Mist netting 17/5 & Sand Martin pulli

On Sunday 17th May, two of us turned up very early for a mist netting session in the Willows, an area which hadn't been ringed for quite a while. We set 5 nets, and caught 34 birds of 12 species.

In the breeding season, we always check to see if there's evidence of breeding by blowing on the underside of the bird to part the feathers & show either a brood patch (BP) or an enlarged cloacal protuberance (CP). An enlarged CP indicates that the bird is a male, but a brood patch can be present in both females & males depending on the species & whether the male is involved in incubation. 

We caught a male Dunnock which had an obviously enlarged CP, indicating recent breeding. 

Dunnock

Enlarged CP of male Dunnock

A male Great Spotted Woodpecker was caught which had a large brood patch as they help the female to incubate the eggs. 

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

BP of male Great Spotted Woodpecker

The woodpecker had a moult limit in the Greater Coverts (GCs), with the new inner feathers being a darker black than the old brownish outer GCs & Primary Coverts. The Median & Lesser Coverts had all been replaced during the post-juvenile moult, & were the same dark black as the inner GCs.

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker, age code 5

We caught a number of Blackbirds, including a bird hatched this year which was still in its full juvenile plumage, and therefore age code 3J. Very young birds have very little feathering on the belly, so care must be taken not to confuse them with a female/male with a BP in species where the juvenile & adult plumage are very similar.

3J Blackbird showing juvenile feathers with 'thorns'

Speckled front of 3J Blackbird

Bare belly of 3J Blackbird

The mist netting continued whilst a team conducted the second Sand Martin pulli (chick) ringing session of the year. Two broods had been ringed on the previous Sunday & on this occasion a further 15 broods were ringed, totalling 75 birds in all. Full nest records are being completed for each brood, which include the stage of development of the feathers. 

Sand Martin pulli with feather's yet to emerge from sheaths

More developed Sand Martin pulli 

The SM pulli team.

	Ringed	Retrapped
Blackbird	5	1
Blackcap	3
Blue Tit	2	1
Cetti’s Warbler		1
Chaffinch	2
Chiffchaff	2
Dunnock		3
Great Spotted Woodpecker	1
Great Tit		5
Reed Warbler	2	1
Robin	3
Wren	1
	21	13