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 

Houghton Bay 11 July, Silvereyes

Had a quick session at the Houghton Bay Stream this afternoon primarily to see if there were many birds about and if the karo was in flower. I had a look a few days ago and there were very few birds and no flowers. This afternoon I caught 25 birds in just an hour so there definitely are birds there.  It was nearly 3pm by the time I was set up and no doubt I would have caught more if I had been earlier. The birds caught were 2 Chaffinch, 1 Grey Warbler, 21 new Silvereyes and 1 recap which had been banded 7/1/2010. The karo is just starting to flower so it will be interesting to see if large numbers of Silvereye turn up in the next few weeks as they did this time last year.

There was a group of youngsters playing games in the bush near the site and they arrived just as I was banding the last bird, the Grey Warbler. They took a considerable interest in my activity and posed for the release of this bird.

The kids with the Grey Warbler before its release.

 

Hornsey Rd 9 July - A couple of old birds

Set the Funnel Trap this morning to check on the local Silvereyes with some success. Caught 39 with 8 new birds and 31 recaptures.  The 8 new birds as well as another 10 which haven't been caught at this site this year indicates that there has been an influx of new birds over the last week.

Two of the recaps were of a reasonable age, A-161829  was banded 11/2/05, 2705 days ago and A-154943 banded 11/2/03, 3314 days. This bird is now the 3rd oldest Silvereye the group has recaptured in the last 20 years; both these birds were last caught in 2009. The bird caught at the Zoo last month was our 3rd oldest Silvereye but is now relegated to 4th, interestingly though the two were banded in the same week. If we catch the Zoo one this month it will reverse the positions. Both birds will need to be caught next year to threaten our two oldest that were recaptured at 3737 and 3817 days.


In spite of the new birds caught today Silvereye numbers have been surprisingly stable since early May with weekly catches of 21, 38, 28, 39, 39, 38 and 39. Other species caught this morning were 2 Blackbirds, 1 Dunnock and a Starling. 

Blythe St Berhampore 4 July

Had a banding session at Blythe St Berhampore this afternoon. The site is in the back garden/ lawn where Rose the lady of the house feeds birds over the winter months.  She feeds them regularly about 3 pm with the birds gathering for about an hour before. There is just enough room for 1 x 6m net along one side of the lawn where birds can be flushed in.

This afternoon I managed to catch 35 birds of 4 species with 28 new birds and 7 recaptures. Species caught were - (recaps in brackets)
House Sparrow - 20 (1) the recap was banded in Island Bay back in March.
Starling - 1 (0)
Chaffinch - 1 (0)
Silvereye - 6 (6) 1 of the recaps was banded at this site a year ago 3 were banded in 2010. 1 was banded at the Houghton Bay stream in March 2011 and the other here at Hornsey Rd in June 2009 with this being the first recapture since July 09.

This is the third year I have banded at this site and in previous years there were far more Silvereyes with a much higher new bird to recap ratio.  This is becoming apparent at most sites and probably indicates a low breeding success over this last spring/summer. Another change from the last couple of years is the complete absence of Greenfinch this year which have previously made up a large % of the catch.

Rose is a very good gardener and has, as well the ornamental beds where I band, a large vege garden and she often sends me home with a great selection of  fresh vege which is greatly appreciated by Ruth and me.   

Houghton Valley School 3 July Mostly Silvereyes

Kate, Ros and I spent a productive few hours at the Houghton Valley School this morning with, despite the forecast, good conditions.In all we caught 33 birds of 5 species with as expected the majority being Silvereyes.

Kate prepares to release a Silvereye while Ros de-baggs the next

Species caught were
Silvereyes - 13 (13) All the recaps except 1 were banded at this site either 2 weeks ago or on 5 July last year, the exception was banded in the Gully below my house in May 2010 and has been caught at a couple of sites since and now at the H V School.
Blackbird - 2 (0)
House Sparrow - 3 (0)
Dunnock - 1 (0)

The Dunnock still showing the brown eye of a first year bird

Grey Warbler - 0 (1) The recap was banded last January as a juvenile at the Houghton Bay stream at the bottom of the valley.

Although still in it's first year the Grey Warbler is already getting the red eye of an adult.

Karori Cemetery Saturday 30 June

Gen, Nick and I spent a couple of hours at the Karori Cemetery this morning partly to see what birds were there and also for Gen to hopefully get some more samples. Although we did not catch a lot of birds it still was I believe a successful session.

Dogwood fruit a month ago now almost all consumed

 In all we caught 8 birds with 5 new Blackbirds

One of the Female Blackbirds had a very prominent growth bar across it's wings and tail giving us no trouble aging it as a 1

Three Tui were caught 1 new and 2 recaptures, they were all big males tipping the scales at near or over 200g. One of the recaps was banded at the beginning of May and has gone from 148g to a massive 210g - there must be good stuff in the Dogwood fruit. The other recap was banded 30 May 2010 at the same spot.

Gen with the biggest male Tui, she managed very well only losing a small amount of (her) blood.

Male Tui wing showing the wing slot in the 7th primary which they use to make the  whiring sound  when giving dominance displays.

Cats were again a potential problem with several prowling the area and a close eye had to be kept on the nets. When one of the Blackbirds squawked loudly when being processed several appeared almost instantly.

   

Hornsey Rd Friday 29 June

Set the funnel trap here on Friday morning to check on the Silvereyes. Caught 38 in all with only 2 unbanded, although 7 of the recaps hadn't  been caught at this site previously this year so there is some turn over of birds. Four of the recaps were banded in 2008, for 2 it was the first recapture.

I have also set the trap at Bridie's down the road a couple of times recently and have caught a total of 17 Silvereyes with 13 new and 4 recaptures. Silvereyes have only started to feed at Bridie's in the last couple of weeks. Also recaptured 1 Starling.