Durham Birder

Sunday, 3 April 2011

SMALL MAMMAL TRAPPING - TRAINING

On Thursday night Clare Rawcliffe from the STyneside Countryside Team met with the Group at Whitburn Coastal Park to give us some training on trapping small mammals. First we familiarised ourselves with the traps themselves, how to put them together, how to set them, how to release etc. Then we went over what type of bedding material to use, and what food to use as bait. Then we had a brief session on what species were likely to be caught and how to identify them. We were then shown the correct way to handle the creatures before finally setting them free. After the training we took ten traps out to the mound and baited them before placing them in several promising looking areas. The plan was to pre-bait the traps (ie put food in them but not set them to trap) for a couple of nights so the mammals can get used to them and then properly set them on the Saturday night and check if anything had been caught on the Sunday morning. Roll on Sunday morning!

Sunday, 27 March 2011

BIRD RINGING

I was asked last week by John Brown if I would be interested in assisting him doing his Ringing at Whitburn Coastal Park. His usual helper, Walter, is now in his 70's and hasnt been in good health lately so John is looking for somebody to step in and maybe take over from Walter. Always up for broadening my skills I absolutely jumped at the chance! And that was despite the ridiculously ungodly starting time. So, Saturday morning I was at the Coastal Park at 5.30am (yep, thats right, half past five in the flaming morning!!!). We started by putting out the mist nets around the mound. We only put up four seeing as its still early in the season, but later in the year there could be as many as ten nets up. He then showed me the tools and equipment he uses to ring the birds and then we went over how to record the details of what we catch. First we have to record the species of bird, then try to determine the sex and age of the bird. Finally we weigh the bird and measure the size of the wing. All fascinating stuff and I couldnt wait to get started. So after 20 minutes we went to have our first check of the nets. Amazingly there were six birds trapped. I must point out that the birds are not harmed in any way whatsoever. John delicately removed them from the nets and we took them back to the cabin to record their details. The species caught were 2 Dunnocks, 1 Wren, 1 Robin, 1 Great Tit & 1 Blackbird. John showed me the correct way to hold the bird without harming it, and I wrote all the relevant details down. I got a great surprise when he allowed me to hold the Robin and one of the Dunnocks as he checked the sex and measured the wings. It was an incredible experience seeing the birds so close up. After recording their details we released them safely one by one. It was a fantastic start to the day. We checked the nets every 20 minutes (any longer would start to be bad for the birds) and went on till around 11.30 but at this point it had died off. In total we caught around 20 birds and the undoubted highlight was a stunning male Sparrowhawk. Amazingly John had trapped the same bird in 2009. It was a superb morning and I had an excellent time. John said if it was something I was genuinely interested in I may as well apply to become a Ringer myself. Its definitely something for me to think about.

BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES

With the Spring weather gently warming up it inevitably entices the Butterflies to take to the wing. Which then brings a smile to my face and a glow in my heart. I love Butterflies. No, I ADORE Butterflies. They are such beautiful creatures. Every time I see one it never fails to bring a lovely big grin. I saw my first four species of the year this week, all at my lunchtime Southwick patch. Included was my absolute favourite British species, the Orange Tip. No prizes for guessing how it got its name!!!

1st - Orange Tip
2nd - Peacock
3rd - Green Veined
4th Small Tortoiseshell

Sunday, 20 March 2011

SKYLARKS SINGING

Had a couple of hours out today which was a nice break from working on the house. I started the morning at Hendon South Docks to see if there were any spring arrivals. Unfortunately it was really quiet, the highlight being a small flock of Stock Doves. I then had an hour or so at Herrington Country Park. Again, unfortunately, the place was absolutely packed so the main pool and wood was pretty much birdless. Thankfully though a little walk round the less popular grasslands produced my first Meadow Pipit and Skylark of the year. Small mercies and all that! To be honest it was just nice to get the chance to have a bit of fresh air.