I decided to have another trip to Blakehill Farm, as the weather was perfect for the site and I am always happy to ring a few Meadow Pipits. Actually, what got me going were the reports of Black-faced Bunting turning up around the country. The odds were ridiculous to one, but if one was going to arrive in Wiltshire (there is one in Glamorgan), Blakehill seemed a potential spot. Obviously, no such luck.
I was joined by Rosie, Miranda and Sarah for the morning. Rosie had to head off at 9:00, for work at the Trust, and Miranda had to head off at 11:30 to collect her offspring and head off to introduce them to the, soon to be, newest member of their family: a gorgeous black Cocker Spaniel puppy (I have seen the photo), not yet ready to leave its mum or litter mates. We met at 7:00 and set the following nets:
Once again a Wren, this time joined by a Robin, decided to get into the nets before they were fully open: both in ride 5. For once Rosie got a chance to process a few birds before going off to work: two Robins and a Meadow Pipit.
It was a quiet morning: a bit cold, very overcast and dull, and the little breeze there was came from the south-west, rather than the forecast north-east. Annoying because the nets were set for a north-east wind and it meant we had a few issues safely taking the nets down at the end of the session. Nets and bramble and blackthorn do not play well together, and that was today’s situation. From the first two birds at 7:30, we didn’t catch anything else until 8:30, when we caught six birds, and then nothing else for another hour, until we got another three. It was like that all morning. The best round was at 10:55, when we caught eight birds, but the others were just one, two or three at a time.
I had hoped to run some nets along the perimeter track side of the hedgerow. Unfortunately for today, the Trust and the BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) team had been in and carrying out some more of the hedge-laying being completed this winter.
A brief moment of nostalgia: I started working in IT back in 1983. In 1984 the BTCV moved to offices in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, and I set up a number of their office computer systems and databases as part of my then job for them.
The red line on the diagram above shows how far they have got with their work. By the end of the winter it will have reached the gate to the plateau. It is great that it is happening and I am hopeful that it will have a positive impact on a few species but, in particular, the Linnets on this part of the site. The simple fact is that we have not had decent catches of Linnet at Blakehill for nigh on 10 years. In 2015 we processed 42, 2016 it was 25 and 2018 it was 16. Since 2020 inclusive, we have only caught two in any one year at Blakehill. The only downside is that my usual area for setting nets for catching Redwing is exactly where the red line is. The solitary tree in that area is where they would congregate before responding to the lure and I would catch a number in my nets. Today, whilst they have done a great job of the hedge-laying, they haven’t got around to removing the piles of brash and I didn’t fancy getting my nets snarled up in there. There were plenty of Redwing around, but they were in the trees at the edge of the Blakehill complex. We only knew how many when one of the model aeroplane club members came along and flew his aircraft along the tree line, sending them flying away from the disturbance.
The Mipit triangle did a decent job again and a few were also found in the other nets. However, the number flying around was much lower than even just a week ago. Again, there was a distinct lack of flying insects at the site.
With the numbers having fallen away, Miranda having toddled off, Sarah and I decided to close the nets and take down at 11:45. Naturally, that meant that we took another three birds out of the nets to finish the session: a Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit and, to top and tail the session, a Wren.
The list for today was: Blue Tit 1; Wren 3(1); Dunnock 1; Meadow Pipit 12(1); Robin 2(1); Song Thrush 1; Linnet 1; Reed Bunting 2. Totals: 23 birds ringed from 8 species and 3 birds retrapped from 3 species, making 26 birds processed from 8 species.
There were a couple of interesting interludes: one was a contractor who arrived pulling a trailer full of wood chippings, from the forestry works going on at Ravensroost Wood. He has expressed an interest in joining one or more of our sessions. The second was a very large tipper truck which, I understand, was depositing significant amounts of hardcore prior to another Trust project starting up. To say that his manoeuvring came within centimetres of our ringing station and vehicles would be an understatement but he got past without mishap.
We had the nets down and everything packed away by 13:00.
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 