Monday 1 February 2010

Long-tailed tits survive well


Heysham Obs
Long-tailed Tit
Change your habits and hit the bird feeders. This is what Long-tailed Tits have done over the last few winters and it has really paid dividends with survival this winter. The January 10km square survey revealed a good number and the two ringing sessions next to the office (today and 13th January) have seen a total of 10 different local birds, all already bearing rings from here & most, as you would expect, from 2009.

Ocean Edge
The Snipe run was mistimed with just 11 Common remaining on a tide which was already well in
Linnet - one in Ocean Edge

Ringing
As is usual this time of year, the start of the Greenfinch influx with 5 unringed birds trapped along with single unringed Blue Tit, Song Thrush, Great Tit, Chaffinch (an unringed Blue Tit escaped!)

The cannon-netting at the heliport (see photo - thanks Ian) was successful with 534 ringed and 35 already ringed, either at Heysham or elsewhere. The catch including an Icelandic colour-ringed bird. Provisional info on the catch as follows (thanks Richard):

One cannon-netted in 1982 Wrangle Tofts (Lincolnshire)
One similarly in 1993 Friskney Marsh (Lincolnshire)
One probably from Alftanes 64, 05N, 22, 00 W (Iceland)
One likely to have been ringed as a chick somewhere in the British Isles!One ringed as a chick on the Isle of Mull in June 1984 and caught at Heysham on 12/12/08.

Retraps from Heysham: 19 from the cannon net catch on 12/12/2008, 10 from 01/02/2006 (one also retrapped 12/12/2008), one from 17/10/2001 (which was reringed 12/12/2008)

The age structure was interesting with ONLY ONE of last year's young and only 12 2008 young. The remainder were born in or prior to 2007.

Less useful was the last two numbers of a Danish-ringed Black-headed Gull on Middleton model boat pond - birds dont walk around on ice, so you only get one side of the ring!