Wednesday 27 March 2024

Costa Rica - March 2024

 Costa Rica is a wonderful place to see the natural world and we're now back with 3000+ images to sort through. Mervyn Cruz was our guide for the 14 day trip, using Ebird to record observations and show the target birds when mixed flocks were involved. We didn't provide a wish list, just a brief to see a good spread of species types without being in the field all hours of the day. We visited the Caribbean and Pacific sides and the cloud forest in between ending on 385 bird species including one day when we saw 50+ species before breakfast. A typical day started at 5.45am for birding before breakfast, second birding 8.15 to 11ish then a rest in the quiet, hot time of day until restarting at 3.00pm until 5.30ish.


Very pleased to find a Motus terminal at one of our lunch stops!



Here's a selection of birds seen.

Emerald Toucanet


Golden-hodded Tanager

Green Violetear


Fiery-throated Hummingbird

Fiery-throated Hummingbird

Sooty-capped Chlorospingus


Tiny Hawk

Baltimore Oriole

Buff-throated Salttor

Black Vulture

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Collared Aeracari

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Tent making bats

Spectacled Owl

Gray-necked Wood-Rail

Green Heron

Montezuma Oropendola

Greater Kiskadee

Sunbittern

Silver-throated Tanager

White-naped Brush-Finch


Black and White Owls

Pacific Screech-Owl

Anhinga

Magnificent Frigate Bird

Snowcap

Gartered Trogon

Keel-billed Toucan
White-nosed Coati

Great Jacamar

Slaty Flowerpiercer

Resplendent Quetzal


Purple-throated Mountain-gem female

Volcano Hummingbird

White-whiskered Puffbird female


Sunday 25 February 2024

A farm in North-west Norfolk - 25th February 2024

 A windier day than expected and only 17 birds caught. We switched to an adjacent hedgerow but as we might have expected, the flock then simply located to where we would normally site nets.

Observations were of greater interest than the birds captured with female Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier, 2 Red Kite, 6 Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and 4 Grey Partridge seen, also our first Brimstone butterfly of the year.

5F Reed Bunting

Totals: 13 (4)

Chaffinch - 2
Dunnock - 5
Goldfinch - 1
Great Tit - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 1 (2)
Reed Bunting - 1
Robin - 1 (1)
Wren - 0 (1)
Yellowhammer - 1

There was quite a lot of activity from the Hares on the fields.


Sunday 18 February 2024

A farm in North Norfolk - 17th February 2024

 A morning spent with PWL & EGB at this very good farmland winter site. There are still lots of birds on site but the behaviour is changing and small flocks of finches and buntings are now moving between bird crop areas rather than there being some birds in all areas at any one time. The hedges were trimmed in January and topping of the bird crop has now started leaving any nets much more obvious with less vegetation to disguise their presence.

We managed to catch 19 birds altogether. Ten were new, and half of these Dunnocks, including a female already with BP2. Amongst the retrap birds were another 5 Dunnocks and a Reed Bunting that we had ringed on 7th November, our first day of monitoring here. 

CL made a brief survey of the fields and wood with the thermal imager and found no signatures for Woodcock at all. They had been very jumpy when he tried dazzling on two evenings in the previous week, usually a sign that they will soon leave their wintering grounds and the mid weather may have already induced them to depart.

We are very grateful to the landowner who had granted access for monitoring to take place on his land.



Totals: 10 (9)

Blackbird - 1
Chaffinch - 1
Dunnock - 5 (5)
Long-tailed Tit - 2 (3)
Reed Bunting - 1 (1)


Thursday 15 February 2024

Selbrigg Pond, Norfolk - 15th February 2024

 This morning we visited the pond having gained permission from the land owner to try to catch and mark some of the Marsh Tits there for our new colour ringing project. Woodland birds are habituated to being feed at an area close to the pond so we set just two nets in the woodland and put on tape lures.

The Mute Swan family are still there with the three remaining cygnets, although one of the youngsters seems to be spending a lot of time away from the group. He (we believe) did swim out to the centre of the pond at one point and there seemed to be no animosity between him  and the adult birds. He was seen feeding on pond weed, although he declined to come to food provided by pond visitors. The other two cygnets appear to be of a much slighter build and are probably females. All five birds are much less keen to take advantage of the free food provided by visitors.

We managed to get the first two birds for the Marsh Tit project. Both were hatched last year.



We only caught four birds but two were the target species with a Goldcrest and Coal Tit bycatch.

Total: 4

Coal Tit - 1
Goldcrest - 1
Marsh Tit - 2

Tuesday 13 February 2024

A North Norfolk farm (after dark) - 12th February 2024

 Following on from our success last week when CL and I split up to work separately for nocturnal ringing, we tried the same again at this farm site.

Chris went dazzling, seeing 11 Woodcock but none of which he was able to capture. He did however return with a brace of Grey Partridges, the first time handling these birds for both of us. They really are very strong little birds.

Grey Partridge male

Grey Partridge female

While CL was out dazzling, I had the owl net up and through the evening tried Barn Owl, Tawny Owl and mouse. There was a Tawny that gradually worked its way towards the net, but despite CL seeing it on the barn roof, it avoided the net. I did, however, get a Barn Owl recapture. Ringed 16/07/2014, one of a brood of 4, in a box at a barn near Stiffkey.



Total: 2 (1)

Barn Owl - 0 (1)
Grey Partridge - 2


Sunday 11 February 2024

News of one of our Nightingales from the Gambian training expedition for WABSA - 11th February 2024

 During our five week expedition to Gambia to start initial training with some of the West African Bird Study Association only seven Nightingales were ringed. One of these birds was recaptured at Aberton Reservoir on 14/05/2023. FC28402 was controlled 4555km from the ringing location at Tanji Reserve, Gambia. The bird had been ringed by Fagimba Camara.

https://safring.birdmap.africa/ring_info.php?ring=FC28402

See link for details and map.

This is the second control from the birds ringed over a five week period.

Saturday 10 February 2024

A farm in North Norfolk - 10th February 2024

 W e continue to get out whenever possible in between the rain and gusty conditions. Today we were joined by OHK for some farmland ringing. The catch comprised of 34 new birds with Reed Bunting the leading species, two Yellowhammers, a few Robins, Blue Tits, Dunnocks and Long-tailed Tits and a control Reed Bunting.

As usual there were several skeins of Pink-footed Goose overhead. A Woodcock flushed from a wooded area.

Male Reed Bunting

Male Yellowhammer

Totals: 34 (3)

Blue Tit - 3
Dunnock - 7 (1)
Long-tailed Tit - 5
Reed Bunting - 15 ( 2 including a UK control)
Robin - 2
Yellowhammer - 2