Friday 11 September 2015

August's Ringing Totals

Over on the right you will see that I have updated the ringing totals for Fylde Ringing Group up until the end of August, and considering it has been such a poor breeding season the totals aren't too bad. Having said that the totals are healthy due to a good number of Swallows ringed at their autumn roost at the Obs. Numbers have dropped off now and we had our last session earlier in the week and ringed just 27.

Five new species were added to the ringing list during August and these were Herring Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Tree Pipit, Garden Warbler and Bullfinch. The fact that Great Spotted Woodpecker was new for the year in August is a  reflection of the type of habitats that the group operates in i.e. no woodland. It is a surprise that Garden Warbler was new for the year during August and this probably is a reflection of the decline of this species and the fact that it has been a very poor breeding season for most warbler species other than Reed Warbler. Bullfinch is quite a scarce bird in our part of the world so it came as quite a surprise to Phil when he caught a juvenile.

As usual I have listed below the top five species ringed for the month and the top ten 'movers and shakers' for the year.

Top 5 Ringed in August

1. Swallow - 730
2. Reed Warbler - 65
3. Sedge Warbler - 15
4. Willow Warbler - 13
5. Goldcrest - 12
    Chaffinch - 12

Top Ten Movers and Shakers

1. Swallow - 798 (up from 8th)
2. Blue Tit - 173 (down from 1st)
3. Sand Martin - 139 (down from 2nd)
4. Reed Warbler - 135 (up from 7th)
5. Willow Warbler - 118 (down from 4th)
6. Great Tit - 114 (down from 3rd)
7. Goldfinch - 99 (down from 5th)
8. Starling - 82 (down from 6th)
9. Chaffinch - 68 (same position)
10. Pied Flycatcher - 55 (same position)
      Lesser Redpoll - 55 (straight in) 

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