Mist netting 3/6/24

This session took place in the willows and along the Stafford Brook quite close to the Discovery Hut. A total of 28 birds were caught comprising 10 species. The highlight, and the first bird to be processed, was this reed warbler which had been ringed in France. It was a female and had a well developed brood patch which suggests that she may be breeding nearby. 

French ringed Reed Warbler

The bird was ringed on 3/6/2020 in Noyant, Soulaire-et-Bourg, Maine-et-Loire, France, and was  at least a year old at the time.  The bird is therefore at least 5 years old, and although the maximin known age of a Reed Warbler is 12 years & 11 months, as the typical lifespan is only 2 years, it's doing OK. It's 397km from where the bird was ringed to where it was re-trapped, and it may have done that journey every year to breed. 

Location of ringing & re-trapping.

Robin Pearson

Mist netting 20/5/24

A small group of members took part in a mist net session at the crop field. Nineteen birds were caught which included a good selection of juveniles. The juveniles of a number of species, such as this robin, blackbird and stonechat, are easily recognised by their spotty plumage. 

             Juvenile Robin

   

Juvenile Blackbird

                                                                                                                                                         

Juvenile Stonechat

This juvenile house sparrow shows bare patches of skin under the wing and on the legs where fully formed feathers have yet to grow.

Juvenile House Sparrow

This male house sparrow is not a juvenile but was aged as a 5 which is a bird that was hatched in the previous calendar year. We can see this in the median coverts, which are the band of white feathers running just under the ringer’s thumb in the photo below. The median coverts have a distinct dark black base to them in this individual which is characteristic of age 5. In an adult bird the median coverts would show only a small dark mark at their base. 

Median coverts on male House Sparrow

House Sparrow showing HIS ringer's grip.

We also caught some migrants including this whitethroat which we aged as an adult (age 6) because the outer tail feathers are white rather than the buff colour of a bird hatched last year (age 5). 

Whitethroat

Whitethroat tail

When we caught these two male reed warblers they were less concerned with being held by us than in seeing each other off – something that they continued to do in the reed beds after release.

Arguing Reed Warblers

Robin Pearson