Another pioneering step !

 From 2016 when our group got the first thermal imager (loaned to us by the West Midland Bird Club) which has started a growing trend of using these machines in ringing, birding and general wildlife study, we have been looking for another major project to carry on similar pioneering work.

So it was that a few weeks ago we became the first group to attach GPS''ultra'' tags onto Jack Snipe at our study sites. Unfortunately tags which are small enough for deployment on Jack Snipe, don't yet have the technology to send a continuous signal to a satellite to enable us to follow the birds as they move around and migrate. However they do collect GPS data from satellites and so they are very accurate; the main issue being that we need to re-catch the birds in order to take off the tags and and download the data.

We are still working on this, and sorting out some red tape around data storage--but as soon as I can I will publish this really innovative work; and give a flavour of what we have found. Below is a picture of one tag which gives an idea of how small ( 1.2 gm) they are--how on earth do they get all that technology into a tag that size?? It's even got a solar panel to charge it's battery!!

In another unexpected turn, Gareth finally got details of a Sedge Warbler he caught in the summer at his new ex quarry site. Here is a photo of the recovery form we get via the BTO....

It's probably difficult for you to read but in essence the bird was ringed on 8th August 2024 at a site on the estuary of the river Seine in France. Astonishingly the bird then flew NORTH for 386 km to be recaptured by Gareth on 20th August 2024! Quite why it flew the 'wrong' way is anyone's guess but it's just one of the mysteries of migration which so fascinates us. We hope it managed to re-orientate and find it's way to Africa--but we'll probably never know; unless it's caught again......

Group members have been working hard again and we have managed some good catches this month--especially of finches as their natural food runs out and feeding stations become more important to them. I hope to provide more information next time on this, but for now I want to show a couple of pictures of Siskins, which are starting to visit feeders around here ( as well as at Pat's Siskin City in mid-Wales!!). These pics show the difference between males ( top) and females....

We are noticing a big imbalance between lots of adult birds compared to very few juveniles This often means they have had a poor breeding season--we will need to see the wider data from around the country before we can be definitive about this. More news as I get it.

 

 

2024 up and running!!

 Another year with plenty of plans and enthusiasm is up and running, with over 600 new birds ringed during January. This number is yet again testament to the efforts of group members. We have not been blessed with good weather, evening thermal sessions have been hard work, and there seems to have been a general lack of birds available, so it's even more significant that we've done so well.

The main players have again been Paul at BPFarm with regular sessions for trainees, Pat out at Siskin City in mid Wales, Ben with a big catch at his parents' cottage; with Kevin, Gareth, Liz, Roy, Colin and Emma chipping in from their sites.
Liz has put in sterling work to get our 2023 annual report ready; which it is now and we will be making this available very soon.

Now for a few pictures......

I may have given the impression that Pat's mid Wales garden is only about Siskins--but although this is his main species, he is having a broader spectrum of birds calling at his feeders...

For instance this lovely male Brambling....

And this smart male Redpoll..

and just to show it's not only finches he attracts, this delightful Treecreeper has been a regular visitor, over the last 3 years

Paul has started to get a few Siskin at his feeders, as well as the more regular Yellowhammers that are a significant catch of this red data, declining species.....

Last but not least for now. It's always exciting when you manage to ring a bird of prey--but this is even more so when you're relatively newly qualified and it's on your own new site. Roy was ecstatic to catch this Sparrowhawk last week....

I've deliberately focussed on the bird's head because it shows 2 features. First you can see the brown feathers on the breast, which is a sign of an adult male bird, And the adult nature is further confirmed by the orange colour of the iris. Young Sparrowhawks have a yellow iris which mellows to this orange colour as the bird gets a bit older. Fabulous bird!.

We hope you enjoy reading the annual report which I hope will be available here very soon.

Annual Report almost ready

 It's always a big job compiling the annual report --especially with the limited IT skills I've got. I hope we can post it within the next couple of weeks--but in the meantime here's a flavour.....

BELVIDE RINGING

 GROUP

ANNUAL REPORT 2023

An Overview

To coin an oft used football phrase, 2023 was definitely a year of two halves for the group.

Although there were extra safety procedures in place because of Bird Flu, group members set off with determination and some really excellent results came through. Pat had an excellent spring at his mid-Wales garden with lots of Siskin—and a wider range of species as the year went on. At Brewood Park Farm, Paul had a few stunning days during March when a strong passage of Linnets in particular provided one of the few species with more individuals ringed than in 2022—by a long way!

On the flip side, the strong passage of Brambling in ’22 didn’t materialise, there were no suitable days when it was possible to catch and ring Swifts and the availability of ringers and good weather curtailed our  Gailey heronry visits to only one, with only a third of the chicks ringed compared to 2022. In terms of other breeding birds, the newly acquired Pied Flycatcher scheme resulted in around the same number of chicks ringed by Gareth and Kevin, and we were pleased that Paul managed access to a new Sand Martin colony. This is still a young colony in a new quarry, and we hope to see it grow over the coming years. Some of the buildings at Rodbaston college are clearly attractive for nesting House Sparrows and we managed to ring good numbers of nestlings. Now that we know more about this aspect at the college we’re hoping to do more in 2024.

So as we approached mid- year, it was looking as though our totals would be lower—but we were embarking on the most productive period when there are lots of young birds around, and many species are very active in their preparations for migration.

The post breeding period got off to a decent start at our sites, but unfortunately ringing at our main Belvide site was halted in early August. The result of this was a reduction in about 1500 birds from our annual total. By way of compensation though, a new site acquired by Gareth has all the hallmarks of being a major group site in the near future. Gareth is involved in the development of the site and he expects that next year, all being well he should ring even more than the 564 birds in 2023. The icing on his cake was a Sedge Warbler carrying a French ring (he hasn’t yet been sent the details), and at the end of the year he found and ringed a Jack Snipe on the site, and is already planning to improve the habitat for this elusive species.

The whole of the second half of 2023, can be characterised by lots of work with generally little reward. This is illustrated in the site and overall totals. I suggest that it is testament to the determination of group members, that our results are as good as they are. So many times trip reports came back with disappointment as the main theme.

So why was this? There are many known factors—and probably as many unknown factors. Group members were away for considerable periods of time—but overall not much more than most years. Reports from Shetland, Arctic Norway and Portugal make interesting reads. Several of us, including yours truly, lacked a degree of enthusiasm and others for a variety of reasons were unavailable. The weather proved a decisive factor especially towards the end of the year with wind and rain negatively affecting catch rates significantly. Catch rates during thermal imaging sessions were much lower than previous years, but we have no real idea why because exactly the same kit and methods were used. Finally, there were quite clearly, fewer birds around. To illustrate this, in the overall totals table below, you will see that this year we ringed 572 Redwing compared to last year’s 1467!! If anything we put in more effort this year, but they just were not around. Pete put in exactly the same effort into catching Redwing at his Chillington garden site but ringed only174, compared to 775 last year. So Redwing alone account for another 1000 shortfall in the group overall total.

There were some positives though. A new site at Broom Hall farm, delivered 29 Goldcrests and 103 Redwings in just a few visits so we hope to build on this next year. Paul managed to ring 101 Meadow Pipits during a short passage period, and regular sessions for trainees at the feeding stations resulted in over a thousand birds at Brewood Park Farm over the year. Newly qualified ringer Roy has taken on Church Farm and regular sessions there are beginning to have a very positive effect; as are sessions at Kingswood Trust, which scored with the group’s only free flying Kestrel of the year. Kevin worked hard to generate 461 birds at Wolverhampton Racecourse, as well as manfully travelling to Patshull at ridiculously early times in the mornings to maintain a foothold at that site. Bird flu restrictions at the site should mean we generate more records in 2024. We have established a presence at Chasewater, especially regarding the Jack Snipe roost there; as well as recruiting ranger Heather as a trainee. Kevin and Gareth have produced their Shetland report later, but they manner in which they handled the appearance of a very rare White’s Thrush on their site has drawn plaudits from all quarters and further cemented our relationship with the Shetland Ringing Group. In similar vein, Liz represented our team superbly again with her performance in Norway; and the Portuguese Ringing Scheme continues to be grateful for our efforts to improve their knowledge of the Algarve as a migration stop over site.

In addition to new birds we have had some interesting recoveries and controls set out after the ringing totals table.

So, in conclusion, Pete and I would like to thank all our landowners for their access and support. Our families and friends who put up with the ridiculous time we devote to our hobby. And especially the members of the group who have worked hard all year-with great spirit-to ensure that Belvide Ringers remains a vibrant, forward looking group. In that context we are all looking forward to 2024, and I hope to be reporting more positively in next year’s annual report.

 

Blackbird	83
Blackcap	499
Blue Tit	789
Brambling	16
Bullfinch	9
Cetti's Warbler	19
Chaffinch	120
Chiffchaff	457
Coal Tit	56
Collared Dove	2
Common/Lesser Redpoll	3
Dunnock	135
Fieldfare	32
Garden Warbler	48
Goldcrest	125
Goldfinch	591
Grasshopper Warbler	1
Great Spotted Woodpecker	16
Great Tit	515
Green Woodpecker	1
Greenfinch	162
Grey Heron	11
Grey Partridge	4
Grey Wagtail	4
House Martin	16
House Sparrow	85
Jack Snipe	35
Jackdaw	1
Kestrel	1
Kingfisher	4
Lapwing	7
Lesser Redpoll	26
Lesser Whitethroat	11
Linnet	323
Long-tailed Tit	156
Magpie	2
Marsh Tit	1
Meadow Pipit	180
Nuthatch	18
Pied Flycatcher	41
Pied Wagtail (yarrellii)	11
Pied/White Wagtail	7
Redstart	3
Redwing	572
Reed Bunting	91
Reed Warbler	177
Robin	162
Sand Martin	50
Sedge Warbler	115
Siskin	620
Skylark	63
Song Thrush	39
Sparrowhawk	2
Starling	42
Stock Dove	7
Stonechat	4
Swallow	86
Tawny Owl	1
Tree Pipit	2
Treecreeper	12
Wheatear	5
Whitethroat	66
Willow Warbler	81
Woodcock	12
Woodpigeon	4
Wren	92
Yellowhammer	35

Total                                                              6,966

Jack pot!!

 As a group we are interested in many bird species, but regular readers will have gathered that there are some birds which, for various reasons, we are able to study more than others.

One such species is the intriguing Jack Snipe. A small ( hence 'Jack') wader, which doesn't breed in the UK, but which spends the winter months here having bred in northern Europe and Asia. I hope to be telling you more about our work over the coming months, but for now I would like to spend a little time showing you how we age this very poorly studied species.

We have ringed as many as and probably more Jacks than most ringers in the UK--but we are still learning--so these notes are not meant to be the absolute definitive answer--merely the stage at which we are now. 

But first, what does a jack Snipe look like? Here's one in the hand which shows the salient points.....

As you can see they are small waders, generally brown and cream on the upper parts, with a brown mottled breast and white underparts. But what really sets Jack Snipe apart from Common Snipe is the relatively short beak--about the same length as the head. In Common the beak is much longer than the head.

Ageing criteria

                 We think there are several things to look for--and all are not always present-- so we suggest a 'best guess' based on as many of these criteria that can be found.

The first, and probably most important is to look at the outer tail feathers.

This is the tail of a know age adult. The arrows show the quite large white patches on the outer web of the feathers, and the black arrow indicates a quite wide grey area to the tip.

Now have a look at a juvenile ( less than 1 year old) outer tail feathers...

The feathers are narrower and slightly more pointed--but crucially the red arrow shows a thin black line at the tip which is typical of a juvenile.

Now lets have a look at the head and back patterns.....

The bird on the right is an adult and you can see that the stripes are more golden than the buff stripes of the juvenile--and this is similar to the pattern seen on the back......

The top bird also has golden stripes on the back as opposed to the cream stripes on the lower juvenile.

We also think that leg colour is important--although we can't rule out that the chemical nature of the water and mud they paddle in may have a part to play.

The right hand bird had predominantly green legs ( often look a bit blue in photos)--whereas the left hand birds legs are pinkish. We believe that adult legs become gradually pink, and juveniles are green.

Several guides suggest the under tail coverts are useful but we have found them to be as confusing as they are illuminating.