This week

A busy couple of days in the garden this week as newly fledged birds find the feeding station

1 Hooded Crow  juv

24 House Sparrow  17 juv

1 Pied Wagtail  juv

13 Chaffinch  7 juv

6 Goldfinch  5 juv

2 Siskin  2 juv

1 Robin  juv

2 Dunnocks  2 juv

3 Blackbirds  1 juv

1 Song Thrush  juv

1 Coal Tit  juv

1 Blue tit  juv

1 Gt Tit  juv

and the nest box with 4 Blue Tits in all feather medium 

A trip to the small reed bed site where

2 more Sedge Warbler ringed

a juv Reed Bunting and Blackcap

and a 

Blackbird

Port Lewaigue

5 Blackcaps  (4 juv 1 adult male)

2 Chiffchaff  juv

1 Willow warbler juv

3 Wren  1 juv

Blackbird  male

3 Dunnock 1 juv

3 Gt Tit   2 juv

3 Goldfinch 1 juv 

Point of Ayre

1 Herring Gull chick old enough to ring 

A big thanks to Ian Scott Kev's brother and our wildlife Police officer on the island for introducing me to Les Kneale this week, Lez used to be a ringer back in the sixty's

he invited me down to ring some Swallow pulli in his garage.

We got talking and the next day he had arranged to take me around 14 farms to get a little Swallow project underway .

34 Swallow Pulli ringed and a a good number of nests still on eggs and more farms still to visit.

Goldfinch to Leswalt

I Got an email from Kev saying a Goldfinch i had ringed in the garden last year on 17/10/2010 had been controlled at Leswalt in Dumfries and Galloway on 11/04/2011

A distance of 53 Miles

Nice off island record

Last couple of days

A good  couple of hours in the garden during last week with 50 new birds being ringed

20 House Sparrow 

10 Chaffinch

7 Herring Gull

3 Goldfinch

4 Siskin

3 Blue Tit

2 Dunnock

1 Rook

retrap Treecreeper from October 2010

An afternoon at Close Sartfield yesterday
The wild meadow is looking fantastic with all the Orchids out, well worth a visit

Birds ringed

2 Willow Warbler

2 Reed Bunting

3 Blackbirds 

3 Blue Tits

2 Blackcap

other birds ringed in the last few days

1 Oystercather

1 Little Tern

2 Ringed Plover 

Cormorant colour ringing

I met up with Kev this morning to start our colour ringing project on 
 the Cormorant colony at Maughold

A great morning with 85 Cormorant Chicks ringed 81 0f these Colour ringed.

Ring showing email address

See Kev Blog for information on past recoveries from Manx Cormorants
Hopefully with the new colour rings more sightings will come in

9 big red birds at bottom of garden

A great show by the Red Arrows today in Ramsey all for the TT and we got some fantastic views over the house and the sea. Makes you proud to be British

North West Black-headed Gull study

The Manx Ringing group have been invited to take part in the study of Black headed Gulls that Kane Brides and his ringing group are undertaking. Kane posted me 10 darvics {colour rings} on Thursday with another 10 on the way. Now we only may do 20 Black headed Gull this year if we are lucky but  the colour rings do greatly improve the sightings of these birds .

Kane will be doing hundreds and out of his first 5 birds ringed in March this year he has had sightings from Norway and Lithuania plus a third bird they are waiting information on .

Please click on link for detail of this project

North West Black headed Gull Survey

Rings showing email address to send sightings to  bhgulls@gmail.com

2 Isle of man Black headed Gulls  wearing the said rings

Little Tern is a control

I mentioned that we had caught another ringed Little Tern and we were not sure on the ring number belonging to the Manx ringing group. Kev has just got back to me and

NV95538  is a control any one recognise it

Choughs all done

I was also out with Chris this aft doing the last couple of Chough nests

Over 60 Pulli ringed this year and all individually colour coded as well

a lot of miles, laughs and memories 

Thanks to Kev, Kane and Chris for all their time and all the landowners for their permission

A truly charismatic species

What a Tern up

Arctic Tern

Little Tern

Last two days out with Kev,  1 Arctic Tern ringed
1 LBB Gull Ringed and Colour ringed
2 Ringed Plover
and
10 Adult Little Terns ringed
7 New and 3 re traps  { 2 re traps ringed as chicks back in 1999 by Chris Sharpe}
Fantastic
1 ring we are still checking

also 2 Black Headed Gulls ringed

Ringed Plover