After the deluge preventing any ringing since last Wednesday, and with the rest of this week looking wet and windy, today was the only day that looked possible for any ringing in the near future. It was supposedly going to be windy, with the wind coming from the north-west, so it was going to have to be a woodland site. I haven’t been in Ravensroost Wood since the first week of July, so I decided that would be the place to go. As regular readers know, with the exception of the Firs, our catches in woodlands this summer have been disappointingly small. Ravensroost Wood, for example, has averaged just 17 birds per session. However, it was due for a visit.
I was joined by Rosie and Miranda to help set up at 7:00. As Miranda was walking down to where we were to start setting the nets she saw a small group of six thrush sized birds on the main path: she was certain that they were Redwing. Since our records for Redwing began, in December 2000, out of 3,476 of the species processed, none have been processed in September. However, I put on our lure for Redwing and, at about 9:30, a thrush-like bird hit the net. I rushed off to take it out but, unfortunately, a couple were walking their dogs down the path, and it is possible that they spooked the bird, which managed to extricate itself and fly off. The couple were not doing anything wrong: the dogs were on short leads and under control, it was just unfortunate timing. However, they know their birds and they told us that it was a Redwing! The earliest date that we have ever caught a Redwing was the 6th October 2010.
The reason for the unfortunate interaction was my decision to set the nets down the main ride. This was because the side tracks are horrendously overgrown, due to weather, illness, etc, I haven’t had the time to get them cleared, so we decided to just set up along the main track. Our thoughts were that, with the weather having been so foul, and Ravensroost known to get very mucky underfoot, there would not be many people in the wood today. With just three pairs and one individual passing through, all with their dogs on leads, it was the right decision.
Rosie had to leave early, and I mean early: at 7:45, just after the nets were up and open. She had time to extract a Wren, the first bird of the morning, but not time to process it. As Rosie left, Laura arrived, after having done the school run! She extracted a Nuthatch (yes, another one) as she wandered up to the ringing station from the car park.
The first round proper flattered to deceive: nine birds from seven species. However, after that we did not catch another bird for nearly two hours! That was a single bird, 30 minutes after that we caught four more, all Long-tailed Tits and, as we started to shut the nets, we caught another two.
The list for the session was: Nuthatch {1}; Blue Tit 1[1]; Great Tit [1]; Coal Tit (1); Marsh Tit [1]; Long-tailed Tit {6}(1); Wren [1]; Robin (1); Chiffchaff [2]; Goldcrest [2]. Totals 7 unaged bird ringed from 2 species, 1 adult ringed, 8 juveniles ringed from 6 species and 3 birds retrapped from 3 species, making 19 birds processed from 10 species. Nice variety, if not great numbers. If only that Redwing had stayed in the net, and the Treecreeper that was running up the Oak tree just behind the net had got itself caught, it would have been a very decent session.
Annoyingly: the wind that was forecast by all of the forecasters did not materialise until we started packing up at 11:30, so we could have gone somewhere that was guaranteed to be more productive. Fortunately, tomorrow’s forecast has changed for the better, so I will be heading off to Blakehill Farm to try and catch a few more Meadow Pipits and any autumn migrants that might be passing through.
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 