Iceland - 4th - 8th March 2022

Thursday, 30 May 2019

Garden feeding and ringing recoveries...

Hello

This morning I took a wander around Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate, the most interesting birds being a brood of just-fledged Chiffchaffs and two singing Spotted Flycatchers. This evening a short walk at Harrington Airfield provided views of a Grey Partridge and three Brown Hares.

Our small garden is very busy with birds currently, the most noisy being a large flock of adult and juvenile Starlings and good numbers of adult Jackdaws. Woodpigeons, Stock Doves and Collared Doves and still several Yellowhammers are coming in for scattered seed, and reasonable numbers of Goldfinches and just a few Chaffinches and Greenfinches are still feeding from the sunflower and niger feeders. The village House Sparrows are gleaning a mixture of food and Pied Wagtails, tits and Great Spotted Woodpeckers add a little more variety. Bigger birds include Carrion Crow, Magpie and the occasional visit from a Sparrowhawk.

A few more ringing recoveries have been received as follows:-

1. A Blue Tit ringed as a nestling at Stortons Pits on 22nd May 2016 was killed by a cat in St James, Northampton on or about 7th May this year. This bird probably never did stray very far from its natal area, a total of 1080 days elapsing between both records;

2. An adult female Mallard was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 17th August 2015 and 1348 days later, on or about 26th April this year, was apparently killed by a dog in adjacent Brixworth Country Park. This record aligns to similar data suggesting that our local Mallard do not stray particularly far;

3. A first year female Goldfinch was ringed at Hanging Houghton on 27th November 2018 and was caught again by a ringer at Damhead Farm, Carluke, South Lanarkshire (south of Glasgow) on 12th April this year. It seems that Scottish breeding Goldfinches regularly winter or pass through middle England. Carluke is 420 km NNW from Hanging Houghton, 136 days elapsing between the two records.

Regards

Neil M


Blue Tit
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Female Mallard and ducklings

Goldfinch
courtesy of John Tilly.

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