22/05/12 - Swiftly does it!

The rather extensive and unseasonal flooding throughout the valley of late has been attracting huge feeding flocks of Swifts over the last 10 days or so. Counts have ranged from 500+ over Bank Island and Wheldrake Ings daily, upto an estimated 6000 over the water on the 15th. 

Strong winds and drizzle have presumably kept most of the insects close to the waters surface, meaning the Swifts have been flying low and skimming the surface of the water - providing ideal conditions for 'flicking'. This involves keeping a mist net parallel to the ground, before bringing it up quickly to 90 degrees to intercept the Swifts on their flight path at the last minute - before these aerial masters have time to manoeuvre out of the way! Other than ringing chicks this is the only way of catching these amazing birds.

Anyway, the good conditions on the 15th produced 5 flicked Swifts in 30 minutes, whilst near perfect conditions on the 21st produced a total of 22 in two short sessions. With better, warmer weather forecast over the coming week this may have been the last chance for a while, as the insects and the Swifts will probably be feeding higher up. 

Swift

Obviously the re-trap/recovery rate is rather low for these birds but amazingly we have re-trapped one of our own birds in a subsequent year! SB91509 - ringed at North Duffield Carrs as an adult on 11/05/04, was later re-trapped in the same spot on 13/05/06!! Mike & Craig were out 'flicking' around the Top Pond and it was the first bird they caught! Again, a very similar record to the Whimbrel - at the same spot - on nearly the same day a couple of years later.

We've got an exciting project coming up on Swifts later in the year - hopefully to gain a better understanding of what they use the area for and how important it is to them - and also to engage local communities to help us to look after them. The Lower Derwent Valley provides a great feeding area for Swifts so helping to secure breeding sites in the local villages should really benefit them and ensure the screaming of our Swifts in our local villages remains part of that typical mid-summer scene. 

Watch this space! 

17/05/12 - Have we got NEWS for you!

We've had quite a busy time of late (and there's not even been much ringing involved!). The LDV base has been under the spotlight during the last week as we've had the pleasure of filming two pieces for the BBC about the LDV Whimbrel project and the work of Natural England in the Lower Derwent Valley NNR.

The first one was in relation to the Wildlife Trusts and their centenary - and the recent focus on 'living landscapes' and 'making space for nature' - the Lawton report and the Rural White Paper. Sir John Lawton - chair of the working group, author of the above report and perhaps most importantly a local birder, joined us at the Whimbrel fields to track the Whimbrel and discuss the importance of our work. The footage taken by the BBC was aired on the BBC breakfast news and Radio 4 yesterday (Wednesday 16th May) - click here to watch it on the BBC website.

The BBC interviewing Craig

Just as we'd finished with that piece Craig took a call from the Natural England press office to say that Countryfile were also interested in covering the story - they'd planned on filming in Yorkshire - covering the River Derwent and upper Humber and whilst researching the Derwent they'd come across our ringing blog! Unfortunately this came right at the end of the Whimbrel staging period and because of this there was some nervousness around whether we would be able to find any birds, let alone catch them, but after a quick chat with the producers it was decided that we'd come up with a good storyline whatever the outcome! 

So on Friday afternoon we met up with the Countryfile team at the NNR office at Bank Island, and then went on to spend three enjoyable hours wading through the floods(!), putting up a few nets, ringing a few ducks and radio-tracking the few remaining Whimbrel. The water had come up a great deal since the day before when Dean, the producer, had visited the site - just one day later and the area that had been earmarked for filming was underwater - and so it was a wader job for everyone - there were a few pairs of wet feet(!) but everyone was in good spirits which made it an enjoyable afternoon, and it was especially great for us to be able to share what we've done and been able to achieve.

The Countryfile team wade through the flood

Preparing to film the introduction on Bank Island

Craig showing Ellie how to ring a Mallard

Searching for the radio-tagged Whimbrel at Storwood

Final interview - job done! 

So for another chance of seeing the great work that is being and has been done by Natural England in partnership with other organisations, the ringing scheme, local bird watchers and volunteers in the Lower Derwent Valley NNR, tune into Countryfile on Sunday 27th May!

Whilst waiting for the Countryfile team to arrive at the office we checked a few of the nest boxes around the base, a good number of  Tree Sparrows were sitting on eggs plus a single Blue Tit. We also checked the holes in the Ash tree that the Jackdaws have been nesting in for the last 10 years - in previous years Barn Owls, Tawny Owls & Little Owls have also nested in the holes! This year it seems to be home to just the Jackdaws, we found two active nests, one with two chicks in and the other had three eggs. The chicks were big enough to ring which was pleasing!

Searching for nests

Jackdaw eggs

Lucy - ringing a chick

Jackdaw chick - 7 days old

We plan to have another go next week to see if we can access the higher holes, and maybe even catch the adults - if we're quick enough!

10/05/12 - We think it's all over...it is now!

During the last week as a result of lots of hard work and help from local birders, we've had another fantastic number of colour-ringed Whimbrel spotted around their favoured fields in the Storwood area and elsewhere on the reserve. A total of 13 'new' birds for this year have been seen during the last seven days, including 11 birds still present that have been seen previously this year - some numerous times, inparticular Yellow/Yellow-Orange! This bird has been with us since April 20th, the average stay for a Whimbrel in the valley is just 8 days, however this one remained in the area for 14 days (we think) as it was last seen on May 3rd.

Whimbrel at Storwood - phone scoped

What has also been noticeable towards the end of the roost period is that some of the new arrivals have been the birds that were caught in the last catches of 2010 and so it fits with them arriving back now in subsequent years. Indeed it appears that 'early' birds arrive back early each year and those caught or present later in the spring also come back later each year (see previous post on just how arrival dates are so specific).

We've now also had two birds sighted that were originally ringed seven years ago during 2005, when the project was only in its second year. How far it's come since then, with over 100 birds now colour-ringed, and with 30 of those sighted during the last three weeks. It's been a great effort this year which has furthered our understanding of staging Whimbrel in the UK.

Below are the histories of the 'new' birds sighted between 30th April - 6th May:

Whimbrel: White/White-Red

2008 - Ringed on 25th April.

2009 - Re-sighted by PR on 24th April & CR on 29th April.

2010 - Re-sighted by PR on 22nd April.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 30th April.

Whimbrel: Yellow/Yellow-Pink

2010 - Ringed on 19th April, re-sighted on 24th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 30th April & by LM on 1st May.

Whimbrel: White/White-Yellow

2009 - Ringed on 29th April.

2010 - Re-sighted by PR between 22nd & 30th April.

2011 - Re-sighted by PR between 24th & 29th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 30th April & by LM on 1st May.

Whimbrel: Blue/Blue-Blue

2010 - Ringed on 2nd May.

2011 - Re-sighted by PR between 25th & 27th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 30th April & by LM on 1st May.

Whimbrel: White/Pink-Pink

2010 - Ringed on 26th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 30th April & by LM on 1st & 2nd May.

Whimbrel: Yellow/Yellow-White

2007 - Ringed on 22nd April, re-sighted on 9th May.

2008 - Re-sighted by CR on 25th April  & by PR on 1st May.

2011 - Re-sighted & re-caught on 26th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by LM on 1st May.

Whimbrel: White/Lime-Pink

2010 - Ringed on 26th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by LM on 1st May.

Whimbrel: Orange/Orange-White

2007 - Ringed on 27th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 2nd May & by CR on 6th May.

Whimbrel: Red/Red-Orange

2006 - Ringed on 28th April, re-sighted on 4th May.

2007 - Re-sighted by PR on 26th April.

2011 - Re-sighted by CR & DT on 20th April & by PR on 25th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by RS on 2nd May.

Whimbrel: White/Blue-Pink

2010 - Ringed on 26th April, re-sighted on 2nd May.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 5th & 6th May.

Whimbrel: Blue/White-Pink

2010 - Ringed on 2nd May.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 5th May.

Whimbrel: Lime/White-Lime

2005 - Ringed on 25th April, re-sighted on 7th May.

2006 - Re-sighted on 2nd May.

2007 - Re-sighted on 6th May.

2009 - Re-sighted on 25th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 6th May.

Whimbrel: White/White-White

2007 - Ringed on 23rd April, re-sighted on 6th May.

2010 - Re-sighted on 26th April.

2012 - Re-sighted by CR on 6th May.

Thanks to everyone who has worked alongside us to make this project happen this year and over the course of the last 8 years - those that have helped catch and ring the birds, those that have monitored the roost site to obtain counts and identify where to put the nets, those that have read colour-rings and tracked birds in the field and all our partners who have had a role in making it happen in one way or another alongside Natural England - Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Carstairs Countryside Trust, BTO and the RSPB. Only the last handful of birds remain now and many of the birds listed here will already be in Iceland or northern Scandinavia. We're already looking forward to them coming back next year - but hopefully we'll get some re-sightings away from the valley this year aswell.

09/05/12 - Trap happy

During the last couple of weeks several Wheatears and Yellow Wagtails have been reported around the Ellerton/Storwood area - a favoured location of passage birds moving through the valley. However, having been so busy we've not had time to act this, but on Wednesday afternoon whilst out Whimbrel'ing we finally managed to call in at Ellerton where the birds have been regularly seen on the local muck heaps. On arrival a female Wheatear and a stunningly bright male Yellow Wagtail were present. Soon after the traps were set two male Wheatears were also spotted - these two birds were much more interested in the mealworms and only a short time later the first bird went in, a stunning male!

Greenland Wheatear - first year male

We aged this bird as a first summer due to the buff edged juvenile coverts (amongst other features). It was also completely full of fat, (fat score 4), indicating that this bird is likely to be on the move soon to its more northerly breeding grounds. Wheatears usually appear in the valley between mid March and late May in spring, and with birds from early May onwards often presumed to be of the race leucorhoa, the so called 'Greenland Wheatear', breeding in Iceland and Greenland. They tend to be slighter larger and brighter in the field and also tend to have a more elongated, upright stance than European breeders. This bird was definitely a leucorhoa race  with a wing length of 108mm, (the range for Greenland is 99 - 110mm) and for the nominate race it's between 93 and 102mm. 

Whilst waiting for the other Wheatear to (hopefully!) go in the trap we noticed a pair of Lapwing in the field opposite, the adult female appeared to be behaving in a manner which suggested she had young chicks nearby. The scope had already been set up looking over the field for Yellow Wagtails, another look through it resulted in spotting two young Lapwing chicks on the dirt track that went down the middle of the field, result! A quick sprint from the van ensued, and after a search through the crop we spotted the two young chicks that had sat down on the ground, almost perfectly camouflaged with their pebbley coat.

Lapwing chicks - hiding!

These chicks were believed to be 5-7 days old, and so too small for colour-rings. We hope to come back next week though to colour-ring them - if we can find them!

To finish the day off nicely we went on to catch a second Wheatear, another young male, also full to the brim with fat (fat score 5) so even more so than the last one, he'll definitely be on the move soon! Another Greenland race bird, and with a wing length of 110mm and with all that fat, he's almost certainly off to the far north of the range.

Greenland Wheatear - first year male

April - summary

Well, it's been a poor month for waterfowl - partly expected though as the wintering birds have declined and the breeding birds are nesting, but the ringing totals have also been driven largely by the floods during the second half of the month.

We only managed 31 waterfowl for the month, but an impressive 740 for the year! 19 new waders were also caught, and they were all colour-ringed excluding the Oystercatcher. We also re-trapped 2 additional Redshank and added colour-rings, and managed to read off 5 colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwits, and controlled one of them (details still to come). Since the Whimbrel arrived, between April 20th and the last day of the month we've re-sighted 17 birds from previous years and caught two which now have colour-rings - hopefully they'll return and be sighted next year!

2012 colour-ringed Whimbrel

A few noteworthy additions for the month - 1 Tawny Owl, 1 Little Owl and 2 Skylark. So only 54 birds birds ringed but some really good data generated this month, especially all the re-sightings of colour-ringed birds - and that's why we do it - to get the data which we can then direct back at reserve management and conservation programmes. Thanks to all the local birders who've also put the time and effort in this month looking for Whimbrel and sending us their colour-ring sightings.

c/r Whimbrel (from above), photographed in the field

Tim Jones

Below is a summary of April and the year totals so far, here's hoping May is just as good for quality if not quantity! 

                                  April                        Year 

WATERFOWL
Grey Heron	10		10
Mute Swan	0		2
Greylag Goose	0		3
Brent Goose	0		1
Shelduck	1		78
Wigeon	2		112
Teal	2		281
Mallard	9		220
Pintail	0		5
Gadwall	4		4
Moorhen	3		11
Coot	0		4
Little Grebe	0		1
WADERS
Whimbrel	2		2
Snipe	14		24
Ruff	0		1
Redshank	1		2
Lapwing	1		1
Oystercatcher	1		1
RAPTORS/OWLS
Red Kite	0		1
Tawny Owl	1		2
Little Owl	1		1
PASSERINES
Skylark	2		4
	54		771