After a couple of cancellations, we finally managed to provide another session for the Swindon Adult Wellbeing Group, run by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. We managed to persuade them to get to site for 10:30. However, Miranda and I agreed to meet at 6:30. After waking up earlier than I wanted, I was on site for 6:00 and started setting the nets:
Miranda arrived on time and we had the nets open just after 7:00, and started catching pretty much straight away. However, it was slow! Slow – but interesting. I don’t think that I have ever previously had a session at Lower Moor Farm where we didn’t catch a single Blue Tit.
Fortunately, when the Wellbeing group arrived at about 10:45 we did have some lovely birds to show them. It started with a Goldcrest and a Treecreeper, then a Chiffchaff and a couple of Great Tit. That was over the next 45 minutes, together with lots of explanation of the ringing scheme, demonstration of the processing and photograph opportunities. However, having had two empty rounds and time cracking on, the moved off to the next stage of their day whilst Miranda and I went to take down ride 1.
Returning 10 minutes later we found three Redpoll in ride 2 and this beauty in ride 3:
I did try to get hold of the group: phone call, text and even took a drive around the reserve, all to no avail! So I am afraid that they missed out on the highlights of the day. To be fair, when I did manage to get in contact with the organiser later this afternoon she did say that, regardless, the attendees had loved every minute of it and were very happy at what they had seen.
Not only is this our first Green Woodpecker this year but the first we have caught since we caught two at Blakehill Farm West in August 2023. If anyone is in any doubt what these beauties eat, this bird had ant carcasses all around his mouth and face: a really messy eater.
The three Redpoll were also our first for this year: taking our total for this winter to 11. Last winter (October to March) we had 54!
The list for the session was: Green Woodpecker 1; Treecreeper (4); Great Tit 2(1); Wren 1(2); Robin (2); Chiffchaff 2; Goldcrest (3); Redpoll 3; Bullfinch 1(1). Totals: 10 birds ringed from 6 species and 13 birds retrapped from 6 species, making 23 birds processed from 9 species.
This is only the second time that we have ever caught four Treecreeper. The previous time was at Somerford Common in October 2019. That is, at least, a woodland, as opposed to reclaimed quarries and farmland lined by trees.
Ride 1 was incredibly poor today: it delivered just one of the Treecreepers. It is early days: it has just been cleared out, the trees have been thinned and some have been topped, so there is far more light and space available. For the first time in years Miranda found a couple of Dog Violet:
Close by, and exposed by the clearance, was a wide spread of Scarlet Elf Cup:
Again, a common species elsewhere, just the first time we have seen them in this particular area.
With the last few birds extracted we shut the nets before processing them. We then processed them before taking the final nets down, and we left the site at about 12:45. Not a huge catch, but we have had so few Redpoll this winter and our first Green Woodpecker for ages were stand out birds.
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 