages to get it all set up so it was as secure as possible. I reported it to Forestry England. Not only have they replaced that pillar but they have also repaired the padlock (it had an annoying piece of metal that kept coming down and blocking the key access) but also cleared and repaired the rest of the support structure (it used to be a real struggle to open and close – and it is now very smooth and easy). A big thank you to them for sorting it out so promptly.
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 