AS GOOD AS IT GETS

I'd heard so much about the Isle of Mull before going that I didnt think it would ever live up to its reputation. I was so wrong. The place is simply stunning. In every way! It didnt even matter that the weather was utter cack for most of the week. Nothing could spoil our time on the Isle. Stunning scenery, wonderful wildlife, the place had everything. Wildlife wise I managed to see 2 new species of bird, 2 new species of moth, 1 new species of butterfly, 1 new species of mammal and 1 new species of reptile, a magnificent Adder. A more in-depth report is to follow when I get the photos through from Steve and Dougie, but as I'm off to Norfolk on thursday it may be a little longer than I'd like!

ON MY HOLS

Well folks, I'm off to the Isle of Mull with Dougie & Steve for a week. I'll let you know how we get on!

EASTER WEEKEND

We made the most of the long weekend and Ringed for three days this weekend. We had by far our best number of birds in the net with 43 birds in total. Away from the common residents the Warblers are still coming through with Willow Warblers being the most common. A few Blackcaps are still around with one or two Chiffchaffs still. On saturday we had literally just finished putting the nets up when we looked back and a bird flew into one of the nets straight away. We were surprised to see that it was a Tree Pipit (above), a superb start to the day! The next bird could be considered an even bigger surprise, an adult female Brambling (below). This is a very late record for a wintering species.

Mothing was still quite slow with 9 species recorded. Still, there were a couple of new ones for me, a Herald (above) and Shuttle Shaped Dart (below).

On friday evening Steve sent me a text to say he'd had superb views of 3 young Tawny Owl chicks at a well known spot to us. So after Ringing was finished on the saturday I went over to take a look. Sure enough the chicks were showing fantastically well.
On the Easter Monday I had an excellent hour at the Academy Pools. I finally caught up with the Lesser Whitethroat (above) that had been reported all week, and I also saw a lovely male Whinchat.

ACADEMY POOLS FOR LUNCH

I've been spending my lunch breaks this week at Sunderland Football Clubs Academy Pools. It was great to hear the Sedge Warblers (above) back on territory again, with the first heard on Tuesday and as many as four by the friday.
Hirundines are also back feeding on the insects around the pools. Swallows and Sand Martins had been here for a while already but on thursday they were joined by a single House Martin (above), my first of the year.

The start of the week was excellent for Wheatears, with at least 7 individuals seen on the monday. The next day it was down to 3, and they stuck around for a few more days but by friday I didnt see any at all. Common Whitethroats (above) are also back on their breeding grounds, with around 3 or 4 seen/heard along the path to the pools. Also 2 or 3 Groppers were heard reeling in various places. No sign yet though of any Lesser Whitethroats.

LAST WEEKENDS RINGING (16th & 17th april)

Last weekend was very good ringing wise with 19 birds of 8 different species trapped in total. Warblers are starting to pass through in bigger numbers now, and we had four different types in the nets. After the earlier influx of Chiffchaffs it seems they have now been replaced by Willow Warblers (above).
Blackcaps are also passing through in big numbers at the moment and it was nice to get both male (above) and female (below) on the same day.
But the best Warbler of the weekend was this stunning little Grasshopper Warbler (below) that was caught on the sunday. It was actually the first Gropper that John has ringed so he was particularly pleased with himself!
As can be seen in the picture below, the cabin is much more than just a ringing station, its a meeting place and social gathering point for many of the local birders. Its great to be the focal point for the lads and the banter makes the early starts a lot more fun and bearable!

A big big thank you to Steve and Dougie for the superb pictures above.

LAST WEEKENDS RINGING (16th & 17th april) - OTHER WILDLIFE

Mothing is slowly starting to improve as the days (or nights!) are warming up. There were eleven different species in the trap over the weekend, eight of which were lifers for me. The species were (lifers in capitals) RED SWORDGRASS, DARK SWORDGRASS, WHITE ERMINE, Clouded Drab, DOUBLE STRIPED PUG, WATER CARPET, Hebrew Character, PINE BEAUTY, TWENTY PLUME, Common Quaker & STREAMER. Since Nick started the trap up 4 weeks ago I've had 18 new species already! I also put my own moth trap on for the first time this year and got a grand total of TWO moths! Both Hebrew Characters. Nothing too exciting but it was still a garden tick.
Pine Beauty (top) White Ermine (middle) & Streamer (bottom)
Mammal trapping was less successful last weekend with just the single female Wood Mouse caught. But we've still had at least something every time we've put the traps out.

MIXED WEEKEND

Ringing on Saturday was REALLY quiet, with only six birds in total caught! Two Chiffchaffs, a Dunnock, Goldfinch, Wren and Great Tit were the only birds we had in four hours of ringing. Mothing was equally disappointing with only TWO species trapped! Hebrew Characters and Tawny Pinion were the only ones. However John Chapman did bring along a moth he'd trapped in his garden, a Muslin Moth, which was a new species for me. We pulled the nets down at 9.30am because we had a meeting with the Lottery facilitator, and while showing her around the Coastal Park I saw my first two Wheatears of the year. It was also nice to see plenty of Toadspawn in the pond.

If I thought ringing on Saturday was disappointing Sunday was actually even worse! Only FIVE birds trapped in total, a Robin, Chiffchaff, Dunnock, Goldfinch and a Blue Tit. Mothing was better but really only slightly. Three species trapped, Hebrew Character, Common Quaker and Clouded Drab. After the mammal trapping success of last weekend we borrowed a trap from Andy/WWT and John set it on Saturday night. When we checked it this morning we discovered it had caught a Wood Mouse. One trap one catch. Cant argue with that! So we've borrowed a few more traps and we'll put them out on the weekends that we ring. It was nice to see my first Swallows of the year this morning, always a welcome sight. We also had a fantastic surprise when a Marsh Harrier flew past the coast giving us excellent views. Great stuff.
WHEATEAR (TOP), MUSLIN MOTH (2ND), SWALLOW (3RD) & MARSH HARRIER (BOTTOM)