A combination of cold weather and lockdown meant that no birds were ringed this month. There were a few sightings of ringed birds, including a near-20-year-old Polish Black-headed Gull and two sibling Mute Swans from Bedfont near Staines.
The Danish Black-headed Gull was seen again on 7th and details of a Polish Black-headed Gull (below) on 18th were received, approaching 20 years since it was ringed as a pullus.
With ringing restricted to private properties just eight birds of six species were ringed, at two gardens.
Some members took the brief time between lockdowns to check out the three Tundra Bean Geese at Laleham and a Siberian Chiffchaff was reported at Dorney. Otherwise, there was the Garden Birdwatch from 29th to 31st - and a couple of recoveries to make us envious of travel without restrictions! One, a Blackcap ringed at Bedfont in August last year was recaptured, thirty-one days later, in Faro, Portugal, 1,700km SSW. This is a common route to Africa for British Blackcaps, but a marvel nonetheless.
Nocturnal recordings continued in the New Year: there were small numbers of Redwing on each night, but totalling just eleven for the month (compared to the hundreds passing over in autumn), and a very clear Coot over on 1st.
River Thames colour-ring sightings at Windsor increased to 131 from 36 Mute Swan, two Canada Geese and four Black-headed Gulls. From only four gulls we get ringing sites in Essex, Denmark, The Netherlands and Poland. That's certainly encouragment to keep recording; though photographing metal rings is certainly more challenging than reading colour-rings!
Lockdown restrictions meant the only ringing this month was at Tythebarns and Woolley Firs, where a total of 32 new birds of 10 species were handled.
3 Redwing, 2 Goldcrest and a Jay were the most interesting. With little hope of change until at least February, what prospects are there for January?
If you are near heathland, Crossbills are early nesters or try locating your local Tawny Owls. Take a camera for reading rings in your local park – there’s plenty to look forward to.
Take care, and please stay safe.
In a month almost totally affected by covid lockdown 2, we were fortunate to manage a session at Chobham just before it started, and another under lockdown restrictions at the month-end.
48 birds of 5 species were ringed with Lesser Redpoll leading on 37. A colour-ringed male Black-headed Gull turned up on the Thames at Windsor having been ringed in Denmark, 980km away in 2015.
Nocturnal-migration recordings picked up twenty-four species over Ealing including 1,737 Redwing, 81 Song Thrush, 9 Fieldfare, Teal, Wigeon, Lapwing, Turnstone, Golden Plover, Moorhen, Coot and Skylark. We recommend everyone try this in their own gardens to see what it passing, unseen, overhead!
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| Black-headed Gull movement København, Denmark to Windsor |
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| Crossbill young male (Carl Hunter-Roach) |
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| Male Crossbills (Carl Hunter-Roach) |
A good month produced 1,047 new birds of 26 species from 5 sites, with the intensive work at Wraysbury providing 957 from five sessions. Tythebarn's 192 from 8 sessions; Bedfont 148 from 4 sessions and even 50 from the Heston garden.
As expected, Blackcap was top species at 418 followed by Chiffchaff at 180 but Blue Tit at 115 was just ahead of 96 Meadow Pipit. Against this, Sedge, Reed, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Garden and Willow Warbler had mostly moved on whilst Goldcrest and a Firecrest (see below) arrived at Bedfont.
Noc-mig recorded Redwing and Song Thrush, Siskin and Redpoll at Ealing.
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| Firecrest at Bedfont (Eleanor Page) |
