Although it is only two weeks since our last visit to Ravensroost Wood, this session was on the schedule because the previous session had to be postponed on several occasions, and there should have been a four week gap. It has to be scheduled in advance because the Wildlife Trust are currently undergoing some deer control in the wood and surrounding area and stalking and ringing don’t mix!
Anyway, it was nice to get out. With the horrendous winds on Friday I did worry about how much it would be windy this morning, but it had calmed down. Having said that, the breeze we had, although from a southerly direction, was very cold! Fortunately, I always carry extra layers of clothes but Pete came in his T-shirt and had no other upper body wear: I didn’t envy him.
I was joined by David, Laura, Adam, Claire and Pete. We met at 5:30 and we set the same nets as last time. We were hopeful of the same result but, unfortunately, it was not to be. In fact, it was exactly half what we had last time. That was due to our not catching any juvenile Long-tailed or Great Tits, just one, very worn out, adult female Great Tit.
There were multiple highlights in the catch though: our first juveniles of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch and Wren for the year:
I have to be honest, I am used to seeing Nuthatch juveniles in paler, greyer plumage than this one but its wings and tail were brand new, it had bare underwings and flanks, with no sign of moult. It has to be a juvenile, especially when compared with the two adults we recovered, the female of which was absolutely desecrated by the task of rearing its brood.
I love how perfectly the chequerboard on the outer primaries line up. This is because they all grow at the same time and rate. When adults moult it is done sequentially, and they never line up like that again: hence the chequerboard effect. Equally, at this stage the undertail coverts are all brown with no pale spots. They will start developing those later in the year.
In addition to these three, we also caught another three juvenile Marsh Tits to add to the one we caught in Ravensroost two weeks ago. It is looking like another good year for the species in the Braydon Forest. To put it in perspective, on average we ring 6.5 Marsh Tits in the first six months of the year. That includes last year’s 16 in the first six months. With 15 so far, it is entirely probable that we will surpass that this month. Also, the annual average is 19.9 so we are almost certain to beat that very soon.
It was a funny session: long gaps between any birds being caught, then they would come in little clumps, so it was very much a social occasion. The catch, though, was good quality: Great Spotted Woodpecker 1[1](1); Nuthatch 1[1](1); Great Tit (1); Marsh Tit [3]; Wren 1[1](1); Robin 1[5]; Song Thrush 1(1); Blackbird 1(2); Blackcap 4[2]; Garden Warbler [1]; Chiffchaff 1[3](1); Willow Warbler 1[1]. Totals: 12 adults ringed from 9 species, 18 juveniles ringed from 9 species and 8 birds retrapped from 7 species, making 38 birds processed from 12 species.
The key difference between this session and the last were the lack of Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits. They comprised a total of 29 of the catch on the 27th May, this time just the one very worn out adult Great Tit.
We packed up just after 11:30. Many hands make light work, and the broth wasn’t spoiled, so we were all off site by just after 12:00. Not as busy a session as we had hoped, but a decent variety, and a nice collection of juvenile birds.
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 