First quarter summary

I've had a very quiet first three months of the year on the ringing front, due to other work taking precedence. Hopefully things will be getting back to normal from now on.

My ringing totals for the year so far are listed below, with retraps shown in brackets:

Wren 1
Dunnock (+1)
Robin 1
Blackbird 2
Song Thrush 1
Cetti's Warbler 1
Long-tailed Tit 1 (+1)
Marsh Tit (+1)
Coal Tit 4 (+1)
Blue Tit 20 (+16)
Great Tit 8 (+3)
Nuthatch (+1)
Chaffinch 1
Reed Bunting 9
Total 49 (+24), Grand Total 73

Of the 73 birds processed, 35 were caught at Bromham Mill, 16 at Marston Vale Millennium Country Park and 22 at Bedfordshire Golf Club, Stagsden.

2011 - a good year, let's hope for even better things in 2012

On Saturday 31st December, I paid a short visit to Marston Vale Millennium Country Park. Only two birds caught - a retrap Blue Tit (ringed on 19/11/11) and an unringed male Bearded Tit. There were some nice birds around: a female Sparrowhawk flew across the reed bed, a Cetti's Warbler sang briefly, 36 Fieldfare flew west, a Grey Wagtail flew over on many occasions (not sure if there was just one particularly active bird or several birds). Over 100 Lapwings were on the Pillinge, together with a few Little Grebes and some Tufted Ducks.

My December ringing totals were low, a combination of wind, rain and Christmas (retraps are shown in brackets):

• Wren 1 (+1)


• Dunnock 1


• Robin 4 (+1)


• Bearded Tit 1


• Marsh Tit 2


• Blue Tit 18 (+8)


• Great Tit 1


• Chaffinch 1 (+1)


• Goldfinch 1


• Bullfinch 2


• Reed Bunting 3


• Total: 35 ringed + 11 retraps.

Of the 35 birds ringed, 20 were ringed at Bromham Mill, 9 at Marston Vale and 6 at Bedfordshire Golf Club, Stagsden.

Overall I've had a very interesting year, ringing-wise. Highlights were: ringing of Swallow pulli at farms and stables in the Bedford area; being given permission to ring at Marston Vale Millennium Country Park and also at Harrold-Odell Country Park; first nestbox ringing at Bedfordshire Golf Club. At Marston this led to ringing Swallows, Sand Martins and Yellow Wagtails on summer evenings, along with good numbers of Sedge and Reed Warblers during the day; in the autumn the focus changed to ringing Reed Buntings as they went to roost, plus ringing 4 Cetti's Warblers and 2 Bearded Tits.

My top ten species for the year were as follows:

• Swallow 145 fledged + 133 pulli = 278 ringed


• Blue Tit 183 fledged + 44 pulli = 227 ringed (+ 43 retraps)


• Great Tit 92 fledged + 42 pulli = 134 ringed (+ 22 retraps)


• Reed Warbler 45 ringed (+1 retrap + 1 control caught twice)


• Dunnock 16 ringed (+ 15 retraps)


• Reed Bunting 27 ringed


• Long-tailed Tit 21 ringed (+6 retraps)


• Wren 22 ringed (+3 retraps)


• Sedge Warbler 23 ringed (+1 retrap)


• Robin 18 ringed (+5 retraps)

Other species processed (ringed and/or retrapped) in 2011 were: Mute Swan, Sparrowhawk, Lapwing, Wood Pigeon, Tawny Owl, Swift, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sand Martin, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing, Cetti's Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jackdaw, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Bullfinch and Yellowhammer.

The total numbers of fledged birds ringed was 751, plus 224 pulli ringed, 116 retraps/controls. Grand total of 1091 birds of 44 species.

November round-up

November has been interesting, but also challenging. Strong winds have either prevented ringing on some occasions, or restricted what had been planned. With the leaves fast coming off the trees, some sites are becoming more exposed to the wind and less attractive to birds. The numbers of birds ringed and the variety of species handled hides several sessions that resulted in no birds processed or just a few.

During this month, I've ringed at Bromham Mill, Bedfordshire Golf Club at Stagsden, Harrold-Odell Country Park and Marston Vale Millennium Country Park. The total numbers of birds ringed during these sessions are listed below, with retraps shown in brackets.

• Great Spotted Woodpecker 1


• Wren 8 (+2)


• Dunnock (+1)


• Robin 1 (+1)


• Blackbird 1


• Cetti's Warbler 4 (+1)


• Blackcap 1


• Bearded Tit 1


• Long-tailed Tit 7


• Coal Tit (+2)


• Blue Tit 47 (+7)


• Great Tit 14 (+3)


• Nuthatch 2


• Chaffinch 1


• Goldfinch 3


• Reed Bunting 10


• Total 101 (+17), Grand Total of 118 birds of 16 species

Most of the retraps were birds ringed this summer or autumn; the two exceptions to this were:

• A Great Tit ringed at Bromham Mill on 7/12/10 and retrapped for the first time since then on 12/11/11.


• A Great Tit ringed at Bedfordshire Golf Club, Stagsden, on 26/10/10 and retrapped there on 20/11/11.

Thank you to the other ringers and helpers for their assistance during November. Let's hope the weather allows us to get out and about during December.

5 weeks to Christmas - no-one's told the Dragonflies

Another ringing trip to Marston Vale Millennium Country Park on Saturday afternoon, 19th November. First thing I saw were a couple of Dragonflies. Don't they know Christmas is just one month away? It was a beautiful, calm, afternoon, with the temperature dropping and fog appearing at dusk.

A very successful ringing session:

• Wren 2 (+ 1 retrap, ringed in October 2011)


• Long-tailed Tit 7


• Blue Tit 11


• Great Tit 2


• Cetti's Warbler 1


• Reed Bunting 9


• Blackbird 1


• Total 33 (+ 1 retrap)

The black head covering of male Reed Buntings is beginning to emerge, as the brown tips to the feathers wear away. Thank to Neil Wright for the photos below, with a male (top and centre) and a female (below).

A Sparrowhawk flew over and about 20 Lapwings. Yet again no Geese at all. Thank you to Neil for helping.

On Sunday 20th November, David and I ringed at Bedfordshire Golf Club, Stagsden. It was a foggy, damp, morning and the sun didn't break through into about midday. A bacon bap from the Halfway House was very welcome! Totals ringed were:

• Robin (+1 retrap, ringed in December 2010)


• Goldfinch 1


• Nuthatch 1 (pictured right with David and also below)


• Great Tit 1 (+ retrap, ringed in October 2010)



• Total 3 (+ 2 retraps)

We saw one or more Great Spotted Woodpeckers and several Treecreeepers. A flock of at least 10 Long-tailed Tits came through the wood.

Tits finished - now for the Swallows

Over the past couple of weeks I've ringed broods of Blue Tits and Great Tits at Parkwood Local Nature Reserve in Brickhill, Bedfordshire Golf Club at Stagsden and at Bromham Mill - totalling 42 pulli Great Tits and 45 pulli Blue Tits.

The photo on the left is of two Blue Tits from a brood of 9. I ringed 8 of them - the one on the left was typical of these; on the right is a much smaller individual, commonly called a 'runt' it is unlikely to survive as it is likely to lose out when competing for attention from its parents.

That is the last of the pullus Tits for this year, so now it is on to Swallows. Some of the first broods have hatched recently and will be ready for ringing within the week.

I've also ringed a pullus Jackdaw - the pair had filled up the bottom of a Kestrel nest box with large sticks, leaving a deep depression at the back for the young bird to sit in.

[Sorry for the poor quality of the photographs here - my new phone seems to have a much worse camera than the previous one]