10th-17th May 2015
Staff: DWE, JMY, MBL, TMJ, MFB, MPN, Bernt, Jakob, Lilly
Projects:
Great Reed Warbler, Skylark, Ortolan Bunting, Goose Counting, Wetland Census, Night Singing Census, Starling Nest Boxes, Lapwing Survey, Crane Counting, Spotted Crakes, Savi’s Warbler.
Over the last week things have been rather hectic with various people on various projects and we have been rather forgetful of the daily diary; I will do a summary of the various working projects over the past week.
Great Reed Warbler
This week, TMJ and MBL were joined by Bernt and Jakob in there locating, ringing, recapturing and nest finding of Great Reed Warblers.
MBL reports that few birds have arrived so far, with the season seeming delayed. They have captured 4 birds and located 2 nests. New males have been identified and next week these birds will hopefully be ringed.
Skylark and Ortolan
JMY has also been joined by Lilly as an assistant in the Skylark and Ortolan projects this year. On the 12th, DWE and JMY began the official survey of the Sörby farm area of the 9 plots which occurred in Hay and Autumn Corn. This proved a success with numbers ranging from 1-5 singing males in each plot. Lilly joined on the 13th and along with MPN, the 3 (minus DWE) surveyed the Bärsta farm area on the 15th.
Ortolan searches have been ongoing throughout the week and currently we have located at least 5 singing males. Efforts to read colour ring combinations continue.
Goose and Wetland Census
After an attempted Goose Census on the afternoon of the 12th, we decided we simply had to be missing birds and chicks on the account of previous Wetland Counts and decided to use the counts from the Wetland Survey performed on the 13th as the first of the 3 Goose Counts.
DWE, JMY and MBL performed the Census.
Nyängen (MBL)
Greylag Goose: 2 pairs and 4 adults
Gadwall: 2 pairs and 4 adults
Mallard: 1 pair
Shoveler: 1 pair
Mute Swan: 1
Nynäsängen:
Greylag Goose: 15
Gadwall: 2
Fräknabottnen:
Coot: 5
Gadwall: 1 pair and 9 adults
Garganey: 2
Mallard: 4 pairs
Ruff: 1
Black-headed Gull: 12
Common Tern: 6
Black Tern: 3
Lapwing: 2
Greylag Goose: 9 pairs and 21 adults
Teal: 10
Wigeon: 6
Shoveler: 2 pairs
Fiskingemaden (JMY):
Crane: 54
Lapwing: 2 pairs and 4 adults
Greylag Goose: 24
Black-headed Gull: 14
Snipe
Mallard: 1 pair
Värstamaden:
Lapwing: 2 pairs
Common Sandpiper: 5
Mallard: 1 pair
Snipe
Sörbyjön (DWE):
Black-headed Gull/Little Gull: 126 (lighting conditions bad, Little Gulls calling, estimate around 10)
Greylag Goose: 4 pairs
Gadwall: 2 pairs
Canada Goose: 1 pair
Coot: 1
Gadwall: 2 pairs and 1 adult
Killingemaden:
Lapwing: 1
Greylag Goose: 15 pairs and 50 chicks
Hammarboten:
Greylag Goose: 26 pairs, 120 chicks and 8 adults
Mute Swan: 4 pairs and 1 adult
Wood Sandpiper: 3
Ruff: 4
Lapwing: 4 pairs and 1 adult
Canada Goose: 1 pair
Grey Heron: 1
Mallard: 4 males
Gadwall: 1 pair and 1 adult
Hammarmaden:
Greylag Goose: 73 pairs, 328 chicks and 35 adult.
Teal: 2 pairs
Gadwall: 1 pair
Lapwing: 1
Common Sandpiper: 3
Wood Sandpiper: 1
Night Census
DWE and JMY covered Västra and Östra Kvismaren on the 16th. Though there was no wind, the efforts were hampered by constant drizzle making for a rather soggy night.
Västra (JMY):
Lapwing: 4
Mallard:4
Black-headed Gull: approx 22
Mute Swan: 4
Little Gull: 1
Greenshank: 1
Wigeon: 1
Common Sandpiper: 1
Greylag Goose: 30+
Snipe: 4
Bittern: 2
Sedge Warbler: 3
Savi’s Warbler: 1 (interesting location to be investigated further by DWE)
Thrush Nightingale: 2
Östra (DWE):
Sedge Warbler: 24
Eurasian Reed Warbler: 2
Grasshopper Warbler: 1
Savi’s Warber: 1 (ringed male)
Thrush Nightingale: 6
Cuckoo: 1
Water Rail: 8
Spotted Crake: 4
Bittern: 3
Snipe: 10+
Lapwing: 7
Garganey: 4 (flew in to roost calling)
Coot: 2
Tawny Owl: In Sörön.
The rest…
2 Starling Nest box checks around Ängfallet have been performed, one on the 11th and another on the 17th. The 11th produced the first 2 chicks, (out of a nest of 6 eggs, with 4 unhatched at that point). On the 17th only 2 eggs were left being incubated alongside 3 chicks. We will wait to see if these hatch or not. 1 nest has been predated, with 4 eggs lying outside the box on arrival.
On the 15th DWE performed a Lapwing census on Västra rakan. 58 birds were sat in the fields, including 9 displaying males and 5 nesting females.
MPN performed the first part of the weekly Crane count on Bärsta åkrar, DWE will take the second part tomorrow morning.
Various attempts have been made at catching the Spotted Crakes residing on Hammarbotten by MFG, DWE, TMJ & MBL and unfortunately the technique used last year hasn’t been as effective this year with no birds caught in 4 nights. This could be to do with birds being more wise after being caught last year (which we hope is the case, as we would like to prove that the population here is a returning one).
On the 15th, MFG, TMJ, DWE and MBL went out to catch the Savi’s Warblers on territory at Kvinnerstajön. We had success in capturing 1 adult male, and a second bird was been around the net (we presume to be a female as the second male was heard singing on it’s territory further away shortly after this mystery bird was seen). This bird now has the colour rings red white and blue and the code H8-92. Further attempts to ring the second male and solve the mystery of bird 3 will be made next week.
DWE