It has been a much quieter week for catching birds this week, mainly due to strong winds and rain. 

The main victim of the wind has been our Manx flag, which has flown proudly from the lamp standard outside the Obs since we arrived in mid-July. As you can see from the picture, it is now more like a red rag!!! Only one foot remains and as soon as it is calm enough to get a ladder to it we will take it down. We had hoped to leave it up until Sorcha arrives next Sunday with her friend Will to spend a day with her Mum, but it is too knackered now to leave up. 

Despite catching fewer birds we did manage to reach 11,000 (exactly) by Sunday, so now the target is 12,000 before we leave.

Although quiet for birds it was exciting in other ways. The 'alleged' Russian Submarine was the talk of the island, as reports of it moved closer and closer to our east coast, with miltary aircraft and ships heard one night. All passed uneventfully and as far as we know there are no Russians moving around the island, unless well disguised as the Badger! 

The Waxwings have started to move through the island on the way south, we saw about 100 today and at long last the flocks of Redpoll are becoming more regular. Thursday and Friday this week are forecast calm, so it will be an all-out effort to catch plenty of good birds before the gales arrive again.

Poor old Manx Flag

After the current set of gales there is not much left, just one foot

Does this sum up our 6 months in Sweden?

Foot-loose and legless

Male Bullfinch

 The best bird of the week - a male Bullfinch

 Larger and more colourful than the ones found in the UK

Seldom seen on the Isle of Man, they are common on migration here, so hopefully there are more to come!

Some autumn shots of the lovely Landsort

 A very productive conker tree outside Tores

 Collected some to try and grow them at home. Failed last year!!

 That one must be a 'sixer' at least!

The most photgraphed lighthouse in Sweden!

Birds ringed week-ending 26th October 2014

	w/e 26th Oct
Species	As at 19th	Kay	Chris	Total
Barred Warbler	6			6
Blackbird	67	3	3	73
Blackcap	266			266
Bluethroat	2			2
Blue Tit	136	12		148
Blyth's Reed Warbler	1			1
Brambling	15	1	1	17
Bullfinch	0	2		2
Chaffinch	102	3	3	108
Chiffchaff	72	1	1	74
Chiffchaff abietinus	5			5
Coal Tit	12			12
Common Redpoll	89	3		92
Common Redpoll cabaret	72	9	3	84
Common Redpoll flammea	20	1		21
Common Rosefinch	10			10
Dunnock	35			35
Dusky Warbler	1			1
Fieldfare	8			8
Garden Warbler	67			67
Goldcrest	2527	52	8	2587
Goldfinch	3			3
Great Spotted Woodpecker	2			2
Great Tit	147	13		160
Greenfinch	204	9	1	214
Greenish Warbler	2			2
House Sparrow	3			3
Icterine Warbler	44			44
Jack Snipe	1			1
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	1			1
Lesser Whitethroat	240			240
Long-tailed Tit	112		12	124
Magpie	1			1
Marsh Tit	8			8
Marsh Warbler	2			2
Meadow Pipit	6			6
Nuthatch	3			3
Pied Flycatcher	31			31
Red-backed Shrike	76			76
Red-breasted Flycatcher	9			9
Redstart	36			36
Redwing	2	1		3
Reed Bunting	98	2		100
Reed Warbler	6			6
Robin	899	30	38	967
Sedge Warbler	6			6
Siskin	39	1		40
Snipe	1			1
Song Thrush	53			53
Sparrowhawk	15			15
Spotted Flycatcher	38			38
Swallow	49			49
Thrush Nightingale	20			20
Tree Pipit	15			15
Tree Sparrow	76	4	1	81
Treecreeper	134	15	7	156
Wheatear	4			4
Whinchat	1			1
White Wagtail	34			34
Whitethroat	88			88
Willow Warbler	333			333
Wryneck	1			1
Wood Warbler	10			10
Wren	105	6		111
Yellow-browed Warbler	3			3
Yellowhammer	22	1		23
Total	6496	169	78	6743

It has been a busy couple of weeks, hence the lack of recent posts. 

In the week to the 12th we ringed 1,096 birds between us and for this week we ringed 895, a total of nearly 2,000 birds, a great couple of weeks with some real highlights.

On the 12th a total of 958 birds were ringed here, between just three ringers, making that the highest number ringed here in one day since work started in 1978. On that day 580 Goldcrests and 295 Robin were ringed, each beating the previous best day total for the species. To get two records like that in one day gives some idea of how hectic it was, and that was in just a couple of hours before rain caused us to close all the nets!

These two weeks also saw us beat the prevous best year counts for Robin and Goldcrest. On the 14th we caught 241 birds and towards the end of the day we caught a flock of Long-tailed Tits (see pics below), one of which has the distinction of being the 10,098th bird ringed here this year, thereby passing the highest previous total of 10,097 from 2008. By the end of the 19th that total had risen to 10,729 and with six weeks left before we leave we are aiming to set a target that will be hard to beat. 

Away from all this record-setting stuff, we have had some great sightings of sea-eagle and there is a real sense now that autumn is well and truly here, with small flocks of Brambling feeding around the island, the first Waxwing have been seen and, later than last year, the Redpoll flocks have started to appear, though Bullfinch are still only seen occasionally.

Good numbers of Treecreeper (134) and Long-tailed Tits (112) have been caught this autumn with signs that they are still passing through, so a good chance of more of them. The occasional Blackcap is still caught but we have not caught any Crossbill or Great Grey Shrikes yet, they are just starting to move through. 

Here is hoping for an improvement in the weather which is currently very mild but windy, with rain due tomorrow, but clamer and drier conditions predicted for Tuesday - let's see.

The record bird. Number 10,098 for the year

This Long-tailed Tit has the distinction of being the 10,098th bird ringed here this year, thereby beating the previous best year of 2008!!

Dusky Warbler - only the 3rd ever ringed at the Observatory

 This small warbler breeds in Siberia and winters in SE Asia

 Every year a small number are found further west, far from their migratory route

This bird is one of less than 90 ever recorded in Sweden and the 3rd ringed at Landsort

A few pictures from last week

Started to get a few new Blue Tits this week, migrants from further north

Chris busy ringing birds in the 'Lab', helped by Tore

The first Goldfinch we have caught since July, a cracking adult male

 

 A fist full of Long-tailed Tits, 5 of the 49 caught this week

Birds ringed by Chris & Kay week-ending 19th October 2014

	w/e 19th Oct
Species	As at 12th	Kay	Chris	Total
Barred Warbler	6			6
Blackbird	62	2	3	67
Blackcap	260	4	2	266
Bluethroat	2			2
Blue Tit	87	17	32	136
Blyth's Reed Warbler	1			1
Brambling	4	11		15
Chaffinch	70	25	7	102
Chiffchaff	68	1	3	72
Chiffchaff abietinus	1	3	1	5
Coal Tit	5	5	2	12
Common Redpoll	52	18	19	89
Common Redpoll cabaret	16	21	35	72
Common Redpoll flammea	9	4	7	20
Common Rosefinch	10			10
Dunnock	24	11		35
Dusky Warbler	1			1
Fieldfare	8			8
Garden Warbler	67			67
Goldcrest	2331	115	81	2527
Goldfinch	2	1		3
Great Spotted Woodpecker	2			2
Great Tit	82	40	25	147
Greenfinch	187	15	2	204
Greenish Warbler	2			2
House Sparrow	3			3
Icterine Warbler	44			44
Jack Snipe	1			1
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	1			1
Lesser Whitethroat	240			240
Long-tailed Tit	63	8	41	112
Magpie	1			1
Marsh Tit	8			8
Marsh Warbler	2			2
Meadow Pipit	6			6
Nuthatch	2		1	3
Pied Flycatcher	31			31
Red-backed Shrike	76			76
Red-breasted Flycatcher	8	1		9
Redstart	36			36
Redwing	2			2
Reed Bunting	81	8	9	98
Reed Warbler	6			6
Robin	717	123	59	899
Sedge Warbler	6			6
Siskin	28	1	10	39
Snipe	1			1
Song Thrush	51	2		53
Sparrowhawk	14	1		15
Spotted Flycatcher	38			38
Swallow	49			49
Thrush Nightingale	20			20
Tree Pipit	15			15
Tree Sparrow	67	8	1	76
Treecreeper	64	45	25	134
Wheatear	4			4
Whinchat	1			1
White Wagtail	34			34
Whitethroat	88			88
Willow Warbler	333			333
Wryneck	1			1
Wood Warbler	10			10
Wren	66	15	24	105
Yellow-browed Warbler	3			3
Yellowhammer	21		1	22
Total	5601	505	390	6496

Birds ringed week ending 12th October

	w/e 12th Oct
Species	As at 5th	Kay	Chris	Total
Barred Warbler	6			6
Blackbird	59	3		62
Blackcap	251	5	4	260
Bluethroat	2			2
Blue Tit	77	5	5	87
Blyth's Reed Warbler	1			1
Brambling	3	1		4
Chaffinch	53	12	5	70
Chiffchaff	58	7	3	68
Chiffchaff abietinus	1			1
Coal Tit	2		3	5
Common Redpoll	28	21	3	52
Common Redpoll cabaret	13		3	16
Common Redpoll flammea	5	1	3	9
Common Rosefinch	10			10
Dunnock	15	6	3	24
Dusky Warbler	0		1	1
Fieldfare	8			8
Garden Warbler	67			67
Goldcrest	1767	389	175	2331
Goldfinch	2			2
Great Spotted Woodpecker	2			2
Great Tit	54	13	15	82
Greenfinch	182		5	187
Greenish Warbler	2			2
House Sparrow	3			3
Icterine Warbler	44			44
Jack Snipe	1			1
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	1			1
Lesser Whitethroat	239	1		240
Long-tailed Tit	5	57	1	63
Magpie	1			1
Marsh Tit	8			8
Marsh Warbler	2			2
Meadow Pipit	5		1	6
Nuthatch	2			2
Pied Flycatcher	31			31
Red-backed Shrike	76			76
Red-breasted Flycatcher	8			8
Redstart	36			36
Redwing	0	1	1	2
Reed Bunting	64	14	3	81
Reed Warbler	6			6
Robin	466	163	88	717
Sedge Warbler	6			6
Siskin	21	7		28
Snipe	1			1
Song Thrush	44	6	1	51
Sparrowhawk	13	1		14
Spotted Flycatcher	38			38
Swallow	49			49
Thrush Nightingale	20			20
Tree Pipit	15			15
Tree Sparrow	67			67
Treecreeper	33	22	9	64
Wheatear	4			4
Whinchat	1			1
White Wagtail	34			34
Whitethroat	88			88
Willow Warbler	331	2		333
Wryneck	1			1
Wood Warbler	10			10
Wren	40	17	9	66
Yellow-browed Warbler	3			3
Yellowhammer	20	1		21
Total	4505	755	341	5601