Halswell Quarry - Yellowhammers

Earlier this week it was noticed that a large flock of (100+) birds were feeding on newly sown grass seed on the side of Kennedys Bush Rd. This road is on the western side of the Quarry park. The birds were mostly Yellowhammers and Sparrows but there appeared to be a number of Cirl Buntings as well. One count estimated up to 25 CB's, a really significant number.

It was decided to attempt to see if we could catch a few. On Thursday afternoon Ruud and I set up a net in some bush next to the feeding site to see if it was possible to manage this. We were able to get a net in place but with a moderate southerly wind springing up and the site being in full sun we weren't very successful, catching only 2 Yellowhammers.

Ruud with his first Yellowhammer - looking very pleased.

On Friday morning with much better conditions we again had a go. We had some additional help with Jan, Luke & Andrew arriving. We were able to catch 9 more Yellowhammers before they disappeared. It was then found that they had moved to a new subdivision around the corner on Cashmere Rd where all the road verges had been also newly sown giving the birds a large alternative feeding site.

Ruud & Luke with two of Friday's birds.

Halswell Quarry 13 Feb - a very quiet morning with one exception.

We had a session at the Quarry this morning and had a very meagre catch. We caught only 8 birds of 4 species with 7 new and 1 recapture, House Sparrow - 3 new and a recap, Greenfinch 2, Chaffinch 1, and the big surprise of a Cirl Bunting. This is possibly the first banded in Canterbury and definitely the first for the Quarry. Cirl Buntings are probably the rarest introduced species in New Zealand. They were introduced about 150 years ago but have never been very common. There are regular sightings in the Quarry area where there seems to be a small but persistent population.

Kate banding our first Cirl Bunting

And having its wing measurement taken.