January 2010 Sightings
30th January 2010 The No1 bed team were present on the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, catching 69 birds, but only 15 new, including another seven new Reed Buntings, one of the retraps was originally ringed on 21/06/2003.
The No3 bed team concentrated mainly on coppicing, but also found time to catch 4 birds, including two Chaffinches.
Sightings were restricted to a Woodcock and three Fieldfares on No1 bed.
23rd January 2010 After a break of two weeks due to bad weather, ringing finally took place on bath beds over the weekend. On No1 bed, the team were there on the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, ringing 35 new birds out of a total of 75 caught, there had been a good influx of Reed Buntings on to the bed, with them calling everywhere, as a result, 15 birds were ringed, there had also been an influx of Great Tits with eight ringed.
The No3 bed team were there on the Saturday morning, ringing 16 birds, including 4 Great Tits and three Bullfinches.
Sightings included a Green Woodpecker and two Redwing, both from No1 bed.
2nd January 2010 A quiet start to the year saw Dave Riley on No1 bed New Year's Day, catching 45 birds with just nine new. Sightings on the bed included 14 Fieldfare, 1 Skylark (flying south), a Yellowhammer visiting the feeding station and a Firecrest near the canal. 110 Pink-footed Geese flew NW over the bed on the Sunday morning.
On No3 bed Michael Miles and Kieran Foster braved the sleet and hail showers and managed to put three nets up, catching 30 birds of which ten were new, including single Woodpigeon and Linnet, both unusual birds on the bed. Sightings included 2 Woodcock and a skein of 150 Pink-footed Geese heading south.
December 2009 Sightings
24th December 2009 The last ringing session for the year on the reserve was on No1 bed on Christmas Eve, a fresh covering of snow meant Dave Riley leaving his car by the first barrier, fortunately, Sam Bailey, a visiting ringer from Sussex arrived in his Jeep to allow the session to take place. First bird of the morning was one of the wintering Chiffchaffs, one of only seven new birds, out of 39 caught.
The only sightings included a southely movement of Fieldfares, totalling 93, and 2 Woodcock.
15th, 18th and 19th December 2009 Dave Riley was joined by Zoe Houghton on the Friday, catching 26 birds (only 4 new), including a Reed Bunting that had been originally on 27/03/2004, caught again in subsequent winters until 2007, but not since. They also caught only their second Magpie of the year. The following day, they were joined by Steve Menzie, catching a further 37 birds, this time with 11 new, with one of the re-trap Reed Buntings proving to be even older than the previous days birds, having been ringed originally on 23/08/2003, as a 3j male and caught just three times since - all in the winter.
Michael Miles had a visit to No3 bed on the Tuesday, putting up a couple of nets and catching 27 birds (12 new), including 2 Goldfinches, but the star bird was a Long-tailed Tit originally ringed there in June 2002 as a 3j, and is about 7 years and 7 months old. On Saturday, Michael was joined by Kieran and Lisa, catching a further 25 birds, the 7 new included a Linnet, taking the total for this species on the bed to five this year, these are the first ones to be caught there for about 15 years.
No1 bed sightings included 1 Chiffchaff and 1 Woodcock (both Friday) along with Tawny Owl, 10 Redwings, 7 Fieldfare, Chiffchaff and a Peregrine with prey (possible Song Thrush). No3 bed sightings included a Siskin and a Snipe.
11th and 12th December 2009 Dave Riley was present on No1 bed for Friday and Saturday morning, with Steve Menzie and Zoe Houghton on both occasions along with Mike Smith for the Saturday session, 86 birds were caught and the 30 new included 14 Greenfinches, 5 Chaffinches and 6 Reed Buntings. Sightings on the bed included 70 Fieldfares (going to roost), 2 Woodcock and a single Siskin (all Friday), while the Saturday produced a Peregrine mobbing a Buzzard, a Kingfisher and 2 Chiffchaffs.
Michael Miles and the team worked No3 bed on the Saturday morning catching 40 birds, with the 14 new including 2 Song Thrushes and a Lesser Redpoll. Sightings on the bed were restricted to a single Jack Snipe in front of the Frank Linley hide.
4th and 5th December 2009 Dave Riley was joined on No1 bed on the Friday by Zoe Houghton and Steve Menzie, catching 34 birds, with 19 new, including an unringed flock of Long-tailed Tits! John Blundell joined Dave on the Saturday morning and a further 22 birds were caught (12 new), including a Bullfinch. Sightings on the bed included: 60 Pink-footed Geese (flying north-east), 1 Woodcock, 1 Water Rail and 15 Fieldfare (heading to roost) all on the Friday, while Saturday included a further 17 Fieldfare, 10+ Redwings and a Grey Wagtail.
With Michael Miles being away at the BTO conference, there was no ringing on No3 bed on the Friday, but Kieran Foster was there from 05.10 on the Saturday morning. The early start paid off for him and Margaret Rawlings, with them catching another Woodcock and their first Snipe of the year. A further 43 birds were caught during the morning (22 new), mainly Chaffinches and Greenfinches. Sightings on the bed included 2 different Tawny Owls, 2 Fieldfare, 4 other Snipe and 40 Lapwing.
November 2009 Sightings
28th November 2009 Dave Riley was joined by Zoey Houghton and Steve Menzie on Friday afternoon on No1 bed catching 29 birds (9 new), with a further 32 (16 new) birds caught on the Saturday morning, when Mike Smith, John Blundell and Tony Davies with with him. The new feeding station is shaping up well, with most of the birds caught there.
Michael Miles put in a solo session on the Friday, catching 38 birds (13 new), with nothing of note, while Kieran Foster was down at 05.10 on the Saturday morning and was rewarded with the first Jack Snipe to be caught since 2005 and only the eighth to be ringed at the Eyes. A total of 42 birds (26 new) were caught, including two Linnets, an unusual bird to be caught on the bed, along with a female Chaffinch first ringed on No1 bed on 23rd November 2002 as a 3f, therefore seven and a half years old!
Sightings were few and far between, but included 1 Woodcock and 100+ Pink-footed Geese on No1 bed and two Tawny Owls 'sparring' on No3 bed.
20th and 21st November 2009 Dave Riley was on No1 bed on the Friday afternoon, when the highlight was catching four Willow Tits, including three new birds, all in the same net and within 600mm of each other, they were part of a flock of mainly Blue Tits.
On the Saturday morning he was joined by Mike Smith, Liz Kerr, Steve Menzie, Tony Davis and John Blundell. The conditions first thing were okay, but the breeze gradually got stronger, reducing the catch to just 19 birds, but including a Kingfisher, their sixth of the year.
Michael Miles had a long solo session on No3 bed on the Friday, catching 59 birds (35 new), including the second Sparrowhawk of the year for the bed, along with four Lesser Redpolls and a Goldfinch. Greenfinches numbers have built up to about 50 on the bed, and Michael caught 25 of them.
There was a further session on the Saturday morning when 21 birds were caught (14 new), including only the second Woodcock to be ringed at Woolston, which was aged as a 4 (adult) and unsexed. The first bird to be caught was back in 1999, when Chris Benson managed to 'dazzle' the bird along the main track and it was ringed by Michael. When the bird was released it remained in the leaf litter where it was placed for about 15 seconds, just long enough to allow Steve Menzie to grab an excellent photo (go to Bird Surveys and click on the Photographs ... link). A late November Chiffchaff was also caught on the bed and may be set to winter on the reserve.
13th and 15th November 2009 The forecast of inclement weather for the Saturday along with an infected finger restricted Dave Riley contribution to the ringing effort to the Friday afternoon, when, along with Steve Menzie, a single 18m net was set up by the new feeding station. 16 birds were caught in the first round, giving a hint of it's potential for the coming winter. A total of 24 birds were caught during the afternoon (10 new), with 4 new Chaffinches and 2 new Bullfinches the highlights.
The No3 bed team fared somewhat better, with Michael Miles putting in a long solo session on the Friday, catching 67 birds (44 new), including 17 Chaffinches, 8 Lesser Redpolls and 2 Goldfinches. He was back again on the Sunday, along with Kieran Foster, Lisa Warvill, Steve Menzie and Sam Bailey, it was a little breezier than the Friday, but they still caught 39 birds (16 new), including further Lesser Redpolls (2) and a single Goldfinch, while a further Lesser Redpoll may prove to be a retrap.
There was little to report sighting-wise apart from 7 Fieldfare and a single Chiffchaff, both on No1 bed.
6th and 7th November 2009 The weather at Woolston was just as the forecasters said (that's a change!), with rain coming in on the Friday afternoon and again early Saturday morning, stopping at about 07.30. On No1 bed, Dave Riley was joined by Steve Menzie and Zoe Houghton for a couple of hours on the Friday, catching 2 each of Greenfinch and Lesser Redpoll, while the following day was quiet, with mainly more Greenfinches finding the net, along with a single Meadow Pipit. Another surprise was a male Bullfinch finding it's way from No3 bed, an unusual event, but the second this year.
Michael Miles had No3 bed to himself on the Friday, catching 23 birds (8 new), while the following morning, along with Kieran and Lisa, they managed to catch 7 Starlings (of 200 roosting), the first of the year for the reserve, along with a further 17 new birds, including a Redwing and 2 Lesser Redpolls, while a Mute Swan, coming to food at the duck trap, had it's ring read and might prove to have a useful history. The previous week's Firecrest was still present.
Sightings included 2 Grey Partridges, 2 Tawny Owls, 20 Goldfinches and 100 or so Chaffinches, which seemed to arrive on No3 bed on the Saturday morning as they were not evident on the Friday, all the above were seen on No3 bed.
Sightings of interest on No1 bed included a Jack Snipe and a Grey Wagtail (both Friday) and a small passage of Skylarks, Fieldfares and Redwings on the Saturday.
October 2009 Sightings
30rd to 31st October 2009 The weather was quite kind to the ringing teams on the Friday and Saturday and they were active on both beds on Friday and Saturday, with the second day particularly pleasant.
Dave Riley was joined by Steve Menzie and Zoe Houghton on the Friday, when a light breeze made things a little difficult and catching was fairly slow until a flock of Long-tailed Tits flew into the net mid-afternoon, amazingly 14 of the 15 caught were new, while the last bird of the day was the first Redwing for the bed this year. The following day, Dave was joined by Liz Kerr, Tony Davis and John Blundell and a further 29 birds were caught (22 new), including two long winged Chaffinches, possibly of northern origin.
Sightings included:
30/10 - 1 Green sandpiper, 30 Lesser Redpolls, 25 Goldfinches, 2 Siskin, 10+ Bullfinches, 1 Coal Tit, 80+ Starlings going to roost, 1 Tawny Owl and 1 Long-eared Owl
31/10 - 121 Redwings, 18 Fieldfare, 45 Skylarks, 20 Meadow Pipits, 1 Siskin, 65 Lesser Redpolls, 17 Goldfinches, 8 Yellowhammer (all south), also of note were 2 Green Sandpipers, 5 Water Rails, 25 Starlings (west), 10 Bullfinches (including 5 flying high to the south)
On No3 bed Kieran Foster and Michael Miles had and early start on the Friday where catching was slow and they ended with 66 birds (28 new and 38 retraps). With the weather calmer on the Saturday, Margaret Rawlings joined them and they caught 53 birds (27 new and 26 retraps)
Fridays highlight was a 3 male Firecrest, their first for several years, other good catches on Friday included 3 Redwings, 5 Lesser Redpolls and a Chiffchaff while notable "regulars" included 2 new Willow Tits and a new Great Spotted Woodpecker.
The highlight Saturday morning was their third juvenile Cetti's Warbler in as many weeks. These 3 birds, a male and 2 females, have all been caught in the same area of the Phragmites. The morning also produced a linnet, their third of the year, making 2009 a record for their team, a second Chiffchaff of the weekend and their first catch of the winter from the duck trap, a female Mallard.
Sightings on the bed included up to 100 Redwings over the bed, 1000 Starlings leaving the Phragmites roost at dawn and 2 Tawny Owls calling at dawn on the Saturday.
23rd to 26th October 2009 Ringing took place on No1 bed on the Friday and Saturday over the weekend, catching typical Autumn birds, although the 2 Chiffchaffs and a Treecreeper were pleasant surprises.
The No3 bed team were ringing on the Monday morning, catching 62 birds, including 36 new, with the highlight being their second Cetti's Warbler in little over a week, this time a female, while 7 Lesser Redpolls and a Goldfinch were good catches for the bed.
Sightings included: No1 bed. 1 Green Sandpiper, 4 Water Rail and 50+ Skylark (all 23rd) along with 2 Green Sandpipers and 2 Kingfishers (both 24th)
No3 bed. 1 Snipe, 12 Skylarks (flying south) and 200 Starlings leaving a roost at dawn.
16th and 17th October 2009 Dave Riley was joined on No1 bed, by Stephen Menzie and Leah Williams on the Friday morning, with John Blundell and Tony Davis coming down in the afternoon. 50 birds were caught then, with a retrap Sparrowhawk and new Green Woodpecker, Coal Tit and Lesser Redpoll proving to be the highlights. A further 68 birds were caught on the Saturday morning when DR, JB, TD and SM were joined by Louise Soanes. Unusual birds included their fifth Kingfisher of the year, along with a retrap Reed Warbler, having a fat score of 4 and weighing 13.1 grams, 2 Treecreepers, 46 Greenfinches (highest total for a couple of years), 7 Lesser Redpolls and a Siskin. Altogether, 25 species of bird were caught, an extremely high total for October.
The No3 bed team were also out on the Saturday morning , catching 97 birds, 57 new, with a 3 male Cetti's Warbler the highlight (Cetti's Warblers were also reported at Leighton Moss and Conway on the same day), although the most remarkable feature was the 14 new Reed Buntings caught and must have been part of an influx of birds moving on to the bed. 2 Redwings were the first of the year, part of a large passage of birds and 2 Lesser Redpolls were noteworthy.
Sightings included: No1 bed 16/10/2009: 2 Wigeon on the east pool, 2 Green Sandpipers, 10 Snipe, 2 Tawny Owls and a Water Rail. Visible passage included 1 Skylark, 15 Meadow Pipits, 1 Grey Wagtail, 20 Redwings, 10 Goldfinch, 1 Siskin and 8 Lesser Redpolls
No1 bed 17/10/2009: 1 Green Sandpiper, 5 Snipe, 2 Water rails, 22 Skylarks, 35 Meadow Pipits, 30 Fieldfare, 500 Redwings, 21 Siskin and 15 Lesser Redpolls.
No3 bed 17/10/2009: 1 Coal Tit over the car park, 1 Siskin and large numbers of Redwings.
10th October 2009 John and Tony had a quiet start to Saturday, but had a large catch, mostly in one net towards the end of the morning.
Kieran, Margaret and Stuart did well, (46 new and 15 retraps) retrapping a late Reed Warbler (their only warbler of the day), and adding Linnet to the ringing totals for the first time. It was a young male on the North Meadow. Linnet is a fairly good sighting in the centre of the bed even though they bred last year on the bund on the south bank. Five new Reed Buntings is noteworthy as they had only ringed 25 up to that point all year. Chaffinches are still showing good numbers with 10 new ringed as are Song Thrush with a further 3.
Sightings wise Stuart had a Barn Owl on the North Meadow just before dawn and unfortunately we only heard from Brian after we left but a permit holder had a singing male Cetti's Warbler late in the morning. Hopefully it will still be around at the weekend. It would be interesting to see if it is one of the young birds that David Norman ringed in Cheshire in the summer.
4th October 2009 The predicted poor weather meant that teams on both number 1 and number 3 bed decided to ring on sunday morning instead. Unforunately a few heavy showers at dawn reduced the ringing time by an hour.
Sightings on number three included single snipe and excellent numbers of Song Thrush c30+ still around the north meadow area, feeding on elder berries. As a result a further three ringed this week.
Meadow pipit passage is still going well on number 1.
September 2009 Sightings
September 26th 2009 The weather was nearly perfect for ringing on Saturday, light breeze and overcast with a fairly warm temperature.
John and Tony ringed on number one bed and caught an impressive 10 meadow pipits. Sightings there included three snipe.
Kieran, Hugh and Margaret opened the meadows and the phrag catching reasonably well during the morning. Highlights being the 400th Reed Warbler, 300th Blackcap and 100th Bullfinch for the year. These are the best totals for this area of the bed for these species. It was interesting to catch 6 different Song Thrushes during the morning (five new). They seemed to be everywhere on Saturday.
There was little in the way of migration over number three, just a single Skylark moving NW late in the morning.
September 19th 2009 Ringing took place on No1 bed on both the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with 134 new birds ringed, including an amazing 46 Chiffchaffs along with smaller numbers of other warblers and 11 Meadow Pipits.
The No3 bed team just ringed on the Saturday morning, ringing 45 new birds including 9 Reed warblers, 8 Blackcaps, 5 Chiffchaffs and a single Sedge Warbler.
Sightings included three early(ish) Redwing and three Snipe on No1 bed, while No3 had sightings of three separate Marsh Harriers, one Snipe, 1 Tawny Owl, 1 Redpoll and a Grey Wagtail.
September 12th 2009 Dave Riley was joined by Phil Guest, Steve Menzie and Chris Bridge for the Friday afternoon session on No1, catching 56 birds (42 new), including the fifth and sixth Nuthatches to be ringed at the Eyes, other unusual birds for the afternoon included Treecreeper, Sparrowhawk and three Coal Tits (two new). For the Saturday session, Phil and Dave were joined by Tony Davis and John Blundell, catching 88 birds, including good numbers of Chiffchaffs, Reed Warblers and Blackcaps, along with solitary Sedge Warbler, Garden Warbler and Whitethroat.
Michael Miles spent the majority of Friday on No3 bed, catching 101 birds (71 new) including the bed's first Goldfinch to be ringed this year, while being joined by Kieran Foster, Hugh Pulsford and Margaret Rawlings for the Saturday morning session when a further 133 birds (111 new) were caught. Again, good numbers of Reed Warblers (18) and Blackcaps (44) were ringed, although possibly the most noteworthy catch was 14 new Dunnock, 10 of which came from the same 18m net.
No unusual sightings were noted.
September 5th 2009 The breezy conditions of Friday afternoon restricted the ringing on No1 bed to the more sheltered sites resulting in twelve birds caught, all new with eleven warblers including eight Chiffchaffs. Saturday morning was more settled and 53 birds were caught on No1 (49 new), including the third Sparrowhawk of the year for the bed.
Kierhan and Hugh worked No3 bed on the Saturday, catching 125 birds (100 new), including 65 new warblers, with 35 Blackcaps and 15 Reed Warblers comprising the bulk of them.
Sightings included a Hobby and a Tawny Owl on No1, while 3 Tree Pipits, 3 Grey Wagtails, 2 Tawny Owls, 1 Marsh harrier and a Curlew were all seen on No3 bed.
August 2009 Sightings
30th August 2009 Ringing took place on beds 1 and 3 on the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, the afternoon was breezy with the occasional light shower, with calmer conditions towards evening, The Sunday morning was almost perfect, with calm and sunny conditions, although a light breeze did get up towards lunchtime.
Dave Riley and Alan Hitchmough caught well from first light, ending up with a final total of 128 new birds, including the first Spotted Flycatcher to be caught at the Eyes since 2001, they also caught their fourth Tree Pipit of the year. 75 warblers were ringed, including 35 Blackcaps and 16 Reed Warblers along with single Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat.
Kieran Foster and Margaret Rawlings ringed on No3 bed on the Sunday morning, ringing 114 new birds, including 56 warblers with 29 Blackcaps and 20 Reed Warblers proving the bulk of those. 33 Chaffinches was an unusually high total for that species, while Bullfinch numbers continue to creep up with another eight ringed.
Sightings included: No1 bed: 50 Goldfinches, 100 Swallows going south, 10 Meadow Pipits, 3 Tree pipits (besides the one ringed) going south, 2 Siskin, 20 Linnets and 20 Swifts seen over the entrance to the reserve.
No3 bed: 250 Lapwing flying west, 2 Grey Lag Geese going north and 3 Grey Wagtails west.
22nd August 2009 Dave Riley and Cath Smith were on No1 bed from 11am Friday morning and managed to avoid the showers during the afternoon, as they passed to the north of Warrington. It was a little breezy, but 38 birds were caught, including the only two Garden Warblers for the weekend on that bed. The weather on the Saturday morning was much better, probably too good in fact, as the sun shone almost from dawn, but there was little wind, and a further 106 birds were caught, including their first Jay for two years, another two Kingfishers and another two Tree Pipits - this is the first year that more than two Tree Pipits have been caught. Good numbers of warblers (78) are still present, including, amongst others, 6 Sedge Warblers (none caught the previous week), 18 Reed Warblers, 20 Blackcaps, 15 Chiffchaffs and nine Willow Warblers.
The No3 bed team started off Saturday morning really well, with a first round of over 60 birds and caught steadily during the morning to end up with a total of 200 birds (168 new), again with large numbers of warblers (109), including 11 Sedge Warblers, 39 Reed Warblers, 8 Whitethroats, 6 Garden Warblers and 38 Blackcaps. There were some indications of a fall on the bed, with sights like 4 Lesser Whitethroats in one bush, which must be unprecedented for Woolston.
Other sightings included: Common Sandpiper and Tawny Owl on No1 bed, along with 2 Hobbys and a sub-adult Marsh Harrier on No3 bed.
15th August 2009 The team on No1 bed managed to avoid the rain on both the Friday and Saturday, catching 114 new birds, including their first Tree Pipit for two years, their first Woodpigeon and Kingfisher (2) of the year and their second Sparrowhawk, other birds of note included 3 garden Warblers and 2 Willow Tits, while the total was enhanced by 22 Chiffchaffs, 11 Reed Warblers and 9 Willow Warblers. A small hirundine roost has formed in the main reed bed resulting in 13 Swallows and a single Sand Martin being ringed.
No3 bed was worked on the Thursaday and Saturday mornings, ringing 187 new birds out of a total of 251 birds caught, including 43 Reed Warblers, 8 Sedge Warblers (none caught on No1 bed), their third Lesser Whitethroat of the year, 20 Blackcaps and 19 Chiffchaffs. 5 Garden Warblers was an excellent total and a single Willow Tit added to what appears to be a good total of that species for the year.
Sightings included a small roost of 30 Linnets on No1 along with five Swift seen moving south over the same bed on the Saturday. No 3 bed had 3 Redshank on the Thursday and 4 Common Terns on the Saturday.
Finally, congratulations to Margaret Rawlings and Hugh Pulsford, who have been put forward for their A permits.
8th August 2009 During the week ringing took place on No1 bed during Friday and Saturday morning and on No3 bed on Monday and Saturday mornings.
The team on No1 bed caught 177 new birds, including high numbers of Reed Warbler (31), Chiffchaff (23) and Willow Warbler (32), with other highlights being 11 Swallows, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Garden Warblers and 3 Linnets. The No3 bed team tried the hirundine roost on that bed, catching an excellent 44 Sand Martins and 21 Swallows, while other interesting catches included 50 Reed Warblers, 2 Garden Warblers, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Moorhens, 3 Jays and a Sparrowhawk.
Sightings included: No1 bed: Hobby seen on both Friday and Saturday, 1 Swift, 1 Tawny Owl and four Tree Sparrows flying north.
No3 bed: 200 Swallows roosting and 5 Water Rails.
1st August 2009 Kieran took advantage of the school holidays and Michael his new retirement status to avoid the weekend showers and ring on Tuesday morning, Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. These session resulted in an excellent 217 new birds ringed in the centre of No3 bed, out of 271 caught. The totals were dominated by warblers, as usual, including 49 Reed, 22 Sedge, 22 Blackcap and 16 Chiffchaffs. The feeding station on the bed has been stocked and resulted in good numbers of finches caught, including 16 Chaffinch, 23 Greenfinch and 15 Bullfinches, while larger birds caught included three each of Jay and Moorhen. Scarcer birds were their second Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler.
The No1 bed team had to work around the showers on the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, ringing 60 new birds, including 12 Willow Warblers, 2 Sand Martins and a single Linnet.
July 2009 Sightings
25th July 2009 Another excellent session, after a brief shower on the Friday afternoon ended at 13.00, the weather conditions weren't quite perfect for the afternoon because of a light breeze, but Saturday produced perfect weather.
Dave Riley was joined on No1 bed by Cath Smith and Tony Davis on the Friday while John Blundell and Sam Bailey (a visiting ringer from Sussex) were present on the Saturday. A total of 238 birds were processed with 217 new, including 164 warblers of nine species, most numerous species were Reed Warbler with 44 new closely followed by Willow Warbler (42) and Chiffchaff (33). More unusual species included Grasshopper Warbler (1), Lesser Whitethroat (2) and Garden Warbler (7), while 3 Swallows and 2 Sand Martins were caught on the Saturday morning as they left the roost. Neville Powell operated on the east side of No3 bed, catching 16 new birds, including the 2 Reed Warblers that brought up the 100 for the weekend, while the centre of that bed was ringed by Kieran Foster and Michael Miles along with Lisa Warvill and Stuart Piner on the Saturday, over the period they caught 124 new birds out of 154 caught, including an amazing 54 new Reed Warblers (plus one UK control). They also had their first go at a hirundine roost, catching 9 Sand Martins.
Sightings included Hobbys on both beds.
18th July 2009 The breezy conditions with passing, light showers restricted the Friday session to a couple of sheltered rides, 31 birds were caught on No1 bed, while the weather conditions were somewhat better on the Saturday morning, although still a little breezy, it didn't rain until the afternoon, allowing ringing on both beds 1 and 3. 72 new birds were ringed on No1 including their first two Garden Warblers and seven Sedge Warblers along with good numbers of other warblers, notably Reed, Willow and Chiffchaff. On No3, 41 new birds were ringed, again, with agood number of warblers.
Sightings were restricted to a small passage of Pied Wagtails on No3 had fly overs of Oystercatcher, Curlew, Whimbrel and Grey Wagtail, while a Hobby was seen at least twice.
11th July 2009 Excellent ringing conditions over the two days produced the highest totals of new birds ringed so far this year, 307 over the two days.
On No1 bed, Phil Guest, Steve Menzie and Dave Riley made the most of the conditions and caught over 100 birds (96 new) with Chiffchaff taking top spot with 19 ringed, closely followed by Willow and Reed Warblers with 14 and 12 respectively. Alan Hitchmough joined Phil and Dave the following morning and a further 116 new birds were ringed, including 26 Reed Warblers, 15 Willow Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, their first Treecreeper of the year and 2 juvenile Siskins.
Michael Miles was alone on No3 bed on the Friday afternoon but was joined by Hugh Pulsford for the Saturday morning session, catching 116 birds, 97 new, including 11 Reed Warblers, 17 Blackcaps and 15 Chiffchaffs along with their first juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker and Lesser Whitethroat of the year.
180 warblers were ringed during the session, approximately 60% of the total new birds, but very few Sedge Warblers were caught, just a single retrap on No1 but 3 new and 3 retrap on No3, while only two Garden Warblers have been ringed so far this year.
The only sighting of note was of a pair of well grown lapwing chicks on the No3 bed scrape.
4th July 2009 Ringing took place on No1 bed on both the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with 131 new birds ringed, including a surprise juvenile Siskin and their first Sparrowhawk of the year. Good numbers of warblers were ringed, including 21 Reed Warblers, 21 Chiffchaffs and 18 Reed Warblers, while the five new Willow Tits may be a session record.
Michael Miles spent most of the afternoon (following the rain) strimming out the encroaching Himalayan Balsam before opening any nets, with nine birds caught (seven new, one retrap and one UK control).The following morning produce 87 new birds and 23 retraps, with three new Willow Tits and three new Treecreepers, and an excellent 31 new Reed Warblers.
Sightings included a Redshank on No3 bed scrape and a further four Siskins and two Green Woodpeckers on the Saturday on No1 bed.
June 2009 Sightings
27th June 2009 With the Woolston Eyes Open Day taking place on Sunday, there was ringing activity over three days at the weekend, including Friday afternoon and Saturday morning on No1 bed and from 10am to 4pm Sunday on in the centre of No3 bed. Neville Powell and Matt Geary also had there first session at the east end of No3, catching 44 birds of which 34 were new, including a Willow Tit and 5 Blackcaps.
Apart from the odd shower, weather conditions were near perfect, particularly on the Saturday morning, with no wind and overcast skies, as a result, 170 birds were caught on No1 (137 new), including 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Coal Tit, their first Goldfinches of the year, excellent numbers of Chiffchaffs (26) and Blue Tits (28).
The Open Day, was a great success, with many very positive comments about the ringing demonstration, 51 new birds were caught, including 7 Reed Warblers, so there was plenty to show to the members of the public. The majority of the birds were ringed before 1pm, and a brief afternoon shower meant we had to close the nets for an hour or so.
Sightings were a little restricted, and included single Curlew and Oystercatcher, both over No1.
20th June 2009 The breezy conditions of Friday afternoon kept numbers of birds down on No1 bed, although a British control Reed Warbler was caught. The conditions on the Saturday morning were much better and the teams were out on both No1 and No3 beds, with good numbers of juvenile birds caught at the two sites, including an excellent total of Chiffchaffs on No3, while it looks as though the Blue Tits have had a good year at last with 12 new juveneiles caught on No1 bed.
Sightings included three broods of Little Grebe on No1 bed and Water Rail calling there.
13th June 2009 It was very near perfect ringing conditions over the weekend, although late Saturday morning did get a little too bright.
Teams were out on both beds one and three on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to take advantage of the weather, as a result the number of birds ringed was the highest this year. 123 new birds were caught on No3 bed, with many young birds caught including the first juvenile Reed Warbler of the year and an amazing 21 Chiffchaffs along with a British control and the french ringed bird from earlier this year.
104 birds were ringed on No1 bed, including juvenile Goldcrests (2) and juvenile Coal Tit, while the 24 Sand Martins caught on the Friday evening was a larger total than caught on the bed most years!
Sightings included:
12/06/2009: No1 bed -1 Water Rail, 50+ Sand Martins (roosting), 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Yellow Wagtail and 1 Raven
No 3 bed - 1 Barn Owl, 1 Cuckoo.
13/06/2009: No1 bed - 3 Grey Lag Geese and Water Rail young calling
No 3 bed - 1 adult Mediterranean Gull
6th June 2009 The extremely wet Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, reduced the ringing on No1 bed to 3 or four hours with a restricted amount of netting used. Seven House Martins were the Highlight, along with the first juvenile Robins and Blackbirds for the bed this year.
Mike Miles took advantage of his new retired status and had an eleven hour session on 4th on No3 bed, catching 52 birds (38 new), including 22 juvenile Long-tailed Tits and three each of Blue and Great Tits ringed in nestboxes earlier this year, also caught were the first juvenile Reed Buntings and Blackcaps of the year.
Sightings included 1 Oystercatcher, 150 Swift and 50+ House Martins all on No1 bed.
May 2009 Sightings
16th May 2009 to 30th May 2009 Over the three weekends only one brief session took place on No1 bed, while two Friday/Saturday session took place on No3 bed.
Juvenile birds have started to be caught, including the expected Long-tailed Tits, Dunnocks and Robins, although the Willow Tit caught on No3 was a bit early for the site. The totals for that bed include a number of pulli tits, notably Great Tits, which appear to have had a better breeding season than Blue Tits. An interesting retrap from there was a Wren that has moved from No1 bed, an unusual movement.
Sightings, all from No3, include Black Tern and Hobby on 16th. On the second session (29th-30th), a brood of 11 Shelduck was seen along with eight Oystercatchers flying east up the MSC.
9th May 2009 Ringing took place on No1 bed on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, and altough the former was a little breezier, more birds were caught then, including the first Redstart to be ringed at the Eyes since 2003, while the second Grasshopper Warbler of the year for the bed was caught the following morning, when the first pulli of the year, two Reed Buntings, were also ringed.
The No3 bed team were present on the Saturday morning only, ringing 38 birds, including a number of Blue and Great Tit pullus.
Sightings included 10 Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Tawny Owl, 50+ Swift, 1 Cuckoo and 2 Wheatear, all on No1 bed.
2nd May 2009 In the abscence of Dave Riley and Alan Hitchmough, John Blundell and Tony Davis took the helm on Saturday on No1 bed, catching 19 birds, 8 new, including the first new Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat for the bed this year. Meanwhile on No3 bed, the team of four opened 22 nets, catching a total of 58 birds with 36 new, including their first Grasshopper Warbler of the year and 12 different Sedge Warblers.
Sightings included 1 Snipe and singing Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler all on No1, while No3 bed produced 1 Cuckoo and 5 buzzards together.
April 2009 Sightings
25th April 2009 Ringing took place on No1 bed on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with Dave Riley and Steve Menzie present for both sessions and Helen Williams and Roger Short paying a visit from Devon. 47 birds were caught with only 13 new, which included the first Lesser Whitethroat and Reed Warbler of the year along with the second Snipe. A control male redpoll sp. proved a little difficult to tie down to species, as it was showing some characteristics of both Common and Lesser, with virtually unstreaked undertail coverts and a wing length of 73mm, it will be interesting to find out what it was ringed originally as.
Michael Miles was present on No3 bed for the Friday afternoon and was joined by Stuart Piner for the Saturday session, catching 35 birds with 20 new, including five species of warbler. Also of interest was a control Reed Warbler.
No1 bed: 2 Snipe, 1 Common Tern, Tawny Owl, 216 Sand Martins (roosting), 1 House Martin, 1 Redstart, 4 Sedge Warblers, 12+ Reed Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats and 6 Whitethroats.
No3 bed: 1 Snipe, 1 Little Gull, 8 Swifts, 1 Tree Pipit and 1 Wheatear
18th April 2009 Ringing took place on No1 bed for a couple of hours on Friday afternoon and all Saturday morning, with Dave Riley there for both sessions, along with Steve Menzie and Cath Smith on the Friday and Alan Hitchmough and Sam Bailey on the Saturday morning. A total of 43 birds were caught over the two sessions, including the first Green Woodpecker, Grasshopper Warbler and Sedge warbler (retrap) of the year and a further two Linnets and four Lesser Redpolls.
The No3 bed team caught 50 birds, 22 new, including a Mistle Thrush, eight Lesser Redpolls and another new Bullfinch (out of 10 caught).
Sightings included:
No1 bed: Snipe, Tawny Owl, 1 Tree Pipit, 3 Grasshopper Warblers, 2 Sedge Warblers, 7 Reed Warblers and 5 Siskin.
No3 bed: up to 1 Hobby, 1 Snipe, 2 Artic Terns, 3 Grasshopper Warblers, 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Siskin and 20 Lesser Redpolls.
11th April 2009 Ringing took place on both beds 1 and 3 on the Saturday only.
51 birds were caught on No1 bed with 33 new, including 4 Song Thrushes, 3 Willow Warblers, 1 Blackcap, 1 Linnet (all first to be ringed on the bed this year) and 11 Lesser Redpolls. The retraps included 11 Willow Warblers, the majority of which were ringed in 2007, it appears that they may have had a good winter with the experienced birds returning first. A Lesser Redpoll was also retrapped, this one having been ringed in 2005.
22 birds were caught on No3, with seven new, including their first Willow Warbler of the year and their second Jay.
Sightings included:
10-04-2009 - No1 bed: 2 Reed Warblers
11-04-2009 - No1 bed: 6 Buzzard, 1 Peregrine, 1 Snipe, 1 Oystercatcher, 1 Water Rail, 1 Redwing, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 20+ Willow Warblers and 1 Tree Sparrow.
No3 bed: 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Whitethroat and good numbers of Willow Warblers.
4th April 2009 Ringing took place on 3th on both beds 1 and 3 with No1 only on 4th. The Friday proved to be the better of the two days fo the No1 team, with 40 birds caught, including 18 new, the highlight being a late male Brambling, while 15 birds were caught there the following day which included one of three Willow Warblers that arrived during the night, it was a ringed bird, originally caught as an adult on 10th June 2005. Lesser Redpolls caught in good numbers, with seven new birds ringed.
The No3 bed team caught 15 birds including a returning Blackcap and a another Brambling which had a fat score of zero, so it may be around for a while yet.
Sightings included; No1 bed
03-04-2009 - 2 Snipe, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 4 Water Rails, 5 Swallows, 4 Sand Martins, 1 Tawny Owl and a Siskin
04-04-2009 - 1 Curlew, 1 Swallow, 1 Blackcap and 3 Willow Warblers
No3 bed: 03-04-2009 - 12 Black-necked Grebes, 1 Peregrine, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Snipe and 7 Sand Martins.
March 2009 Sightings
28th March 2009 Breezy conditions restricted the ringing on both beds 1 and 3, with only six birds ringed out of 28 caught, although this did include 2 Brambling.
Sightings were also limited, with the weather conditions holding up migrants, but Chiffchaffs were still present in small numbers and a Sand Martin was on No3 bed.
21st March 2009 Dave Riley ringed on No1 bed on 20th with Alan Hitchmough ringing on 21st, 22 new birds were ringed including a male Brambling and the first Chiffchaffs (3) of the year. Michael Miles and Stuart Piner ringed on No3 bed on the Saturday, ringing 12 new birds out of 24 caught, as with No1 bed, they also caught a Brambling and their first Chiffchaff of the year.
Sightings included 9 Buzzards, Peregrine, 5 Chiffchaffs, 22 Redwings and a Siskin, all on No1 and 1 Snipe, 2 Shelduck and a further five singing Chiffchaffs on No3 bed.
14th March 2009 The No1 bed ringing team had a session on the Friday, catching 23 new birds, although only five were new, including four Reed Buntings and a Chaffinch, the Saturday morning was too breezy to mist net.
Sightings on the bed included 1 Oystercatcher, 2 Snipe, 1 Kingfisher, 150 Fieldfare (including 50 roosting), 50 Linnets (roosting) and 6 Lesser Redpolls (all Friday 13th), also seen on 14th were 2 Greylag Geese and 2 Stock Doves.
7th March 2009 Ringing took place on No1 bed on both the Friday afternoon and the Saturday morning. On the Friday, 31 birds were caught, but only ten new, which included a Stock Dove and a Moorhen - the first to be ringed on the bed for a number of Years, John Blundell and Tony Davis worked the bed on the Saturday morning, catching the first Snipe on the bed for two years, before moving to No2 bed to catch their second male Stonechat in two weeks.
No3 bed was worked on the Saturday morning only, catching 17 birds with six new, the highlight being two Goldcrests, a species that has been noticeable by it's absence recently.
Sightings included:
No1 bed: 1 Water Rail, eight Snipe, one Long-eared Owl and 12 Fieldfare roosting, with non-avian including two bumblebees and a pipistrelle sp.
No2 bed: 2 Stonechats
No3 bed: 4 Water Rails together, 2 male Ruddy Duck, a Buzzard and a Brambling.
February 2009 Sightings
28/02/2009 Ringing took place on beds 1, 2 and 3 over the weekend, 15 birds were caught on No1 on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with the highlight being a male Brambling, the third one to be caught on the bed this year, after a complete blank last year.
John Blundell and Tony Davis caught only the fourth Stonechat for the reserve, a stunning male, on No2 bed, it was the first to be caught since 2006, while the team on No3 bed ringed seven new birds out of fifteen caught.
The only sightings of note were from No1 bed, with 91 Fieldfare coming to roost and two Woodcock, including one seen flying high from the east before dropping down to presumably land on the west side of the bed.
21/02/2009 Another slow weekend, although it did produce the best total of the year so far on No1 bed, who ringed 14 new birds out of 30 caught, which included their first Coal Tit of the year along withre-trapped Brambling and Bullfinch, both of which were originally ringed on No3 bed.
The No3 bed team caught just three new birds, including the first Goldcrest for the reserve this year.
Sightings on No1 bed included:
20-02-2009: 1 Woodcock, 6 Snipe, the first trilling Little Grebes of the year (2), 20 Fieldfare roosting.
21-02-2009: 40 Fieldfare, 3 Yellowhammer, 4 Siskin.
31/01/2009 to 14/02/2009 The dearth of birds continues, with low numbers coming to the feeders on both beds, however a new species for Woolston was caught and ringed on 31st Jan with a Female Serin, on No3 bed, only the 26th to be ringed in the 100 year history of the ringing scheme.
The only sighting of note from last weekend was two Grey Partridge on No1 bed.
January 2009 Sightings
24th January 2009 Birds still a bit thin on the ground, with six birds ringed on No1 and four on No3, although the male Brambling caught on No1 was the first for a number of years.
Sightings included a Snipe on No1 and five Goldeneyes and three Shelduck on No3.
17th January 2009 The expected strong winds didn't materialise, so the only ringing on No1 bed was on the Friday when three new birds were caught, finches having found the feeding station again.
The team on the more sheltered No3 bed caught eleven new birds including another Moorhen, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Brambling and a Lesser Redpoll.
Sightings included a Jack Snipe on No1.
10th January 2009 A poor start so far on No1 bed, with only one new bird ringed so far this year, although the team on No3 are doing somewhat better, with nine new birds including Water Rail and Jay along with four new Blackbirds.
Sightings included 180+ Pink-footed Geese over No1 and a Woodcock on No3.
December 2008 Sightings
27th December 2008 Helen Williams caught four Fieldfare on No1, the first there for a couple of years, while the team on No3 caught another wintering Chiffchaff.
Main sighting of note was of three Waxwings seen leaving the No3 bed Starling roost.
20th December 2008 Brambling continue to be caught on No3, while the Chiffchaff was the first December bird to be ringed for three years.
13th December 2008 Ringing took place on No1 bed for a couple of hours on Friday afternoon and all Sunday morning, with Dave Riley there for both sessions. Just a single net was opened for the sessions, at the feeding station. The only 'unusual' bird caught was a Woodpigeon, the fourth to be ringed on the bed this year. On the down side, no Willow Tits were caught or heard during the two sessions, almost unheard of!
Sightings included:
No1 bed: 12/12/2008
3 Snipe,
14/12/2008
1 Woodcock, 1 Short-eared Owl (the first sighting on the bed for a few years), 250+ Pink-footed Geese (flying south, then south-east at 10.35).
6th December 2008 Ringing took place on No1 bed on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with Alan Hitchmough and Dave Riley, there for both sessions, being joined by Liz Kerr, John Blundell and Tony Davis on the Saturday. Just four nets were opened for the sessions, with three being closed mid Saturday morning to them being visible with the frost, highlight of the ringing was three Lesser redpolls.
The ringing team on No3 bed was depleted due to various reasons, Kieran Foster using the excuse of getting married on the Friday for not ringing! The team was represented by Michael Miles and Margaret Rawlings, who had an excellent morning, catching 75 birds (53 new), including an excellent 22 Chaffinches, 2 Bramblings, 1 Goldfinch and 7 Lesser Redpolls. They also retrapped a Lesser Redpoll originally ringed on 8th October 2005.
Sightings included:
No1 bed:
2 Snipe, 2 Woodcock, 1 Peregrine, 12 lesser Redpolls
No3 bed:
Good Numbers of finches on the winter feed crop, with about 250 birds present, mostly Chaffinches, but also smaller numbers of Reed Buntings and Bramblings.
November 2008 Sightings
29th November 2008 Ringing took place on No1 bed on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with Alan Hitchmough, Dave Riley and Steve Menzie there for both sessions, being joined by John Blundell and Tony Davis on the Saturday. Excellent numbers of Greenfinches were caught along with a good total of Chaffinch, while the two Magpies caught late on Friday afternoon were only the second and third for the bed this year. Low numbers of Goldcrests are still being caught along with a few Lesser Redpolls.
Kieran arrived on No3 bed on the Friday afternoon, hoping to catch a few Starling going to roost (about 2,500 birds) and was duly rewarded with a single bird, the first to be caught on the reserve this year, and the first to be ringed on No3 for a number of years. Saturday morning dawned with mist, but thankfully no frost and very little wind, Kieran and co were rewarded with six Redwings, a Magpie and excellent numbers of Greenfinches. The seed crop is now starting to attract birds, with almost 100 birds present, mostly Chaffinches, but also Reed Buntings and a single Brambling.
Sightings included:
No1 bed:
28/11/2008: 2 Snipe, 1 Woodcock
29/11/2008: 3 Tawny Owls, 4 Woodcock, 10 Redwing, 5 Fieldfare and a Green Woodpecker
No3 bed:
28/11/2008: 2 Sparrowhawks
29/11/2008: 1 Woodcock, 2 Tawny Owls, 1 Kingfisher, 40 Fieldfare and another Kingfisher on the loop.
22nd November 2008 Ringing took place on No1 bed on Saturday morning. Alan Hitchmough arriving at 06.20 as the temperature was only 3 deg C, while John Blundell and Tony Davis arrived at dawn to carry out some maintenance work to their rides. During the morning Alan caught 23 birds, including the second Common Redpoll for the bed in 2008.
The No3 bed team set up a medium size cage trap on the bed and were rewarded with five Teal and a Moorhen, unfortunately a sixth Teal escaped, but hopes are high for further duck catches. Other birds of interest caught during the morning included two Redwing, two brambling and their sixth Lesser Redpoll of the year.
Sightings included:
No1 bed:
22/11/2008: 1 Chiffchaff, 20 Chaffinch, 60 Greenfinch, 1 Brambling and 1 Yellowhammer
22/11/2008: 3 Whooper Swans
15th November 2008 Ringing took place on No1 bed on both the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Dave Riley was present from 13.00, working the east end of the bed, while Alan Hitchmough was there from 06.00 on the Saturday morning, working the centre of the bed and the feeding station. Dave had a reasonably successful afternoon, catching 23 birds including seven Lesser Redpolls and a retrap Green Woodpecker
The following morning they were joined by Liz Kerr, Ron Bromby and John Crowther, but the morning was fairly quiet, although a Treecreeper was the sixth of the year for the bed.
The ringing team on No3 had a successful morning, catching 61 birds with 41 new, including their third Sparrowhawk of the year, three more Moorhens, two Redwings and their first Brambling for this winter period. Another success for the team was Michael Miles having his trainers endorsement approved by the BTO. Congratulations to him.
Sightings included:
No1 bed:
14/11/2008: 1 Siskin, 35+ Goldfinch and a small movement of Skylarks and Thrushes
15/11/2008: Southerly movement included 20+ Lesser redpolls, 5 Siskins, 20+ Redwing and 50+ Fieldfare while 3000+ Woodpigeons went north.
8th November 2008 Ringing on No1 bed took place on the Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, highlights included 59 Greenfinches, 1 Siskin and a Stock Dove. The No3 bed Team were down on the Saturday morning only, catching 19 new birds including 3 Moorhens, 2 Magpies and 2 Lesser Redpolls.
Sightings included Long-eared Owl, Jack Snipe, Merlin and a good passage of Fieldfares and Redwings, all on No1, while No3 bed hosted a roost of 2,000 Starlings being hunted by 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Siskin and a small passage of Redwings. The winter feed crop is starting to attract finches, with about 30 Chaffinches present.
October 2008 Sightings
25th October Ringing took place on No1 bed on both the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Dave Riley was present from 13.00, working the east end of the bed, being joined during the afternoon by Alan Hitchmough, who worked the centre of the bed. The highlight for Dave during the afternoon was the first Siskin to be caught at Woolston for two years
The following morning they were joined by Steve Menzie and Liz Kerr, and on the first round of the morning, the only bird Alan caught was a first calendar year female Cetti's Warbler, the fifth for Woolston and the third for No1 bed. This was the first weekend since starting the feeding station and helped towards a good total of 27 Greenfinches, while Goldcrests were still present in reasonable numbers with eight new birds ringed.
Sightings included:
No1 bed:
24/10/2008: Southerly movement included 2 Skylarks, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Pied Wagtail, 9 Goldfinch and 9 Siskin. Roosting birds included 40 Starling and 50+ Reed Buntings, while corvids going to roost included 250 each of Jackdaw and Rook. Other sighting included 2 Water Rails and 1 Tawny Owl, while Redwings were heard calling throughout the night as they moved west.
25/10/2008: Westerly movement included 50+ Lapwings, 100+ Fieldfare and 20+ Redwing while 4 Siskins flew south.
18th October Ringing took place on No1 bed on both the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Dave Riley was present from 13.00, working the east end of the bed, being joined during the late afternoon by Alan Hitchmough, who worked the centre of the bed. Dave caught their first Sparrowhawk of the year for No1 along with their eighth Great Spotted Woodpecker and fifth Treecreeper, while Alan caught single Chiffchaff and Goldcrest on the one round he managed to get in before dusk. A flock of 120 Pink-footed Geese flew northwest just before dusk.
The following morning they were joined by Steve Menzie, before dawn and Redwings were already on the move, as dawn came, it was apparent that there had been a fall of Goldcrests, with birds seeming to call from every bush and Redwings were moving west throughout the morning. The weather was still at first light, but the wind increased from the south during the morning. A total of 68 new birds were ringed over the two days, with Greenfinch topping the totals list with 28 birds, although the 21 Goldcrests supported the 'fall' theory. Other than the species above, little else seemed to be on the move, reducing the diversity of species ringed.
Kieran Foster and Stuart Piner ringed on No3 for the Sunday morning, catching a further two Moorhens in the traps along with a Water Rail first ringed in January of this year, they also caught the first Redwing of the Autumn for the reserve.
Sightings included:
No1 bed:
17/10/2008: 120 Pink-footed Geese, 1 Green Woodpecker, 4 Goldcrests, southerly movement included 2 Skylarks, 3 Meadow Pipits and 2 Pied Wagtails
18/10/2008: 2100+ Redwings, 112 Fieldfare, 45 Starlings (all flying west), 500+ Woodpigeons, 6 Stock Doves, 1 Collared Dove, 40 Meadow Pipits, 5 Grey Wagtails, 1 Pied Wagtail, 12 Goldfinch, 13 Chaffinch, 3 Siskin, 16 Skylarks, 5 Lesser Redpolls (all flying south), 40 Goldcrests, 4 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels, 1 Tawny Owl, 2 Yellowhammers, 1 Kingfisher and three Ravens (2 west, 1 north)
No3 bed (19/10/2008): 2 Snipe, good Redwing passage, but numbers not noted.
11th October Ringing took place on No1 bed on both the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Dave Riley was joined by Phil Guest for the Friday session, but the breezy conditions restricted the number of birds caught to just five, which included their eighth Goldfinch of the year. During the evening, Dave was joined by Alan Hitchmough, Helen Williams, Steve Menzie and Liz Kerr for the final 'barbie' of the year. The following morning, the conditions were excellent for ringing, overcast with little wind, but there wasn't much diurnal passage, resulting in low numbers of finches caught, highlights included 4 Chiffchaffs, 7 Goldcrests and 8 Lesser Redpolls.
Kieran Foster and Margaret Rawlins ringed on No3 for the Saturday morning, having an excellent session with the traps, catching 6 Moorhen and a Water Rail, while the nets produced, amongst others, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Blackcap, 2 Goldcrests and 3 Lesser Redpolls.
Sightings included:
No1 bed:
10/10/2008: 1 female Peregrine, 1 Buzzard and 1 Tawny Owl
11/10/2008: 3 Skylark, 20 Meadow Pipits, 20 Grey Wagtails, 10 Pied Wagtails, 1 Fieldfare, 30 Redwing, 28 Chaffinch, 10 Greenfinch, 30 Lesser Redpolls (all south), 4 Water Rail, 6 Chiffchaffs, a very late Willow Warbler (singing) and 1 Coal Tit
No3 bed: 1 late Reed Warbler
4th October We started the weekend needing 99 new birds to meet our target of 100,000 birds ringed since David Norman ringed the first bird at the Eyes on 31st August 1980 and following the excellent weather of the previous two weeks, this weekend was a little more varied, with Friday being mainly sunny with a little cloud and what wind there was dying down towards dusk, while the forecasted rain fo Saturday morning failed to materialise until afternoon, although the winds did start to increase as the morning went on.
Dave Riley and Alan Hitchmough were joined by Steve Menzie for the Friday afternoon session on No1 bed, catching good numbers of Chiffchaffs and their third Water Rail in as many weeks, Alan and Dave stayed over until the Saturday, catching fewer birds overall but excellent numbers of Goldcrests, with a weekend total of 23. By the end of their session at lunchtime, a further 3 birds were needed to reach the target, Michael Miles and Kieran Foster gamely decided to continue until it was met. The target was finally achieved when a Moorhen strolled into on of the well-positioned potter trap, it should have got a gold ring, but the guys had to make do with a standard BTO ring, FP98158. other highlights on No3 included their 5th Water Rail of the year.
Helen Williams was joined by Roger Short, on No1 bed, for a late start on the Sunday morning after rain, catching two new Kingfishers and an excellent 28 new Long-tailed Tits, producing a weekend total for this species of 41 for the bed.
The highlight of the sightings was an over flying Richard's Pipit, the first record for the Eyes, seen and heard well by Alan Hitchmough on No1 bed, other sightings included:
All No1 bed:
03/10/2008: 80+ Swallows, 4 House Martins, 1 Redwing (all flying south), 2 Reed Warblers. 20 + Chiffchaffs, 2 Tawny Owls, 4 Water Rails, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Nuthatch.
04/10/2008: 20+ Swallows, 2 House Martins, 10 Skylarks, 20 Meadow Pipits, 114 Redwing, 4 Grey Wagtails, 2 Lesser Redpolls (all flying south), 2 male Peregrines together (local breeders?), 2 Mistle Thrush, 6 Jays, 50 + Lapwings and 1 Coal Tit
September 2008 Sightings
27th September 2008 We had excellent weekend, still a little too pleasant for ringing, with wall-to-wall sunshine, although it was a little cooler in the evening and morning.
On No1 bed, 102 new birds of 16 species were caught, including the second Water rail of the year and the first real catch of Greenfinches, with 25 ringed. 36 warblers were ringed including 26 Chiffchaffs, and what will probably be our last Sedge Warbler of the year. 31 finches were also ringed including the Greenfinches, five Chaffinch and a single Goldfinch and Goldcrests were well represented with 13 new birds caught.
The team on No3 bed caught 154 birds (118 new) of 18 species, including 30 warblers (5 Reed Warblers, 18 Blackcaps and 7 Chiffchaffs) and eight Bullfinches was a high total for late September.
Sightings included:
26/09/2008: (All No1 bed) 30 Swallows, 5 Pied Wagtails, 2 Grey Wagtails (all flying south), 3 Tawny Owls and 40+ Linnets (roosting)
27/09/2008: No1 bed - 30 Swallows, 1 Sand Martin, 1 Pied Wagtail, 10 Grey Wagtails, 15 Meadow Pipits, 15 Skylarks (all south), also present on the bed were 5 Snipe, 1 Common Sandpiper, 5 Jays and 1 Nuthatch
No3 bed - 1 Snipe, 2 Redwings and 2 Lesser Redpolls.
20th September 2008 We had excellent weather over the weekend, in fact it was a little too nice for ringing on the Saturday! Friday was still, with some hazy sunshine, while the following morning was more or less unbroken sunshine, making the nets easier to see.
On No1 bed, 91 birds of 18 species were caught, the highlights being the first Water Rail on the bed for about three years and the first Green Woodpecker of the year, completing the full set of woodpeckers (excluding Wryneck!) to be ringed in a year for the first time at Woolston. Reasonable numbers of warblers are still being caught, with 48 ringed on No1, including 25 Chiffchaffs, while nine Goldcrests was the first significant catch of the late Summer/Autumn, along with the two Meadow Pipits.
The team on No3 bed caught 137 birds, 122 new of 20 species, and use of the potter traps resulted in five juvenile Moorhens and a Coot being caught, other highlights included their first Goldcrest and Meadow Pipit of the year. A late Garden Warbler was the surprise among the 31 warblers ringed, while high numbers of Wren (12), Dunnock (9) and Robin (6) were also ringed.
All sightings of note were from No1 bed and included:
19/09/2008: Raptors included 6 Buzzards, 1 Peregrine, 1 Kestrel and 1 Sparrowhawk, while a small southerly movement of hirundines included 200+ Swallows and a House Martin, approximately 30 Chiffchaffs were calling around the east end of the bed and other sightings included 2 Little Grebes on the East Pool while 2 Pied Wagtails and a Grey flew south.
20/09/2008: Another good day for raptors, with 1 Peregrine, 1 Hobby, 2 Kestrel and 2 Sparrowhawks being seen, and a smaller movement of Hirundines included 100 Swallows and a House Martin. A southerly movement of other passerines included 30+ Skylarks, 50+ Meadow Pipits, 4 Grey Wagtails, 2 Siskins and a Lesser Redpoll.
29th August, 6th and 13th September Over the three weekends, ringing took place on No1 bed on the three, while the team on No3 were present on two occasions. Reasonable numbers of warblers are still being caught, with Blackcap the most numerous, 58 new birds being caught, while there was also 2 Sedge Warblers, 25 Reed, 2 Lesser Whitethroats (including only the second of the year on No3 bed), 11 Whitethroats, 3 Garden Warblers, 28 Chiffchaffs and 3 Willow Warblers. 31 Greenfinches represented the first big catch of the second period of the year for the No3 team, while singles of Sparrowhawk, Water Rail and Moorhen were all ringed on No3 bed.
Sightings over the period were all from No1 bed, unless stated.
29/08/2008: 1 Osprey going west, also seen over No3 bed
2 Hobbys, adult and juv. Catching dragonflies
1m, 1f Peregrine
1 Ringed Plover
2 Green Sandpipers (No3)
1 Tree Pipit
15 Starlings (unusual on No1)
1 Crossbill, flying south
06/09/2008: 16 Gadwall
1 Goosander
1 Osprey, circled the bed, then slowly drifted south-west
1 Harris hawk, with jesses
3 Water Rails
1 Kingfisher
1 Swift
1 small swift sp, with deeply forked tail, seen feeding with swallow, but other detail could not be seen
2 Grey Wagtails, flying south
1 juv. Grasshopper Warbler
1 Lesser Whitethroat
5 Garden Warblers
8 Blackcaps
10 Chiffchaffs
12-13/09/2008 1 male Goshawk flying east
85 Lapwing
1 Kingfisher
6 Sand Martins, flying south
300 Swallows, flying south
50+ House Martins, flying south
1 Pied Wagtail, flying south
4 Grey Wagtails, flying south
1 Sedge Warbler
1 Willow Warbler
20 Chaffinch
August 2008 Sightings
23rd August 2008 Just ringing on No1 bed this weekend with sessions on Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. Dave Riley and Alan Hitchmough were joined for the first two session by Liam McDevitt from Ireland, while Helen Williams and Roger Short did the Sunday. 101 new birds were ringed, including all nine species of the commoner warblers on the Satuday morning, but two 1j Sedge warblers seemed to be very late (unless anyone knows any different), and the only bird with a significant fat was a Willow Warbler with a score of 4. The small hirundine roost produced three Sand martins and four Swallows, while a lone Kingfisher was the twelth this year to be ringed on the bed.
Sightings on the bed included a Hobby on the Friday evening at the roost, while what was presumed to be the same bird performed brilliantly on the Sunday morning, as it hawked for dragonflies at the eastern end of the bed. Other birds of note included a Water Rail on the track, a Little Owl at dusk on the Saturday, a small southerly passage of hirundines, including 300 Swallows and 100+ House Martins, a Tree Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail and six Buzzards.
16th August 2008 The guys on No3 bed managed three sessions during the week, catching 100 new birds, while the Friday/Saturday sessions on No1 bed were fairly poor, although the first Coal Tit of the year on that bed was the last bird caught on the Saturday.
Sightings included 2 Common Sandpipers, single Green and Wood Sandpipers and 3 Water Rails all on No1 bed.
9th August 2008 Rain affected the sessions again, with the team on No1 getting the full Friday afternoon and until 09.00 on the Saturday morning, while David Norman did similar hours, but the No3 bed team managed sessions on 5th, Friday pm and Sunday morning, catching 188 new birds in the process, including their first Lesser Whitethroat and Goldfinches of the year, along with a Tree Pipit, which, I think, is the first to be caught on No3 since the mid-eighties. The highlight on No1 was another two Kingfishers, bringing the total there to 11 this year.
Sightings included (all from No3 bed): 2 Kingfishers, 150 Sand Martins (roosting), 1 Snipe, a Hobby carrying prey and a Tawny Owl.
Dave Riley and Alan Hitchmough managed to see a Water Rail on the track on No1.
2nd August 2008 The Friday afternoon was quite breezy, but the wind had eased by dusk, allowing reasonably successful catches of hirundines on both beds 1 and 3, with 29 Sand Martins and 46 Swallows ringed. Keiran also managed to catch the second Common Sandpiper to be ringed at the Eyes along with the second Moorhen of the year. Showers on the Saturday morning slowed the ringing effort down for a couple of hours, but the total of 268 birds ringed was still excellent, but the very low numbers of Blue and Great Tits is still a bit worrying, although Sedge Warblers are now being caught in reasonable numbers, particularly on No1.
Other warblers were also caught in reasonable numbers on No1 with 25 Willow Warblers standing out and the ninth Kingfisher and third Treecreeper of the year exceptional.
Little to report sightings-wise, but Snipe and Water Rail were both seen or heard on No1 where three Green Woodpeckers were also noted, the last species was also noted near the car park where it can best be described as very uncommon.
July 2008 Sightings
26th July 2008 After so many unproductive weeks, it was a real pleasure to have a weekend with perfect ringing conditions and the totals certainly bear that out with 388 birds ringed, out of well over four hundred caught! Among these were 247 warblers, including a massive 98 Reed Warblers and 68 Chiffchaffs, while birds not ringed that often included 2 Kingfishers, our third Grasshopper Warbler of the year and third to fifth Garden Warbler of the year. Hirundines were caught in better numbers that of late, with 57 Swallows and four Sand Martins ringed.
Dave Riley and John Blundell worked no1 bed, ringing 183 birds (including 120 warblers), with four finch sp. amongst them, notably three Goldfinches and two Linnets.
The No3bed (centre) team managed to ring 178 birds (including 109 warblers), with an excellent 41 Chiffchaffs the highlight, other notables included their first Treecreeper of the year and nine Bullfinches.
David Norman returned to the Eyes for the 29th year in a row, working the east side of No3 and catching 31 birds of which 27 were new, including 17 warblers. David noted that a few resident birds were still in breeding condition with no sign of moult.
Few sightings were noted, other than a Hobby over No3 on Friday and a large flock of Swifts (600+) over No1, presumably feeding on a hatch of insects.
19th July 2008 Because of the changeable conditions over the weekend, there was ringing on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Interesting birds caught included a Kingfisher, Swifts, Sand Martins and House Martins, while warblers are still being caught in low numbers.
The only sighting noted was of 2 Curlew and a Whimbrel over No1 bed.
12th July 2008 Still low totals for this time of the year, with breezy conditions on the Saturday hampering efforts. Three new Kingfishers were ringed on No1, along with 1 House Martin, 2 Swallows and 3 Sand Martins. A Swift was re-trapped there that was originally ringed on the same bed on 16th June 2001. Good numbers of Chiffchaffs are getting caught and the first juvenile Sedge Warblers were ringed on both beds 1 and 3.
Sightings of interest were restricted to No3 with a single Golden Plover and 7 Black-tailed Godwits, both fly overs. A further sign of the poor summer was the lack of butterflies, with only a Red Admiral and two Meadow Browns seen on No3.
5th July 2008 Dave Riley managed to get a few nets up on the Friday afternoon, getting, amongst other things, a Kingfisher and two Sand Martins - all juveniles. On the Saturday, rain came in and the catching slowed down, but a House Martin and Treecreeper were caught. Sightings on the bed was restricted to small groups of Swifts flying south, although it looks as though Little Grebes have had a good year, with four/five broods, mostly with large young, also three broods of Pochard have been seen.
Michael and Kieran managed to open a few nets on the Friday, catching eleven Sand Martins (10 new), including a french ringed control, the number was in the same ring series as the bird caught last year, only three hundred numbers different. The only sighting of note here was of two juvenile Little Ringed Plovers on the scrape.
June 2008 Sightings
28th June 2008 The ringing team on No1 bed were out on both Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, catching 87 new birds, including 2 Swift and a House Martin, numbers of warblers are starting to increase with 12 Chiffchaffs and 8 Willow Warblers, almost all juvenile, but no young Reed Warblers as yet. 3 juv. Great Spotted Woodpeckers was a surprise as was the 3 Willow Tits, but totally unexpected was the 10 Great Tits caught at the feeding station, as we feared they had had a poor breeding season. Sightings on the bed included 17 Lapwing, 2 Curlew and an Oystercatcher, all moving west, while two broods of Pochard were on the pools.
The team on No3 bed just ringed on the Saturday, catching 51 new birds out of 76 caught, with juvenile Reed Warblers starting to appear in good numbers there and six new Willow Warblers being a good total for that bed. An interesting retrap was a Long-tailed Tit. 1U5717, which may be eight years old. Sightings on the bed were restricted to a single Hobby.
21st June 2008 Ringing took place on No1 bed on both days, with 46 new birds ringed, including the first Kingfisher and Swallow of the year, a juvenile Goldcrest was also caught, possibly having come from the Butchersfield Tip or Bluebell Wood.
The No3 bed team just ringed on the Saturday, ringing 35 new birds, including a juvenile Reed Warbler, which had the strongest set of fault bars on the tail they had ever seen.
Sightings included Oystercatcher, Curlew and Common Sandpiper along with Pied, Yellow and Grey Wagtails.
14th June 2008 Ringing took place on both beds 1 and 3 this weekend with juveniles of Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Willow Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff all being ringed. A Lesser Whitethroat with a brood patch was caught on No1 bed. Retrapped birds included a Blue Tit that was ringed in a nest box on No3 bed, only the fourth to be caught, while two colour ringed Reed Warblers from the scheme of a couple of years ago were also caught.
Sightings included 2 Mediterranean Gulls, a Grey Wagtail and a Grasshopper Warbler, all from no3 bed.
7th June 2008 Just ringing on No1 bed this weekend, with a few juveniles caught, including our first young Willow Warbler. Also ringed were the first Swift, House Martin and Treecreeper for two years there.
Not many sightings to report, although 14 Lapwing flying west were the first signs of post breeding dispersal seen on the bed and a Kingfisher was seen flying over the bed.
May 2008 Sightings
31st May 2008 The ringing totals represent three weeks ringing, including five sessions on No3 and two on No1. Interesting birds included 9 Swifts, flicked on No3 along with a juvenile Mistle Thrush on the same bed - both species are caught in small numbers, but not annually, while a female Sparrowhawk caught there was unusual.
Although only 16 new birds were ringed on No1, the total did include the fourth and fifth Stock Doves for the reserve along with the first Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grasshopper Warbler and Garden Warbler for the year there.
All reported sightings were from No3 bed and included 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Little Ringed Plovers (all on the scape) and a small roost of 400 Starlings also of note was a male Grey Wagtail feeding two juveniles by the footbridge and the Mute Swans with 7 small cygnets.
10th May 2008 Ringing took place on No1 bed on 5th, 9th and 10th, with good numbers of warblers ringed there, particularly Sedge and Reed along with the first Lesser Whitethroats (3) of the year and the third Stock Dove to be ringed on the reserve which was caught in the feeding station by John Blundell and Tony Davis.
The team on No3 bed ringed on the 10th, using less nets that usual, resulting in 32 birds being caught including 16 new, with seven warblers.
Sightings during the week included Woolston's third Quail, initially calling on the Friday night and again at Saturday lunchtime, Long-eared and Tawny Owls were also heard. Sightings during the remainder of the week included five Black Terns on 9th and occasional sightings of Marsh Harrier and Med Gull, all on No3 bed.
3rd May 2008 The highlight of the weekend's ringing was a male Cuckoo, caught on No3 bed, while warbler numbers are picking up across the reserve.
Sightings included an excellent male Whinchat on No1 bed, 5 overflying Whimbrel on No3, 2 Lesser Whitethroats and 2 Garden warblers.
April 2008 Sightings
26th April 2008 55 new birds were ringed over the weekend, including the first Wheatear for a few years, on No3 bed and a Common Redpoll on No1 bed, which was amongst a flock of 20 or so Lessers (16 of were caught including 2 ringed birds). Warbler numbers are starting to increase, with seven species ringed, while the first Linnet of the year was also ringed. Eight Willow Warblers were also caught on No1 bed that had been ringed in previous years.
Sightings included Swifts over both beds, 1 Cuckoo, 2 Med. Gulls and a Common Sandpiper, all on No3, with No1 producing 3 Water Rails and a Common Tern.
19th April 2008 The east wind was a little too much for ringing on No1 bed where a single Willow Warbler was the only new bird ringed, the more sheltered No3 bed fared better, with nine new birds, including the first Whitethroat and Blackcap to be ringed during 2008.
Sightings included a colour ringed Blackcap from 2005, Reed Warblers on both No1 and 3 beds with a Grasshopper Warbler reeling by the first barrier, and a Buzzard attacking a male Pheasant which escaped.
12th April 2008 The Bramblings keep on getting ringed on No3 bed, with another 7 caught, while incoming migrants were represented by 2 Willow Warblers and a Chiffchaff on No1 bed and another 2 of each species on No3 bed. 2 Song Thrushes ringed on No1 were their first for the year.
Sightings included:
No1: 1 Peregrine, 3 Snipe, 100+ Sand Martins, 4 House Martins, 20 Swallows, 5 late Fieldfare, roosting, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcaps, 12 Willow Warblers and 15 Chiffchaffs.
No3: 2 Buzzards, 2 Stock Doves and 1 Sedge Warbler
5th April 2008 The ringing totals included the first Sand Martins and Willow Warblers for the year and more Brambling from No3 bed.
Sightings include 5 Scaup, Red Kite, 4 Whimbrel, 1 Med. Gull and a Wheatear all from No3 bed, where there was also 100+ Sand Martins/hour moving north.
Sand Martins were also a feature of No1 bed, with over 100 feeding over the pools.
March 2008 Sightings
29th March 2008 Kieran took advantage of half-term week and he and
Stuart had ringing sessions on 25th and 27th as well as the regular morning session today. In total 45 new birds were rung, the highlight being
Woolston's second Dunlin which walked into a basket trap on the scrape almost the same as Woolston's first Dunlin in 2006, except that the little bugger was too light to set the trap off by tself. It took three hours of gentle “twinkling” and a pull chord to
eventually catch it. It was a remarkably tame bird, at times allowing approach to around 5 feet, so close in
fact that Kieran could hear it pecking at the mud. Bramblings continue to be seen around the bed in reasonable numbers and 12 new birds were ringed during the week. The other highlights were a late Redwing on 25th, two new Willow Tits and the first capture in the new 'double' net , aka the canopy net. The bird was a returning ringed Chiffchaff, one of two such 'phloscs' caught this week.
Sightings included a Green Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Lapwing and Dunlin (27th), 9 Sand Martins and 2 House
Martins ( 29th) and 3 Scaup and an unusual sighting of a Pinkfooted Goose on the water with two Greylags (29th).
John and Tony arrived late to number one bed to do some work, sightings included two House Martin.
15th March 2008 Only ringing on No1, this weekend, with the first Chiffchaffs in and a new Yellowhammer ringed. Sightings included a Sandwich Tern, flying west along MSC and two flocks of Lesser Redpolls, on No1 and No3.
8th March 2008 The breezy weather restricted the ringing to the more sheltered feeding stations, reducing the potential catch although another Brambling was caught on No3 bed, their ninth of the year, so far', but two teal managed to escape from the duck trap on the same bed, and four different Great Spotted Woodpeckers were retrapped.
Sightings included (all No1 bed) 1 Merlin, 14 Snipe (including a drumming bird), 1 Woodcock and a Red-legged Partridge, only the third record for the reserve after two records on No3 bed in 2005.
1st March 2008 No mist netting this weekend due to the breezy conditions, although the No3 bed team managed to catch a Mallard in their duck trap.
Not many sightings to report, although a Stonechat was on No1 bed on 27th and there were a few Snipe about.
February 2008 Sightings
23rd February 2008 A quiet day, but another two Brambling caught on No3 bed.
Sightings included: Woodcock and four Yellowhammer on No1 bed, eight Woodcock on No2, Water Rail, 15 Goldfinches on No3 along with potential breeders Grey Heron and Lapwing, an early Common Sandpiper along the canal and two Mediterranean Gulls on the old Richmond works site.
16th February 2008 The team on No1 bed caught their first Willow Tit of the year, while the guys on No3 bed caught another three Brambling, 9 Chaffinches and their first Greenfinches of the year (10).
Sightings included a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near No1 bed along with a Chiffchaff in the eastern reedbed.
9th February 2008 4 Scaup were seen on No 3 bed today, 3 males and a female, at lunch time they were showing well in front of the John Morgan Hide. Up to 4 Brambling were seen on the feeders at the Frank Linley along with the very regular Willow Tit. Several people have seen a small flock of Redpoll and Siskin.
The ringing team on No3 bed did well, although only catching seven new birds, their catch included 1 Coal Tit (just about annual on Ringing Totals) and two Brambling. The team on No1 caught their secon Woodpigeon of the year along with a Goldfinch and two Goldcrests.
Sightings included a 1st winter Glaucous Gull over No1 and 2 Buzzards, 8 Siskins and 6 Bramblings all on No3.
January 2008 Sightings
26th January 2008 Ringing took place on No1 bed on both Friday and Saturday with No3 bed being worked on the Saturday only. The conditions were windier than hoped for, although the feeding station on No1 did well with 53 birds caught, including two new Yellowhammers and a new Goldcrest, while the team on No3 bed caught four new birds, including a Coot and a new Water Rail.
Sightings included:
No1 bed: 300 Jackdaw, 1 Snipe, 20 Long-tailed Tits, Firecrest, 1 Chiffchaff, a Little Grebe (trilling) and two Skylarks.
No3 bed: 1 Jack Snipe, 5 Snipe, 2 Woodcocks, 2 Tawny Owls, 1 Pintail and a Ruddy Duck.
19th January 2008 The only sighting of note was the Firecrest, still on No1 bed.
12th January 2008 The highlight of this two week period was the male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker caught on No1 bed, the first since 2000, and only the fifth to be ringed at the Eyes. The Firecrest from before Christmas was retrapped on 5th, while Water Rail and Moorhen were both ringed on No3.
Sightings were restricted to a small flock of Siskins on Butchersfield Tip and two Woodcock on the track to No1 bed.
December 2007 Sightings
1st December 2007 Tom Westhead had a session on No1 on Monday 26th November, catching the ninth Yellowhammer of the year there.
The following Saturday was very quiet, with only 12 new birds ringed, including the fourth Magpie for No1 bed this year.
Sightings were also restricted, with a Curlew flying over both beds 1 and 3, while No3 bed also produced 4 Snipe, 1 Tawny Owl and 2 Lesser Redpolls.
8th December 2007
A small amount of ringing took place on No1 bed on Friday, while there were sessions on Nos 1 and 3 on the Saturday morning. A total of 28 new birds were ringed, with the winter crop on No3 bed producing the best results.
Sightings included a Firecrest on No1 on the Friday, while birds counted going to roost on the bed included 500+ Starlings and 50+ Magpies. Sightings on the Saturday included a tawny Owl by the second barrier and a Woodcock and Chiffchaff on No1. No3 bed sightings included 2 Water Rail and a Tawny Owl.
15th December 2007
A new ringing species for Woolston and two new species for the year was the reward for the teams at the Eyes on Saturday. Kieran managed to 'rush' a Canada Goose into the new duck trap on No3 bed, while a Brambling was caught amongst the Chaffinches on the same bed, the winter crop there proving to be a great success with masses of finches and buntings making use of it. The highlight on No1 bed was a stunning male Firecrest with another one calling nearby.
Sightings on No3 bed included Tawny Owl, small numbers of Redwings and unusually for No3 bed, 3 Kestrels in the air together.
31st December 2007 Highlights of the past two weeks include the first water rails to be ringed this year and another four Moorhens and the second Brambling (all on No3).
Sightings included a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on No3 and the Firecrest still present on No1.
November 2007 Sightings
20th October to 3rd November A total of 182 birds ringed with 83 0n No1 bed and 99 on No3, highlights included 5 Snipe and 4 Redwing on No3 along with and extraordinary 15 Bullfinches caught ther over two Saturday mornings. The birds on No1 included there first Coal Tit of the year and their 2nd - 5th Meadow Pipits, while Lesser Redpolls continue to be caught with 20 ringed across the reserve in the period.
Sightings include:
No1 bed: 3 Whooper Swans, 1 Pink-footed Goose, 2 Woodcocks, 1 Jack Snipe, 1 martin sp (probably House) on 29th, female Stonechat and a Chiffchaff.
No3 bed: 2 Pintail, 2 Jack Snipe, 8 Snipe, 1 Woodcock, 1 Buzzard, 1 Tawny Owl, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 3 Chiffchaffs, 40 Fieldfares (roost), 300 Redwings and 6 min. Bearded Tits.
10th November
A breezy morning, but still one or two spots where nets could be put up out of the wind. Ringing took place on beds 1 and 3, and a total of just 17 new birds were ringed, the highlight being a new Willow Tit on No3.
Sightings were also few and far between, but included (all No1 bed) 1 Woodcock, 1 Jack Snipe and 1 Merlin.
17th November 63 new birds ringed including Blackcap (No3 bed) and Chiffchaff (No 1 bed), while the No3 bed Cetti's Warbler was caught again after a gap of six weeks. Six Lesser Redpolls, also on No3 was a good total and one of the Chaffinches, a male, with a 94mm wing was considered a probable continental bird.
The seeded area of No3 produced sightings of a Yellowhammer and four Bramblings, whilst other sightings there included Water Rail, 1 Jack Snipe, 1 Woodcock, 8 Snipe and a Tawny Owl.
Sightings on No1 bed included 4 Water rails, 8 Snipe, Merlin and 2 Sparrowhawks.
24th November A quiet morning with rain from 09.00. Very few sightings, but included small flocks of Fieldfare flying over No1 bed.
October 2007 Sightings
5th October 2007 The weather was a little too excellent over Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with no wind but bright sunshine. Still, and excellent catch was had with 186 new birds ringed and four species added to the 2007 ringing list.
The team on No1 bed ringed 113 birds including Green Woodpecker (the first one to be ringed for two years), Meadow Pipit (first of the year) and Yellow-browed Warbler (third record for the reserve, second to be ringed), the latter bird being the first bird to be caught over the weekend. Top species was Greenfinch with 34 new followed by Lesser Redpoll with 21, eight Chiffchaffs and 12 Goldcrests were also good totals.
The No3 bed team ringed 73 new birds, including the first Cetti's Warbler of the year (fourth ringing record), in view of the sightings earlier this year and last year, could there be a be a hidden breeding population on the reserve? Three Reed Warblers and four Lesser Redpolls were also ringed here, along with five Redwings and five Song Thrushes.
Sightings included:
No1 bed: 3 Tawny Owls, 1 Coal Tit, 2 Little Grebes, a late Whitethroat, and 1 female Wigeon. Visible passage included: 100+ Skylarks, 25 Meadow Pipits, 5 Grey Wagtails, 10 Redwing and 8 Siskin.
No3 bed: 9 Snipe, 1 Buzzard, 1 Tawny Owl and 1 Siskin.
12th October 2007 A little quieter this weekend, although an interesting retrap was a Reed Warbler caught on No1 with a fat score of 6 and weighing in at 14.8 grms.
Other warblers were few and far between, although three Magpies were caught, not quite as good as the Yellow-browed and Cetti's warblers of the week before!
Not much on the sightings front, either, with a light visible passage of Skylarks (approx. 100) over No1 and 15 Snipe on No3 bed scrape along with a male Wigeon on the river there.
September 2007 Bird Sightings
1st September 2007 The ringing team on No1 had a quiet time with 60 new birds ringed, including 3 Goldcrests and a variety of warblers, while the centre of No3 bed provided the team there with 133 new birds, including 97 warblers, of which an amazing 60 were Blackcaps and 17 Chiffchaffs.
There were few sightings of note, although the migration watch team counted 22 Buzzards from the top of Butchersfield Tip.
15th September 2007 These notes cover the last two weeks.
The team on number three bed have continued to have a
good run of Blackcaps with another sixty-nine being ringed. They also managed a good day (by their standards) with thrushes on the 15th with 6 blackbirds and three sonth. Sightings wise, not much, but Tawny Owl calling in the copse and Badger.
David faired less well ringing 27 new birds during the first weekend though 17 of these were warblers.
John and Tony managed 57 new birds for the two weeks which included 5 Lesre from a flock of about 25 birds. Sightings including the first Woodcock of the year disturbed below the tip, along with two Snipe and two Grey Wagtails on the pools.
22nd September 2007 Just the team on No3 ringing, catching an excellent 51 new warblers out of 95 new birds.
29th September 2007 Excellent weather conditions Friday afternoon and Saturday morning made the session most enjoyable with 174 new birds ringed.
The team on No1 bed, present both days catching 114 new birds including 7 Reed Warblers, 26 Chiffchaffs, 8 Goldcrests and 15 Lesser Redpolls, while the No.3 bed team caught 60 new birds on the Saturday morning, including their first Woodpigeon of the year, four Blackcaps and a further three Bullfinches.
Sightings from No1 bed included; 1 Water Rail, 2 Tawny Owls, 4 Snipe, 5 Buzzards, 2 Sparrowhawks, 3 Mistle Thrushes and a Green Woodpecker. Visible passage included: 20 House Martins, 50+ Swallows, 50+ Skylarks, 10 Grey Wagtails, 2 Pied Wagtails, 30+ Meadow Pipits, 11 Lapwing, 3 Collared Doves, 20 Redwings, 2 Siskin, 20 Goldfinch and 20+ Lesser Redpolls.
August 2007 Bird Sightings
4th August 2007 An excellent week's ringing with 591 birds ringed across the reserve. Highlights included 151 Swallows and 27 Sand Martins caught in the centre of No3 bed, where a roost of 1000 or so has built up, 59 Reed Warblers, 24 Blackcaps, 63 Chiffchaffs and 37 Willow Warblers. Bullfinches are still being caught in good numbers with 14 new birds ringed during the week including 10 on No1 bed, although Blue and Great Tits are only being caught in low numbers.
Sightings included Hobbys over both No1 and 3, Green Woodpeckers on No1 and by the main track near the Old Pumphouse, Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail both over No1.
11th August 2007 The team on No3 bed had two successful mid-week catches of Swallows, followed by a reasonable catch on the Saturday morning, which included 60 Greenfinches. The No1 bed team caught 134 new birds over the Friday afternoon/Saturday morning session, including 3 Lesser Whitethroats and six Garden Warblers, while David Norman, working the east bank of No3 bed caught 71 new birds including 18 Reed Warblers and 15 Chiffchaffs.
Sightings included tawny Owls on Nos 1 and 3 beds, with up to 1000 Swallows roosting on No3.
18th August 2007 Of note, excellent hirundine roost on No3 bed and the first Tree Pipits caught on No1 bed for a while.
Sightings include two Hobbies and a flock of 35 Lapwings - both on No3 bed.
25th August 2007 299 new birds were ringed during the week up to 25th. The size of the Swallow roost on No3 has reduced, with only 300 birds or so present, resulting in the reduced catch of 61 birds. 55 Blackcaps were ringed, with good numbers across the reserve, and the three Kingfishers caught by John Blundell and Tony Davies by the west pool on No1 bed were the first for the year.
Sightings included single Hobbys on Nos 1 and 3, Peregrine on No1 along with Tawny Owl, while 80+ House Martins and 2 Curlew were seen on No3. Sighting of the week was probably the five Kestrels soaring over No1 along with a Buzzard and a Raven!
July 2007 Bird Sightings
7th July 2007 The team on No3 bed had an excellent Saturday morning, catching 179 birds (136 new), including superb numbers of Wrens (15) along with juvenile Great-spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Willow Tit and 2 Jays.
The teams working beds 2 and 1 had much quieter sessions, although, again, good numbers of Wrens were caught.
There were no real sightings of note.
14th July 2007 Good numbers of birds again ringed at the Eyes, including 21 Willow Warblers on No1 bed 13 Blackcaps on No3 bed.
Sightings included 2 Ravens, 2 Grasshopper Warblers and 2 Grey Partridges all on No1.
21st July 2007 Rain again interrupted the ringing session over the weekend, with 56 new birds ringed on No1 bed including a juvenile Yellowhammer and an excellent 17 Sedge Warblers. 45 of the new birds were warblers, 80% of the total.
44 new birds were ringed on No3 bed, including an astonishing 11 Bullfinches (out of 20 caught!), along with 2 Jays, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a Treecreeper.
28th July 2007 376 birds were ringed over the period, the highest weekly total of the year.
130 new birds were ringed on No1 bed during Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, including 88 warblers, of note were 28 Reed Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers and 22 Willow Warblers, while single Blue and Great Tits was an indication of the poor breeding season for these species.
David Norman had his first session of the year on the east side of No3 bed, after opening his rides he caught 9 new birds, including eight warblers.
The team working the centre of No3 had an excellent session on Tuesday 24th as well as the weekend, resulting in a superb catch of 237 new birds for the week, including 144 warblers. They caught their first Swallows of the year as they left their roost, while the warbler total included 14 Sedge Warblers, 60 Reed Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and 28 Chiffchaffs.
Sightings included a Little Owl on No1 and three Ravens soaring over No3 bed.
June 2007 Bird Sightings
1st and 9th June 2007 Numbers of juveniles are steadily increasing, with the first Coal Tit and juvenile Willow tits caught on No3 bed. A Garden Warbler with brood patch trapped on No1 bed. The first free flying Lapwing for a number of years was caught on No3.
Not many sightings to report, other than Stock Doves and a House Sparrow both seen on No3, both unusual sightings there.
16th June 2007 Rain during Friday evening and Saturday morning restricted the ringing activities to 4 hours on No1 bed during Friday afternoon and 4 hours on No2 bed on the Saturday morning. A good flock of Long-tailed tits was caught on No1, while the only sighting of note was a 2nd summer Mediterranean Gull on No3.
23rd June 2007 The Thunder storms on Friday reduced the ringing opportunities, with only 14 or so birds caught on No1 bed. Saturday morning proved to be much better, with overcast conditions and little wind. Alan Hitchmough and Dave Riley caught 58 new birds on No1 bed, including the first Starling to be ringed for two years, and their first Willow Tit of the year, along with their second Sand Martin and Juvenile lesser Whitethroat and Goldcrest.
30 birds were ringed by the No3 bed team, including two Willow Tits and their second and third Willow Warblers of the year.
Sightings included 2 Water Rails on No1 and 2 Wigeon on No3 along with good numbers of Black-necked Grebes.
30th June 2007 For the third week in succession, rain spoiled the ringing activities, with light showers from 04.40 on the Saturday morning, restricting the time with the nets open to less than 4 hours on No1 bed. Reasonable numbers of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs where caught there, while Swallow, Magpie and Linnet were added to their annual ringing list.
Sightings were minimal, with a Pochard brood and Barn Owl seen on No1 and 2 Mediterranean Gulls on No3.
May 2007 Bird Sightings
12th May 2007 Sightings included ten species of warbler recorded on No1 bed on Friday afternoon, possibly a first for the reserve? An outbreak of excitement occurred on No3 bed, when Dave Steel found a Swift sp. with a white rump over No3 bed, but after it was scoped, it was identified as an aberrant Common Swift. Cuckoos were recorded on all three beds, while swifts were present in good numbers and a Hobby was seen flying from No3 bed over to No2.
19th May 2007 Breezy conditions restricted the ringing session on both days, but good numbers of pullus tits were ringed, particularly on No3 bed. New species caught for the year included 2 Goldfinch on No2 bed and a Grasshopper Warbler on No1.
Good numbers of Swifts were present on No1 on the Friday, while Wheatears and Lesser Whitethroats were both noted on Nos 1 and 2 on the Saturday. An excellent count of eight Water Rails was made, also on No1 bed, on the Saturday.
26th May 2007 A reasonable session with the catch of juvenile birds increasing by the week, highlights included a Lesser Whitethroat with a brood patch on No1 along with the first Sand Martin of the year and two juvenile Goldcrests on No2. Excellent numbers of Reed Warblers were caught on both beds 2 and 3, while two broods of Long-tailed Tits (totalling 21 birds) were caught on No3.
Sightings included Cuckoos on beds 1 (1 bird) and 3 (2) and a third juvenile Goldcrest on No1, also of interest was a Long-eared Bat caught in the nets on No1 and successfully released.
April 2007 Bird Sightings
7th & 8th April 2007 The recent fine weather has seen the arrival of spring migrants with the first Willow Warblers and Blackcaps reported this weekend. Black-necked Grebes have increased to 12 and 3 Little Gulls were on No.3 bed on 8th April. A Great White Egret flew over the Reserve on 7th and a survey on 4th produced 46 singing Chiffchaffs.
Butterflies have been present in good numbers with up to 20 Peacocks and similar numbers of Small Tortoiseshell. The first orange Tip was seen on 4th April and a male Brimstone on 6th was the first of the year. So far seven different species have been reported.
Sightings include the following:
No1: 07/04: 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 10 Redwing, 9 Sand Martin
No3: 07/04: 1 Woodcock, 1 Common Gull, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Bearded Tit
No3: 08/04: 3 adult Little Gulls, 2 singing Willow Warblers
13th & 14th April 2007 42 new birds ringed across the reserve, with 23 caught on No1 bed. Amongst the highlights here were 15 Willow Warblers - the first this year - including 9 retraps from previous years. 3 Lesser Redpolls were also caught, including a fine male originally ringed on the bed four years ago.
John Blundell and Tony Davis caught 10 new birds on No2 bed, including 2 Chiffchaffs and three Blackcaps, while the team working on No3 bed caught 27 birds of which nine were new, including the reserve's first Magpie of the year and a further three Blackcaps.
Sightings included:
No1 bed: 2 Shelduck, 9 Snipe (including 5 leaving the reed bed at dusk), 1 Whimbrel, 2 Curlew, 3 Water Rails, 10 Sand Martins, 3 Swallows, 3 Blackcap, 30 (min.) Willow Warblers and 1 Coal Tit
No3 bed: 2 Shelduck, 1 Buzzard, 3 Lapwings on the scrape, including display, Mediterranean Gull, 6 Little Gulls (incl. 5 adults) and 2 Skylarks flying east, also seen were the first Orange Tip butterflies.
20th & 21st April 2007 More migrants in this week, with Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff caught. Also of note were single Snipe (No1 bed) and Willow Tit (No3 bed), both ringed.
Sightings included (max. counts over the two days):
No1 bed: 4 Water Rails, Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, 2 Tawny Owls, 2 Wheatears, 1 male Cetti's Warbler, 4 Grasshopper Warblers, 1 each of Reed and Sedge Warblers, 10 Blackcaps and 2 Whitethroat.
No3 bed: 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Swift, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Reed Warblers, 1 Whitethroat.
March 2007 Bird Sightings
2nd March 2007 Generally a quiet session, the only surprise being four different Great Spotted Woodpeckers caught at the feeding station on No1 bed on Saturday - 2 males and 2 females.
Sightings included: The 'sinensis' type Cormorant, 4 Buzzards, Peregrine, 2 Grey Partridge, 2 Water Rails, 100+ Fieldfare and 100+ Redwing (roosting), a Cetti's Warbler (singing) and an over flying Brambling.
10th March 2007 39 new birds were ringed at the Eyes over the weekend. The highlight of the 19 new birds caught on No1 was a new Yellowhammer - the seventh of the year, while Reed Buntings are still being caught in reasonable numbers.
John Blundell and Tony Davis caught seven new birds on No2 bed, including the second Song Thrush of the year for them and the reserve. 29 birds were caught on No3 bed, of which 13 were new, including their first Jay of the year, while a male Sparrowhawk (originally ringed during 2006) was also caught.
Sightings included:
No1 bed Friday 9th - 2 Woodcock, 50+ Fieldfare and 12 Redwing.
Saturday - 1 Curlew, 1 Oystercatcher, 2 Snipe, 1 Woodcock, 1 Peregrine, 6 Buzzards, 2 singing Cetti's Warblers and 2 Bearded Tits.
No3 bed Saturday - 3 Buzzards, 3 Water Rails calling, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 male Bearded Tits and 1 Siskin.
17th March 2007
Ringing took place on No1 bed on Friday and Saturday, with the weather conditions on the first day allowing a slightly better catch. A total of 16 new birds were caught, including 11 Greenfinches, although the first bird caught on Saturday morning was a returning Chiffchaff, originally ringed as a 3j on 8th July 2006.
John Blundell and Tony Davis operated on No2 bed on Saturday, catching nine new birds, including the first Chiffchaff of the year, quickly followed by the second.
Sightings included the following:
No1 bed (16th): 4 Buzzards, 2 Snipe, 2 Grey Wagtails, 4 Fieldfare and 1 Chiffchaff (17th): 5 Grey Lag Geese, 2 Peregrines, 5 Buzzards, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Kestrels, 1 Woodcock, 1 Grey Wagtail, 5 Redwing, 1 Yellowhammer.
No2 bed (17th): 3 Goosanders flying along MSC, 15 Redwings leaving roost at dawn along south bank.
24th March 2007 Ringing took place on No1 bed on Friday and Saturday. A total of 22 new
birds were caught, including 12 Greenfinches.
John Blundell and Tony Davis operated on No2 bed on Saturday, catching seven
new birds.
15 new birds were trapped on No 3 bed including the first Chiffchaff ( plus
a second retrapped) and the first Song Thrush of the year.
Sightings information is restricted to No3 bed and included 1 Jack Snipe, 2
Buzzards, 3 Water Rails, a Green Woodpecker (rare on No3), 3 different mink and the sunshine encouraged Comma and Peacock butterflies onto the wing.
31st March 2007 Sightings include the following:
No1: 1 Nuthatch, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 30 Redwing.
February 2007 Bird Sightings
3rd February 2007 An excellent session with over 100 birds ringed for the first time this year.
Dave Riley and Alan Hitchmough operated No1 bed, catching 96 birds (37 new), including 10 Chaffinch, 2 Yellowhammers and 14 Reed Buntings, while John Blundell and Tony Davis caught 12 new birds on No2, including a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
The team on No3 did exceptionally well, catching 118 birds (74 new), including a female Mallard, 10 Chaffinch, 41 Greenfinch and 12 Reed Buntings, they have now caught 2 more Reed Buntings during 2007 than they did for the whole of 2006.
Few sightings of note including the first returning Little Grebe and singing Yellowhammer - both on No1 and single Snipe and Sparrowhawk on No3.
10th February 2007 A quieter morning than the previous week, although the team on No3 did very well with the water birds, catching a Mallard, Moorhen and two Coot.
Not many sightings of note.
17th February 2007 A quietish weekend produced the third Coot of the year, on No3 and the fourth Yellowhammer, on No1, along with excellent numbers of Reed Buntings and Chaffinches.
Sightings included:
No1: 2 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Peregrine, 4 Buzzards, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Green Woodpeckers (displaying), 4 Collared Doves, 12 Skylarks, 60 Redwings and 2 Cetti's Warblers.
No2: 1 Buzzard, possible Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and 5 Bullfinches
No3: 1 Buzzard and 2 male Bearded Tits
24th February 2007 A reasonably successful Friday/Saturday session on No1 bed with 37 birds ringed including 2 Yellowhammers and 11 Reed Buntings, while John Blundell and Tony Davis caught 4 new birds on No2 bed including their first Treecreeper.
Tree felling around the nets in the centre of No3 bed had an adverse effect on the ringing, with 11 new birds ringed, including a Moorhen and a Willow Tit.
Sightings included:
No1 bed: Friday: 2 Little Grebes trilling, 100+ fieldfare and 26 Redwing roosting.
Saturday: 'Sinensis' type Cormorant on the canal, Goosander, Goldeneye (on west pool), male and female Peregrine
No3 bed: 2 Greylag Geese, 2 Water Rails and a Ramshorn Snail.
Common Toads were seen on Nos 1 and 3.
January 2007 Sightings
6th January 2007 A quiet morning's ringing across the three beds, although six new Reed Buntings were caught on each of beds 1 and 3, while a new Great Spotted Woodpecker was a surprise on No1, along with two re-trapped birds.
Not much to report in the sightings, with three Woodcock, 1 Snipe and 35 Redwings (flying south) reported from No1 bed.
13th January 2007 The breezy conditions didn't help the ringing teams on Saturday, but some nice birds were caught.
No1 bed: Dave Riley, Helen Williams and Roger Short (visiting from Devon) caught seven new birds, including a Great Spotted Woodpecker and two Redwings, they also caught the first Yellowhammer of the winter, a male originally ringed in early 2006.
No2 bed: John Blundell and Tony Davis caught five new birds which included the first Goldcrests for the reserve this year.
No3 bed: The team here were busy coppicing, but managed to catch 10 new birds including a female Sparrowhawk and seven new Reed Buntings, bringing the latter species to 13 for 2007, an excellent number considering they only caught 36 for the whole of 2006.
Sightings included:
No1: 1 male Peregrine, 8 Meadow Pipits, 14 Skylarks, 50+ Redwing (roosting), 25 Fieldfare, 2 Cetti's Warblers (both singing), 5 Lesser Redpolls and 1 Siskin.
No3: 1 Woodcock and four Lesser Redpolls.
20th January 2007 Breezy conditions restricted activities on beds 1 and 2, with no new birds caught on No1 and only 2 new Great Tits on No2. The team on the more sheltered No3 bed fared better, with 35 new birds over two sessions on Saturday and Sunday. The Budgie Mix, put out at the feeding station, continues to attract Reed Buntings, with an excellent 13 new birds caught, while, unusually for this time of the year, 13 new tits were ringed (6 Blue and 7 Great).
Sightings include:
No1 bed: 1 Woodcock, 2 Green Woodpeckers and 1 Cetti's Warbler.
No2 bed: 1 Woodcock
27th January 2007 A better weekend with 60 birds ringed, with good variety.
The No1 bed team caught 20 new birds including a male Sparrowhawk, 2 Redwings, 2 Linnets and a Yellowhammer, although finch numbers were low generally.
John Blundell and Tony Davis were rewarded with a Great Spotted Woodpecker and three new Robins on No 2 while the team on No3 caught 38 new birds, including Willow Tit and Treecreeper. Robins were caught in good numbers with 7 birds ringed, perhaps females arriving back?
Sightings included:
No1: 2 Peregrine (1 Male - different to the usual, 1 Female), 3 Water Rails, 3 Lesser Redpolls, 3 Yellowhammers and a Nuthatch (Woolston rarity)
No3: A mixed flock of finches reported from the centre of the bed including, Goldfinches, Siskins and Lesser Redpolls.
