Thursday 19 March 2015

New Willow Tits and a Deformed Beak

Last weekend, on the Saturday, I was so pleased to be out ringing. It has been several weeks since the team had been able to get out due to the wet and windy weather. Unfortunately Peter wasn't out because of the random possible outcomes of his sheep having lambs, so he had to take care of them. So on Saturday we were with Moxey and two other trainees, Kev and Sophie.  I will introduce you to Kev and Sophie in more detail next time if I can persuade them to pose for a picture!

It was the perfect conditions for ringing on Saturday, nevertheless throughout the session the catch rate stayed at a pace which was quite slow, only about twenty birds were ringed by the end of the session.


 Even though we didn't get too many birds, our efforts were rewarded with 2 new Willow Tits for this site. They were presumed to be new birds into the area looking for terrority.

A little bit before the Willow Tits were caught, we noticed one of the Blue Tits we caught had a deformity of the beak. It's not that often we catch birds with deformities and here you can see the elongated upper mandible. This bird had a good weight so it wasn't finding it difficult to feed. We once caught a Great Tit with a fascinating bill deformity and here's a link to the blog where I called it the "Spoon Billed Great Tit."


At the end of the session we checked the Barn Owl boxes as one of the owls has been seen using a different box rather than it's favourite, but no eggs just yet, only fresh pellets.

So it was a very interesting session despite of the low numbers.

14 comments:

  1. precious willow tit! glad the great can eat well!

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  2. Glad the deformed beak has not stopped the bird feeding.

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  3. What a splendid looking Willow Tit. Always great to see them. Good work Findlay.

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  4. Oh, that's a lovely willow tit. Good to know the deformed beak doesn't interfere with the bird's eating.

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  5. Willow Tit is a bit of a rarity here so glad to view your excellent capture Findlay. Good to know the deformity is not preventing the Blue Tit from feeding.

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  6. Beautiful...loved reading your narration. It's been wet and soggy here also. Making for some muddy birding trips!!!

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  7. Poor little one with the deformed beak...I hope it is still able to eat ok. Sounds like you had a great day out ringing.

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  8. Lovely little birds.

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  9. Wonderful captures, Findley! We don't have willow tits here in the US, but they are very much like our chickadees. A favorite at my feeder!

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  11. Glad that its deformity isn't affecting its health. It's great how wildlife can adapt and survive despite obstacles.- Thanks for sharing..

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  12. Good to know that the bird is able to eat still. A lovely little guy, don't remember seeing it even on blogs.

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  13. Hello Findlay, I really enjoy reading your post. Not only do I enjoy seeing photos of your birds, but I also enjoy reading your narration and explanation. Keep up the good work and most of all, have fun. Christa from the US

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  14. Although the action seemed slow for you, any day you're able get out is a good one! And to be able to see and ring a few birds makes it an even better day!

    Very nice report.

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