Not as many as this time last year, but still decent. I think that the key issue with the numbers are down to the dearth of birds in my woodland sites. Plenty of food but no water in the ponds and streams. The best catches this month were on Salisbury Plain, as one would expect with the autumn migration happening but, more significantly, on known wetland and marshy sites. I might have to look for some wetter sites for my team. They might not be getting fed up, but averaging 22 birds per session is not good, especially when you have three trainees out with you!
Added to the catch this month were: Barn Owl, Bullfinch, House Martin, Nightjar, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow and Tree Sparrow. Missing from this month’s list were: Coal Tit, Garden Warbler, Mallard, Nuthatch, Skylark, Whinchat and Woodpigeon.
The Stock Doves and Barn Owls were pulli. I was particularly pleased with the Barn Owls as, when I checked the box in May its front had been removed and we had to find it and refit it. When we opened it up again we found this pair:
The first Nightjar the group ringed was back in 2020. Thanks entirely to Ian and Andy’s efforts on their Salisbury Plain sites, the number has increased pretty much year on year. Last year it was six, this year it is seven, thanks to the second ever September catch. The previous September bird was in 2023.
Something good is happening with our Stonechat catches. This year we have, so far, caught 28 of them. A phenomenal 20 were with Andy and Ian on the Imber Ranges, 7 of them at Blakehill and one on a new site for the species, on a farm near Charlcutt. This is our best annual total, with three months left to go. Peak catches are between July and the end of November, so there is every chance of it improving still further. One key element about the birds caught on Blakehill Farm: it was only last year that the site monitors were definite that they had bred on the site for the first time. We are pretty confident that the four we caught in one session at Blakehill were an adult female and three of her brood: all together, same net, same time.
Most of our migrating warbler numbers were up a little, Blackcap showing the biggest rise, with 83 more birds than last year. However, Lesser Whitethroat were the same as last year but Whitethroat numbers were a little down, and the single Garden Warbler caught last year was one more than we caught this.
The key declines were in Meadow Pipit and our resident species: particularly Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit and Goldfinch.
On to October!