Blue tits done - good job it wasn't coal tits

Many thanks to David Norman and the BTO for spicing up our University training site ringing this winter with a new Blue Tit moult/survival project. For various reasons we didn’t manage as many visits as hoped for during the 2 months outlined for recording Blue Tit moult limits, November and February, but hopefully we got enough to make a useful contribution to this UK wide project.

Blue tit with old greater coverts. Photo by Sarah Fenn

Looking at the numbers of Blue, Coal and Great Tits ringed and retrapped during the sessions we were just glad Blue Tit was the target species and not Coal Tit (see graph). There were plenty of each in November but come February last session we caught no Coal Tits! We wondered if the large numbers in November were associated with a decent beech mast crop in the nearby beech trees in Seaton Park. By February perhaps the beech seed had run out and the large numbers had been forced to disperse in search of food.

Well done to our young athletes David Hunter, Chelsea Ward and Logan Johnson for achieving a good ratio of successful sprints to the mist-nets from distance (four out of six) to capture some of our larger visitors to the feeding station (see photos). We’re baiting a whoosh net site now for the doos.

Buzzard. Photo by David Hunter

Stock dove and woodpigeon. Photo by Sarah Fenn

A nice variety of species have been caught during the sessions.

Bullfinch. Photo by Logan Johnson

Great Spotted Woodpecker. Photo by David Hunter

Thanks to Mark Paterson for continued access and support for our ringing in the University Botanic Gardens.

A brood of 4 ospreys!

It has been a good year for Ospreys with GRG. So far we have ringed and darviced 15 chicks (please report and osprey rings you read) in the region and helped Tay ringing group with a further 3 chicks. It has been quite an exciting season with the first nest being accessed by cherry picker and with the first ever brood of four in the region being ringed.

We have also done well for a variety of other raptors this year with 15 red kite chicks ringed and wing tagged (please look out for them!), eight golden eagles, nearly 40 buzzards, some Goshawks, Sparrowhawks, Peregrines and owls.



Photos by Ian Francis, Ewan Weston, Jenny Lennon.

Ringing Demonstration

Every winter we hold a several ringing demonstrations for local schools and wildlife clubs. The Phoenix Group sessions are becoming legendary as everyone aims to let the most viscous blue tit go! Below are some pictures of the most recent session earlier in the month as well as some from last year’s sessions; at one we were lucky enough to catch an adult buzzard.
These sessions are always good fun and we usually have a good game of fitba too!