Returning Sibe Chiff kicks off 2018

In the first mist-netting venture of the year, it only seemed right to head to the sewage works. So just two of us braved the early morning frost to get a few nets up at Gwennap Sewage Works. It took a while for the sun to stir up the insects enough to get birds moving, but once they did (and with the addition of a 'sewage mix' on the MP3) we didn't do too bad, ending up with 62 birds.

The total included 23 Chiffchaffs, two of which were Siberian 'tristis' Chiffchaffs. Interestingly, one of these was already carrying a ring, having been ringed at Gwennap in December 2016. This is only the second time we've recaught a tristis in a subsequent winter, adding to the evidence that these are returning wintering birds, not lost vagrants.

Of just as much interest was the recapture of the bird below, originally ringed in September 2016 in North Norfolk! This was presumably a recent autumn arrival in Norfolk when ringed, so was presumably from points north/east.

Just to round off the day nicely, and very typical of this autumn/winter, we ringed an impressive NINE Firecrest, which is a good winter total, never mind from one morning.

Sibe Chiffs meet nesting Dippers

Well apparently yesterday was the last day of winter, so it was fitting that we had a day out that saw us cooing over the remnants of winter along with looking forward to the summer.

Whilst failing to put up a couple of Dipper nestboxes, we peered over the fence at one of our local sewage works (Constantine) to find the bushes there heaving with small stuff. At any one time there were at least 25 Chiffchaffs buzzing round fly-catching, and in amongst them were at least five Firecrest and two Siberian 'tristis' Chiffchaffs.

So that was the last gasp of winter, and the first signs of spring came in the form of a nest-building Dipper (where we were trying to put a box!) and also 39 Cormorants sat on nests on Mullion Island. Once again they've moved location, this time preferring the landward side of the island. There were also some signs of spring at Rinsey, with several Shags starting to nest-build and the first Kittiwakes also back on ledges, including CA (below), ringed as an adult in 2013.

Dutch-ringed Chiffchaff (and 28 others)

With a carload of the group out of county cannon-netting ducks and waders with the Axe Estuary Ringing Group, I was on my own at Gwennap sewage works today. With just two nets, a couple of hours produced a very respectable 41 birds, including 29 Chiffchaffs!

The highlight was the bird below, which I thought was a British control (AAH203 - actually a Wren ringed in Cumbria in 2003) until I noticed the ring address which read 'ARNHEM HOLLAND'. Dutch-ringed Chiffchaffs aren't very regular in the UK, with fewer than 30 previous records. This isn't the first to be found in Cornwall though, as one was retrapped at Brew, near Sennen, in May 2007. Oddly this bird had been ringed just nine days previosuly in The Netherlands, so a very odd movement!

Another interesting bird was this Siberian Chiffchaff. Not the classic bird, lacking all olive and yellow tones, but a more subtle type. But it still showed very washed out plumage tones, along with a slightly flaring supercilium behind the eye and jet black legs.

Bit of sunny weather on a cold day was all it took to
bring out the insects and hence the birds

The 'bycatch' of the day wasn't too shabby either, including one of two Yellow-browed Warblers and one of three Firecrest present at the site.

Chiffchaffs getting ready for the off

Finally the weather improved for long enough on Wednesday to get out and put up some nets! With winter fast coming to an end we took the opportunity to make a late visit to one of our sewage works sites at Ponsanooth. We ended up with 21 new birds and 13 retraps, including the typical sewage works fare of two Grey Wagtails, a Siberian Chiffchaff and several 'normal' Chiffchaffs. Highlight though was a net round of three Firecrest (including the two males below) and a Treecreeper, the latter being the first one ever caught by the group!

What was more interesting though was the weight changes in some of the retrap Chiffchaffs. EKT783 weighed 7.9g when ringed on 17th December, up to 9.9g now. EKT753 weighed 7.8g when ringed on 26th November, then 7.6g on 12th December and 7.9g on 29th January, now weighing 8.4g. Finally one of our controls (a bird ringed elsewhere), DYP947, weighed 8.3g when caught on 29th January now weighs 9.7g.

These birds were also fat, scoring 3 or 4 (on a scale of 0-8), compared to earlier in the winter when the carry little or no fat (score 0 or 1). These are both sure signs that spring is on its way and birds are preparing to move back north...

Yellow-browed-tastic!

Finally the weather calmed down enough this morning to allow us to dash out an get some nets up. We still had to dodge the rain showers at Ponsanooth Sewage Works, but it was worth it with plenty of birds buzzing round the site. Whilst our total of 38 birds wasn't stunning, this was more than made up for in quality. The total included 13 Chiffchaffs, two of which were classic tristis Siberian Chiffchaffs, another was a bird we ringed at Ponsanooth in January 2013 and another had originally been ringed in Devon in September 2010. This was a juvenile when ringed so may have been on passage and may well have wintered in Cornwall each winter since then. Whilst we'll never know, it's a good age already so might even last another winter.

This Siberian Chiffchaff had a slightly funny eye (slight infection?), but didn't seem
to be inconvenienced by it, being a reasonable weight

After catching our first Yellow-browed Warbler of the year (but not the first of the winter of course), we then heard a bird calling just outside the site and when we finally tracked it down we noticed it was unringed, so we briefly put a playback call on and it was soon in a net. The first bird may well have been an adult, but these are quite hard to age confidently, but the second bird had a very pointed tail and was probably a first-winter.

Just to add to the above, we also ringed a single Firecrest, with another unringed bird around, so not a bad day all told!

Thanks to Emma Inzani for the photos, taken in very dim daylight!

Interesting Sibe Chiff at Carnon Downs

The forecast cold weather didn't really materialise, but we were out anyway and with a few birds in the treetops at Carnon Downs sewage works (at least 15 Chiffchaff and two Siberian Chiffchaff) we decided to chance our arm. First bird caught was an unexpected adult Magpie; a new bird for Terry.

Second net round was even better, with the same net producing another adult Magpie and a Grey Wagtail; ANOTHER new bird for a now very chuffed Terry. Amazing what a random 40' net can produce! Interestingly, this second Magpie had a very old retained secondary, looking to be from a good couple of years ago.

Happy faces extracting Magpie and Grey Wagtail

Retained secondary, but from how many years ago?

It was a bit quiet first thing, but as the flies got moving things picked up. We ended up with 40 birds, including 10 Chiffchaffs, two Firecrest (always nice), Grey and Pied Wagtail and a very smart Siberian Chiffchaff. Although the photo doesn't really show it, this was one of the rather grey Bonelli's Warbler lookalikes, which are actually rather uncommon down here. Characteristically for these birds it showed the very long, broad supercilium.

 

Compare this bird with these other two Sibe Chiffs caught in the last couple of weeks. The bird on the left (at Gwithian) shows more green and yellow tones with an obvious, but not overly long, supercilium with a yellow hue in front of the eye, whilst the cold bird on the right (at Ponsanooth) shows no green tones and has a very much reduced supercilium in both width and length.

2012 Cornish online ringing report released

The BTO has just released the 2012 Online Ringing Report, which makes fascinating reading. The various reports don't just show national figures, but also break them down by county, so there's plenty in here for Cornish birders.

The Cornish ringing totals for the year (here) show 7,161 birds ringed which is well down on the last few years, symptomatic of the poor breeding season. The top five species ringed in the county (with 2012 totals for comparison) were:

• Swallow - 748 (445)
• Blue Tit - 712 (1,455)
• Chiffchaff - 681 (1,054)
• Willow Warbler - 516 (377)
• Chaffinch - 508 (666)

Notable in the totals were the only Hoopoe and Iberian Chiffchaff to be ringed in the UK in 2012 and also Spotted Crake (one of only three ringed nationally), Wood Sandpiper (four ringed of just eight nationally) and Aquatic Warbler (two of only seven ringed nationally).

Perhaps of more interest though are the recoveries that these, and other, ringed birds generate (here). Considering the relatively low ringing total for the county (not enough ringers!), most of the most interesting recoveries are of birds ringed elsewhere and seen or found here. But amongst the 1,803 recoveries involving the county, the highlights included colour ring sightings of:

• Great White Egret from France (seen at Amble Marshes)
• Ringed Plover from Norway (actually the fourth to be seen in the county)
• The first Lesser Black-backed Gulls from Germany and The Netherlands

recaptures of:

• Green Sandpiper in The Netherlands (ringed at Nanjizal)
• Firecrest originally ringed in Sussex
• Swallow originally ringed in Belgium (just one day earlier!)

The one-day, 787km movement of a young Swallow from Belgium to Gunwalloe

• The first ever Chiffchaffs in the county originally ringed in Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands (and the third from France)

and the unfortunate dead birds:

• German Jack Snipe and German Snipe (shot at St Austell and Zennor respectively)
• Russian and French Woodcock also shot

• Collared Dove ringed in Dorset and found dead 195km distant near Truro
• Dutch-ringed Yellow-browed Warbler found in Truro in 2008 (only the second foreign-ringed Yellow-browed Warbler to be found in the UK, following a quick movement of a Norwegian-ringed bird to Fair Isle in 1990)

 

Most of these recoveries of ringed birds came from birders and members of public, so if you've been lucky enough to find a ringed bird or see a colour-ringed bird, report it online via www.ring.ac or contact us direct and we'll pass it on.

West Cornwall Ringing Group hatches

This week saw the first day out ringing for the newly-formed West Cornwall Ringing Group. Bringing together what few ringers there are down in the far southwest, the group will bring a new focus to ringing projects locally.

Our first day out ringing of 2013 saw a small group of us out at Ponsanooth Sewage Works, here proudly posing with the first birds ringed by the group - a small flock of Long-tailed Tits. The weather was a bit too clement for a big catch, but 49 birds including 13 Chiffchaffs and two Firecrest wasn't too bad! Such regular wintering fare is expected at these sites, so we now just need some colder weather to concentrate birds.

On the way back, we stopped off at a new site near The Lizard where a few Chiffs are feeding on old hay bales. A couple of single-shelf nets resulted in three more Chiffchaff ringed, including our first Siberian Chiffchaff (race tristis) of the winter - though sadly it wouldn't pose for a photo.