Houghton Bay Friday 13 July

With the predicted rain not arriving and the forecast for the next few days being for wet, windy weather I had another session at the Houghton Bay Stream this afternoon. I tried to con a couple of people into joining me but to no avail. In all I caught 38 birds of 5 species in a couple of hours with 31 new and 7 recaps.
Species caught were - (recaps in brackets)
Blackbird - 1 (0) I actually caught the same bird 3 times.
Chaffinch - 2 (2) The oldest recap was banded in April 09 and is now the oldest Chaffinch banded and recaptured at this site.

The band on the Chaffinch although only 4 years old was showing considerable wear.

Grey Warbler - 1 (1) the recap banded as a J Jan 2012
Fantail - 2 (0)
Silvereye - 25 (4) 1 of the recaps was banded in the Gully below my house another, which was banded at the stream in Jan this year, was recaptured at my place a couple of weeks ago and has now returned to Houghton Bay. The oldest recap was banded in Dec 2008 and is now the oldest Silvereye banded and recaptured at this site.

The Karo growing in the Houghton Bay valley is starting to flower and although it is a NZ native, but not native to the Wellington area, it is starting to dominate patches of rejuvenating bush in the valley. It must produce big quantities of nectar for such a small flower as in this area it is a favorite food for Silvereyes, in particular. It also seems to make them thirsty making them easier to catch at a water source. 

Karo flowers although small are very attractive to Silvereyes

Only a few of the Karo are in flower yet