08/01/12 - All for nothing!

Saturday afternoon Mike, Craig, Robin, Jean and Dave headed down to Wheldrake to set the net for tomorrows planned cannon net catch. On arrival there were 7000+ Wigeon and 2500+ Teal on the water plus Shoveler, Gadwall, Pintail and Shelduck.

Setting the net

 

Robin & Craig checking the firing line 

It was an early start this Sunday morning, 7.30am meet at the office so that we could be on Wheldrake before first light. On arrival there weren’t all that many ducks present but thousands of gulls. Not long after the gulls started to move off and the ducks arrived, however not in the right place! Thousands of Wigeon were present but they were all infront of Swantail Hide, nowhere near the firing area...we watched in frustration as a large group of Teal dropped in but again not where we needed them to be. The hours ticked by and nothing was happening, then a Peregrine arrived on the scene flushing all the Lapwing (2000+) and managing to take one out but it lost its grip and the bird tumbled downwards. The Peregrine didn’t give up and continued to stay around for the next hour, constantly flushing the Lapwing and Teal. The Wigeon didn’t seem all that bothered but were making no movement towards the grain. Then just when we were thinking it was looking more promising as a group of Teal were swimming in the direction of the area, a large group of Greylags dropped in but then straight back out again & unsettled the Teal causing all the birds to take off!

Whilst we waited patiently in the Landrovers along with having stunning views of the Peregrine hunting (which we could have done without though!), there was also a Marsh Harrier and Sparrowhawk around. After almost 5 hours of waiting and with it not looking promising in the slightest the decision was made to call it a day and try again tomorrow or later in the week.......

06/01/12 - Happy New Year, Happy New Grebe!

Well 2012 has got off to a good start in the valley with 16 birds caught in the first few days, including a Little Grebe!

Sunday 1^st - Mike & Craig took the first whoosh net catch at Bank Island this morning and caught 8 Teal! Afterwards they identified and grained up a potential area on Wheldrake for a cannon net catch next week.

Tuesday 3^rd - This morning Mike had 2 Mallard in the Wheldrake duck trap and Dave caught another 3 Mallard on Skipwith Common. After finishing clearing up the trees which had come down in the wind on Skipwith we headed to Wheldrake to re-grain the cannon net area and put in dummy cannons and a net to get the birds used to them before the weekend. It was quite hard work carrying over the buckets of grain, wooden stakes, dummy cannons etc in the gale force winds the LDV and the rest of Yorkshire experienced today!

Wednesday 4^th - Mike & Craig had just the one Mallard in the Wheldrake duck trap this morning. The water levels are rising rapidly with all the heavy rain from the last few days, which has resulted in a lot of water coming on to Bank Island and with it a Little Grebe appeared there this morning. Mike & Craig attempted catching it using the same technique that we’d used on the Pocklington Canal, the Little Grebe did go in the net but managed to get out...will try again another day, can’t win them all!

Thursday 5^th - Mike & Craig headed to Wheldrake early this morning, nothing was in the whoosh net area or in the duck trap. After spotting the Little Grebe at Bank Island again we set the net and crossed our fingers! Not long after another one appeared, we waited patiently as they both swam and fed around the net. They even swam over it and dived several times but to our amazement didn’t get caught up in the net! After a bit of a wait eventually one of them did but the other promptly swam off! Once in the hand the bird was identified as a young bird, it was ringed and also fitted with a yellow colour ring. Out of the two we did on 01/12/11 the bird sporting the pink colour ring has since been seen again on the Pocklington Canal.  

Mike showing Ian how to shape the ring

                                   Craig & Ian ageing the Little Grebe

During the afternoon we headed down to Wheldrake to check the area for Sunday, the water level is still high but we’re hopeful it’s going to be able to go ahead. It was much harder work today wading through mud/deep water to get to the area whilst carrying the buckets of grain in the strong winds again! We adjusted the net slightly and took out the wooden stakes which seemed to be putting some of the birds off. Hopefully Sunday will come off and it’ll have been worth it! 

Friday 6^th - Plenty of birds were around today but none in the catching area of the whoosh nets and just the one Mallard in the duck trap on Wheldrake.

2011 - Year Summary

Well, where to start, it’s been a fantastic year ringing wise on the LDV for many species of birds. 2010 saw a record 3500 new birds caught, and this year the provisional total at the minute is looking in the region of over 7000! This includes the LDV itself, Skipwith Common and ringing on nearby sites in the adjacent wider LDV area such as Allerthorpe and Thorganby.

We’ve had the second best ever year for wildfowl – 1125 for the year, 2004 is the best on record with 1250. A target of 2000 has been set for 2012....watch this space...!

However, we’ve not had such a good year for waders (62), compared to 98 last year. Although we have colour ringed good numbers  of Snipe, Curlew, Redshank and Lapwing.

It’s been a bumper year for migrants/warblers/buntings – 428 Willow Warblers, 337 Chiffchaffs, 374 Sedge Warblers, 231 Reed Warblers, 508 Reed Buntings and 110 Whitethroats.

We’ll put an updated list on the blog with the final totals as soon as we’ve collected all the data from the various places/ringers!

So a big thank you goes out to everyone who’s helped contribute to ringing in the valley this year – the massive end total is fantastic but it doesn’t really relay the sheer effort of numerous early mornings, late nights, wet and muddy evenings, moving traps, setting nets, baiting traps, ferrying grain to and from sites etc etc!!

Without the ringers we have on site none of this would have been possible so a big thank you goes out to everyone who makes up the LDV Team. Also thanks to Robin Ward and Mark Fletcher for helping with the cannon netting sessions, and to visiting ringers - Chris Blakeley, Chris Brown and Eric Wood who were also involved.

Thank you to Ian Nicholson and Paul Thorpe for all the ringing they’ve done this year and to volunteers John Cahill and Ernie & Kath who have helped with habitat management, moving nets, baiting traps etc. Thanks goes to Jean Thorpe for the all the hard work and countless hours she’s put in this year rehabilitating so many birds and other wildlife of which many have been successfully released within the LDV.  

Also thank you to Steve Huddleston of www.wheatear.biz for support and provision of traps and equipment, and thanks to Pete Reid for his excellent whoosh nets which have added so many waterfowl onto the totals.

Additional thanks must also go to the landowners CCT, YWT and Escrick Park Estate and other private individuals who’ve allowed access and permission to their land.

THANK YOU!

Here’s hoping 2012 is an even better year for the Lower Derwent Valley!

December - Summary

The total number of wildfowl caught within the LDV this month = 116

Little Grebe 2

Mallard 19

Moorhen 5

Pintail 2

Teal 37

Whooper Swan 4

Wigeon 47

31/12/11 - Last few for 2011!

During the last two weeks of December Mike & Craig managed to keep the duck ringing going right through the festive period, adding another 16 birds to the monthly totals, bringing it to 116 for December. The heavy rain during the last two weeks meant that the water levels rose which saw a lot of the birds move from the river and Top Pond at North Duffield and on to Wheldrake which has started to flood.

Here’s a brief summary of the catches from the last two weeks.

Wednesday 21^st - Craig & Mike headed down to Duffield before dawn, and watched as the Wigeon moved around the catching area without ever actually going in it! After a long and frustrating wait they finally fired on two Moorhens. Most of the ice has melted from the Top Pond now, leaving the duck trap much easier to access! 2 Mallards and a Wigeon were in today.

Thursday 22^nd - Mike went down to Wheldrake before dawn, there were lots of birds on the pool, plenty of ducks and 60 Whoopers. The Wigeon were being very wary and not coming up to the grain, after waiting over an hour and no birds coming into the area Mike packed up and headed to North Duffield. There were very few birds on the river and just the one Wigeon in the duck trap.

Friday 23^rd - Mike headed down to Wheldrake this morning in the dark, again lots of birds were on the pool but not coming up to the grain. After another long wait he eventually managed a catch of 3 Wigeon, all young males. The river was starting to come up so the whoosh net may need moving sooner rather than later! 2 new Wigeon in the duck trap at Duffield.

Tuesday 27^th - Today Jean brought in a Mute Swan for Mike to ring and release on the reserve, whilst down at Wheldrake they found a single Mallard in the duck trap. Since last Friday Mike has not managed a catch, possibly due to the water levels changing. A lot more water coming is now coming on to Wheldrake which has brought thousands of ducks (7000+ Wigeon) on to the area between the scrape and the Cormorant trees. There are equally many birds on Bank Island however there are no birds on the river at North Duffield or on the Top Pond. The pool at Wheldrake is also relatively quiet at the moment.  

Friday 30^th - Another quiet few days catch wise, however today Mike had 2 new Moorhens in the duck trap on Wheldrake.

Saturday 31^st - This morning no birds could be caught in the whoosh net but there were two new Mallard in the duck trap on Wheldrake and so the year didn’t end on a blank! After leaving Wheldrake Mike & Craig headed to North Duffield and spent a couple of hours un-setting the whoosh net there and then re-setting it at Bank Island with the hope of catching there from now on as the Top Pond and North Duffield are both virtually bird-less at the moment!