| 2006 News | | 2006 News - archived | | 2005 News - archived | | 2003 News - archived |
2004 News
Photograph by Neville McKee
This is the view from the front of the observatory buildings on a crisp late April morning.
2004 - the first week of manning
In recent years, the observatory has generally not opened until well into April. This happened mainly because of weather and boating considerations. Now that Philip has the use of the RIB, which can travel in just about any conditions, it is possible to go out in March now with some degree of certainty of travel. Six hardy old members, who knew what they were letting themselves in for (the perishing nights especially), arranged to go out for 5-7 days starting on 28th March. Assuming that there might not be many birds, we had planned a work programme as well as long evenings in front of a big fire in the common room.
The biggest project was the continuation of work on the Gavney Jetty. George Thomson has been the driving force for this, with Pat McKee doing all the mainland planning and interlinking, and Sandy McWilliams also involved in the design and metalwork procurement.
Photograph by Neville McKee
George Thomson (with crowbar) and Larry Donnelly (with pickaxe) at work on the reconstruction of the Gavney (south) Jetty.
So we Neville (author) and Pat McKee, George Thompson, Larry Donnelly (complete with a vital battery operated drill set), Patrick Keatley (in charge of ringing), and George Henderson (down to help load and to collect empty gas cylinders, but not coming out until Tuesday evening) gathered at the harbour in Donaghadee with an enormous quantity of materials and stores, including over half a ton of cementing materials, and six sacks of coal, on the late Sunday afternoon.
As we arrived on the jetty after a flat crossing, a Peregrine and a Hen Harrier greeted us. Once on the island, it took about two hours to lug everything up to the buildings. The lack of a quad was once again complained about, combined with our (or at least my advancing years!) The last straw was the flat tyres on both the wheelbarrows.
Nevertheless, the weather was lovely and on the first evening of summertime, we all felt very glad to be back on our island home. The appearance of the island was a nice surprise too. The rabbit population was thriving and had eaten the island quite flat.
Before preparing our evening meal, we had to empty the pots and pans of the usual winter collections of dead slaters (woodlice). The sink had accumulated 180 of them, which were swirled down the plug hole. It is a pity they don't eat the mould that forms over all surfaces in the kitchen by the end of every winter. Over the next four days, we washed the entire kitchen, its cupboards, drawers and their contents, so the kitchen is now ready for this year's visitors.
Even on the first evening, Larry brought out his remarkably powerful battery drill and began preparing the frames of the new display boards (Pat's project under the Millennium Awards Scheme) to be hung in the Common Room.
Monday morning brought in a lot of migrants - Goldcrests, finches, crows, Meadow Pipits, even 4+ Chiffchaffs, and specials in the form of a Stonechat, Great Tit and a Blue Tit.
With a dropping tide, George and Larry prepared for the south landing work - bringing materials and tools into position, the sand, stones and cement having been landed at the east landing unfortunately and unavoidably. They then worked on the doors and frames of the porch, which had loosened in the winter storms. Rot in the front window frames was examined and plans for the repair or replacement of the windows were considered. The water tank lids were also replaced and fixed. In the evening Larry finished the drilling and hanging of the display boards, much to Pat's delight (and everybody's) as this was the culmination of much hard work over 4 years on her part.
Stiffening east winds on Tuesday reduced the netting capability. This was unfortunate because there were lots of migrants. Plenty of Goldcrests were accompanied by lots of finches including two Bramblings, 2 Fieldfares, 6 Skylarks, 2 Robins, 2 Chiffchaffs, 6 Wood Pigeons and clouds of Meadow Pipits. Local Linnets and Reed Buntings gathered in the gully trap, having found the niger seed we had sprinkled there.
Meanwhile back at the jetty, a big mix of concrete was made and poured by George and Larry, who also did a lot of sledging and pick-axing of unwanted bits of granite blocks in readiness for the laying of new flat platforms and steps. As it was now obvious that lots more sand, stones and cement was needed, we phoned Shane Wolsey to see if he could organise the sending out of lots more with George Henderson, due to arrive in the evening. Shane came up trumps and it all arrived within a few hours, with help from George. So now there were six of us and the observatory felt well manned with spare manpower for all the work projects and maintaining very frequent net rounds, necessary when Goldcrests are on the island in cold weather. Larry turned what looked like a rough plank into a lovely piece of wood for putting new coat hooks on at the front porch, and replaced the old mirror/hanger that was there. He also put up a "new" antique mirror particularly suitable for tall people! By 9pm Larry looked at a loose end so I showed him the packet containing a new door closer intended for the Common Room. With a bit of help from George H, Larry successfully interpreted the instructions and fitted the device well before bedtime. The new arrangement is silent and will be welcomed by dorm 3 sleepers.
On Wednesday morning, 31st, the wind had risen to E 8-9, so no netting was possible. Potter traps produced a fine Wheatear and 2 Meadow Pipits. By evening a lull allowed a Redwing and a Chiffchaff to be caught. A walk around the SW of the island revealed a group of new cowslips, approximately 12 rosettes in 6 clusters. These plants are a botanical mystery. This species is quite rare in Northern Ireland and had not been recorded on the island until last year. Larry and George left the jetty until calmer weather returned and instead worked at replacing the rotten door into the old buildings, without even the use of a decent wood saw. In the evening, Larry hung the new mist net organising board which ringers use to keep track of the nets.
Thursday brought yet more wind and migrants, again mainly Goldcrests and Meadow Pipits, in slightly lesser numbers than earlier in the week. The sighting of the day was a lovely male Hen Harrier. The nets yielded a steady run of birds for brief visits to the lab. As well as further jetty progress, George T and Larry installed a new shower in the wash house. This project involved much trial and error and readjustments. George T really got stuck into his special project of building a new fireplace in dorm 1. He did a bit just about every day. Larry drilled the holes needed for the attachment of the mantelpiece. Despite a blazing evening fire, Patrick and George H managed to drag themselves away too go shearwatering. They got 12 on the only night of the week with some cloud cover.
Photograph by Neville McKee
George Thomson's fireplace still with some finishing touches to be done, including the cleaning of the stone face. Dorm 1 (often referred to as the Warden's Room) will now be cosy even in mid-winter, providing the persons using it have enough fuel!
Friday 2nd April brought yet more migration and successful ringing with the wind down to ESE 4-5 but still cold. Pat heard a Willow Warbler singing on the east side of the island, and shortly after lunch a phone call to the kitchen from George H requiring help and bags because the wall trap was "full of Phylloscs"! In the catching box were 4 Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler and a Goldcrest. This was the first Willow Warbler of the year - a very exciting moment. The Willow Warbler is the most important of the trans-Saharan migrants passing through Copeland. All week we kept net rounds to 10-15 minutes and furled early when we thought we had caught most of the Goldcrests.
George H and Neville planted Willows, Hawthorn and Alders in the pond and withy exclosures, after repairing fencing, and digging out all the rabbit burrows - fortunately empty.
Jetty work had continued all week. By Friday, the new steps were complete and half the platform area, though a little damage had been caused by the storms. With half the platform still to do, we tentatively phoned Shane again to see if he could organise another half ton of building materials to be sent out on the Friday boat. To our great joy and appreciation, he did so. The loading in Donaghadee is a mystery as yet, Shane must have been involved, but when it arrived on the island, the six of us and Philip and Walker unloaded it at Gavney luckily, so we didn't have to wheelbarrow it from the east landing. At this stage, Larry, Pat and George Henderson departed for home, leaving just Patrick, George T and Neville for the weekend.
Heavy and prolonged showers overnight and into Saturday morning (3rd April) up to 9 am soaked the island, filling all the usual pools and causing a sizeable stream to run down the ditch in the north garden. Very little migration had occurred, but the change to west winds allowed a big catch of Linnets and Reed Buntings in the Gully trap. This was helped by repairs we made to the wiring and the drainage from the catching box. A few odd migrants showed up later including 8 Carrion Crows, a Fieldfare and a Kestrel.
George finished the dorm 1 fireplace stonework and installed the mantelpiece. By the afternoon, the tide had dropped enough to allow the final phase of the jetty work to happen. Patrick and Neville replaced Larry to work with George. By evening this was all done and Neville turned his attention to coppicing near the 60' pond net, in between downpours.
Sunday 4th, our last day was even colder than the south-easterlies of earlier in the week. Little arrived in the strong west winds, but it was a nice bright day with blue skies. 11 birds were ringed, bringing our weeks total to 200, rather good for the time of year. George finished the last of the cement filling a hole in the Gavney path, Neville did more coppicing (though not enough!) and Patrick gradually took down all the nets, having faithfully minded them all week. The afternoon was spent doing chores including the cleaning by George and Patrick of the cookers, which had been missed earlier in the week.
John and Kay Stewart came out with two friends for short afternoon trip, much to our surprise considering the strong west winds and the rough seas. John demonstrated the presence of lots of male shearwaters underground in the lower shore colony by using the tape playback technique. Books were completed and departure happened at 4 p.m. after a great week.
Photograph by Neville McKee
The new pond in the south garden has been full and even overflowing during April. The edge of the liner has still to be tucked in and the stones removed but this cannot be done until the ground around dries out.
Spring on the island
Willow Warblers came through in good numbers, again as measured by ringing, with over 250 being ringed, mostly in April. 120 arrived on 24th April. The females only showed up in the second half of the month. Three northern race acredula birds were identified and photos can be viewed on the website www.cbo.org.uk
Other good birds included a fair passage of Chaffinches, Blackcaps and Robins. Seabird passage was good on most days and birds of prey were frequently seen. The only Grasshopper Warbler to be handled was on 24th April. Others were present but eluded us. 70 Brent were observed flying north on 10th April. Very small numbers of migrants came through in May, but Garden Warbler, Fieldfare, Cuckoo and quite a few Spotted Flycatchers were seen.
Breeding birds
Special ringing trips were organised to ring Eider ducks, Black Guillemots (25), Arctic Terns (112) and Fulmars (26), all with good success. The Eider ringing was exploratory and was really a training exercise to set up a team of experts to ring and census the populations on all three Copeland islands in future. Just 6 females were ringed and all returned to their nests quickly. A total of 27 nests was found on the observatory, and there may well have been more.
The tern shell beds on Mew have not been used this year either, but frequently adults scouted out the area and shoreline during June. Rock Pipits have bred on the island, the first time since 1994, rearing two broods. Common Gulls have reared 16 young on our island, from just 14 nests - a good success rate. A male Whitethroat sang over the summer but failed to attract a mate. Sedge Warblers have been breeding as usual, around six pairs. A pair of Wrens reared a brood of 6 young in a Swallow's nest in the toolshed. Three Blackbirds were reared in a hole of one of the walls of an old stone pigsty. Otters were seen several times up to June, including by one of the several day parties. They have killed and eaten about 12 shearwaters.
Summer sightings have already included some early autumn migrants such as skuas, Common Sandpipers, Swifts, Scoter, and Greenshank. 66 Swifts were seen migrating on the 12th August.
A ringing group visited Big Copeland on 19th June and caught 12 shearwaters. One was a control, one was 25 years old from the observatory, and another was a retrap from 2002. Another bird, originally ringed on the observatory, was found dead too. Small numbers are killed by Peregrines annually on Big Copeland.
A big effort to update the life histories of a large number of our shearwaters was made from 14th to 20th of July. Approximately 900 were handled including 2 controls.
Other summer news
Four beds have been gratefully received from CVNI and have already been assembled.
The early spring coppicing in the pond enclosure has been a great success and regrowth is excellent. The war against Himalayan Balsam has continued with vigour, especially in the first week of July. Stragglers are being removed from areas in the north and east of the island, which had been largely cleared in the last two years. Each weekend, volunteers have been searching for and removing all stray flowering balsam but the task seems never-ending!
Moths have been the subject of a lot of renewed study in the last three years. Some rare and unusual species have been recorded, highlighting the importance of the Copeland Islands for all kinds of Wildlife. Our management practices to increase the diversity of habitats have benefited many species of moths and this must be an indicator of the status of many other species of insect important to birds. More details of moth sighting are about to go on to the website, but in brief, the best sightings so far this year have been Clouded Buff - first outside Fermanagh in 50 years; Crescent Dart - only third NI record but clearly a thriving population on the obs; Pod Lover - this is a coastal subspecies of the Tawny Shears and is a species of conservation concern with a very limited distribution in NI. CBO has a good population shown by catches of up to 15 nightly in mid-July.
News from the island, late August to late September.
The ringing of young shearwaters got off to a good start on 25th August with 50-60 ringed on the first two nights, though a lull around the time of the full moon after this reduced the nightly total to close to 10. A break in manning from 29th August to 2nd September probably lost us between 50 and 100 ringed chicks.
We know that it is hard to find them under a bright moon but we are not certain what the reason is . Studies in other places suggest that the moon's phases have no influence on the date of laying or emergence of the young, but we see a striking repressive effect of the moon on emergence. It may be that the young just avoid coming out on moonlit nights or spend less time on the surface. They may find it easier to take off and depart on a moonlit night too. This is something we will try to resolve in the next few years.
From 3rd there were enough ringers present to do both the night work and the early morning migrants. Around 50-60 were ringed each night, declining to about 30 after the 12th September. The 18th was the last night manned, by which stage the total of ringed pulli had reached approximately 846, subject to confirmation. This makes 2004 the second best year ever for the ringing of the chick shearwaters. We had expected a lower total because of our hunch that they were not doing all that well this year. We had noticed a sharp decrease in nightly activity as the summer progressed and few large rafts or feeding flocks had been noted around the islands throughout the summer. With the effort put in this autumn being as good or better than the best ever year of 2002 in which 913 were ringed, we still feel that in a good year, more chicks could be ringed. Some sub-colonies in particular seemed to be short of chicks but that is only an impression. It will be possible to judge better when the final totals are analysed. The ringing of the chicks is hard work. It is difficult to drag oneself away from the roaring fire and go out into the dark, often with stiff and cold winds to discourage one.
Once all the basic ringing work is done, it will be possible to derive important scientific conclusions from the analysis of every aspect of the ringing study, which will help in our understanding of how this species' populations are regulated and how best to conserve them in the future. The species is regarded as vulnerable, mainly because of the relatively small numbers of colonies that exist and partly because the fishing chaos at sea (caused by lack of control by the governments of fishing nations and the flouting of many existing regulations by many commercial fishing interests) is threatening so many species, including now, it seems, our own Manx Shearwater.
There have been many nearly blank days during this autumn's migration, though lots of seabirds have been feeding close in around the islands on obvious shoals of fry and even big fish. The water in the Mew Sound has been boiling with fish at times. Strangely all Skuas have been scarce, especially Pomarine of which only one has been seen (on 29th August). Whimbrels too have been very infrequent and must be using another of their routes of choice to go south. On 26th August 20 Swifts were seen - a late date for so many. In recent years, numbers of Turnstone have been consistently low on the island. A count of 17 on 27th August was relatively good. From 28th August there was a constant trickle of migrants including small numbers ringed daily of Swallows, Willow Warblers (last 3 on 4th September), Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and the odd late Sedge Warbler (last 3 on 5th Sept). On the 5th a good arrival of 30 Goldcrests and 10 Chiffchaffs saw 15 and 6 of each ringed respectively.
Nice weather from 6th to 9th September settling to moderate easterly brought very few arrivals of migrants to or past the island. Highlights were occasion Grey Wagtails, 3 Greenshank overnight on 6th and another 2 on 7th, and a group of 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls which were spotted high in the sky well to the north flying due south over the island and away to the south towards Portugal in mid morning.
By the 10th, cloud and mist brought an increase in arrivals. 20 Goldcrests, a Song Thrush, a Sparrowhawk and a Spotted Flycatcher appeared.
Brighter colder weather came in on string west winds by 11th, and only a few Goldcrests and the odd Chiffchaff showed up, though several Stock Doves were caught in the Gully trap, with a bit of effort. All 5 were moulting adults. On the 12th a Kestrel and 100 Meadow Pipits moved WSW. Good numbers of Pipits passed through almost daily: 60 on 13th, 120 on 15th, 300+ on 17th, 300+ on 18th and 100+ on 19th. After a day of torrential rain on 14th, 2 Wheatears arrived late in the afternoon.
By the 17th, the first Redpoll of the autumn arrived followed by 6 on 19th.
Goldcrest numbers rose from single figures on most days to 20 on 18th and 25 on 19th. After a prolonged and unusual absence of hirundines, 60 Swallows and 4 House Martins appeared on the 19th. Five Ravens flew west from Scotland also on the 19th.
The ringing of Meadow Pipits was the main action at the gully trap and in the lab during the very windy westerly period of 11th to 19th September. A total of 194 were ringed, mainly on 3 days from 17th to 19th with over 50 each day. The next most ringed migrant was the Goldcrest, of which 92 were ringed from 25th August to 19th September. This total paled in relation to a catch of 59 on 25th September and 12 on 26th, totalling 71 in 2 days.This weekend also saw a flurry of arriving finches and more Meadow Pipits. About 70 birds were ringed on 25th including the first Dunnock of the autumn and another 40 on 26th, including 7 Goldfinches, 3 Redpolls and over 20 Meadow Pipits. The miss of the weekend was a super White Wagtail which wormed its way through a tiny hole in the garden net. It would have been the second to be ringed on the island.
Seabirds were generally good and interesting to watch from the Chris Bailey Hide on most days. Ken Wilson did a lot of essential maintenance work on the hide. the tumbling soil at the back was cleared and the entire structure treated inside and out with Cuprinol 5 star wood treatment.
Birds seen included many large groups of feeding rather than passing Kittiwakes, Gannets and shearwaters.Single Great Skuas were seen on 28th August and 4th September. Arctic skua (singles) were seen on 26th, 29th,and 30th Aug., 4th (2), 16th (2), and 18th September. The only Pomarine Skua of the autumn so far was on 29th August. Up to 30 Manx Shearwaters were seen almost every day, but big numbers for so late in the season were noted on 2 particular days. On the 4th September 1000 passed south, while on 19th a big feeding party of 800 spent a few hours in the Ramharry race behind the lighthouse. The view through the telescopes was wonderful. The birds were diving and swimming then taking off without a flutter, circling and then plunging again and again, showing their absolute mastery of the sea.
Several other remarkable sights were enjoyed by several observers. A Peregrine caught a Stock Dove in the north garden almost overhead. We didn't see the catch, just heard the smack, then we spotted the Peregrine slinking away over the garden wall and the flurry of dove feathers descending in the light breeze.
On another day, two Peregrines had a dog-fight over the cliff and east promontory area, calling a lot and clenching talons at times.
For the ringers, it was noted yet again that when there are a lot of birds on the island of ringable species, there is no need for a lot of nets to be set. Indeed, for this long spell of manning, only one to three nets were used on the good days. Many remained furled until going home time. All the Meadow Pipits were caught in the Gully trap.
Three other work projects were undertaken. The paths around the net walk and the net sites themselves were mowed closely. this not only keeps our feet dry but it helps avoid net damage caused by snagging on plants underneath.
The soakaway for the kitchen sink was dug out and rebuilt with a large cavernous space created, with the hole lined by stone walling, with a central pillar and a roof put in place before the entire structure was covered over with soil, which will quickly grass over. George Henderson did most of this work and there are photographs to prove what a dirty job it was! The photos don't do the smell justice!
Photograph © Neville McKee
George Henderson finishing the roof over the cavernous soakaway which drains the kitchen sink.
The new pond in the south garden, sponsored by Bangor Rotary, has been waiting for the right weather and water level to complete the tucking in of the liner. Boyd Bryce with a bit of help from Neville McKee completed the job. All that remains is a bit of back-filling on the north side.
Photograph by Neville McKee
View of the south pond after the liner had been tucked in. Some of the stones around the pond have since been removed. Marginal plants should now colonise the edges. The observatory is grateful to Bangor Rotary for sponsoring the liner for this pond.
Some other observations of the activities of young emerging shearwaters were made. As usual, the practice flapping behaviour was noted. It is not possible to say how long this is indulged in before takeoff. A lot of birds were actually seen taking off on their first flight. They like to point into the wind, stand on a height, and off they go. The takeoff point could be a rocky outcrop, a grassy slope, a wall, the Gully trap roof, or even a cluster of bracken on to which the youngster scrambles, flaps a bit in a wobbly sort of way and then goes. Almost all such fledging birds that were seen going, went at late dusk. It seemed that if they didn't leave then, they waited for another night. Departing birds had not necessarily lost all their down though most had.
While catching the birds, it was noted that there were differences in the response to the approaching human. They fell into four categories. Some simply sat there, quite clueless and were caught without a move. Another type would stay put but rise up in an aggressive display, often giving the scary adult style call, and stabbing the air in front of them to scare us off (not successfully!). A third group would try to take off as they were approached and some of these actually succeeded, not necessarily previously ringed, but if they failed, we would catch them in the bracken that they had stumbled into.
A final group would cleverly and purposefully slink off from their position towards and into their nearby burrow.
The cave was checked as usual for the presence of a nest at the very end (about 12 metres in, and too low to reach to the end). This year there were two young birds on the 17th September. One was fully ready to go, having lost all its down, but the idea of crawling out hadn't occurred to it yet. The other chick looked healthy but was still very downy and could well have had 2 more weeks to go before departure. They were less than 0.5m apart (2 feet).
Autumn News
October is a difficult month for the observatory because of the weather. Few book in for weekend visits and as a result the committee try to promote weeklong stays. The RIB, mobile phones and Philip's versatility has improved the situation considerably because it is possible to bring a party off early or at quite short notice when the weather is deteriorating. This was the situation on the first weekend of October, when weather websites suggested strongly that the party would be better off on Saturday evening rather than waiting until Sunday. All went well and the party was not marooned, but the weather did not turn out to be as bad on the Sunday as forecast.
The following weekend was forecast to be so bad that the party did not even try to go out. In the event, the weather did not break down until the Sunday, and the party would not have got off. A weeklong party was due to start on Sunday 10th but only got out on Tuesday in still quite rough seas.
Changeover happened on Sunday 17th when a 5-day party took over. Finally the weekend of 22nd to 24th took place almost on schedule but were taken off an hour early during a window in the weather. Generally October has been fairly average - windy, fairly wet, some sun and rather cold. Mixed weather causes the migrants to come in fits and starts. There have been quite a few blank days, but that could be regarded as normal. As a rule if one stays 4 days in October, one will be a really good day.
On the 2nd, there were about 50 Goldcrests on the island of which 16 were ringed, despite strong W 6-7 winds.
The 12th was more notable for birds at sea. 3 Puffins and 5 Whooper Swans (E) were seen, while overhead a Snow Bunting passed east against east winds.
The 13th was a good day. 110 Linnets, 40 Greenfinches, 2 Chaffinches, 40 Redpolls, 6 Skylarks, 8 Meadow Pipits, 15 Goldcrests and 2 Sparrowhawks arrived. One Sparrowhawk, 10 Goldcrests and 12 Redpolls were ringed.
On 14th, a Fieldfare, 30 Skylarks, 25 Twite, 45 Linnets, 23 Greenfinches, 6 Robins, 1 Dunnock, 18 Meadow Pipits, 1 Wheatear, 1 Song Thrush, 3 Mistle Thrushes, 10 Goldcrests and a Sparrowhawk made the island seem very busy all morning. 5 Whooper Swans flew west from Scotland.
On 15th, 15 Goldcrests, 11 Greenfinches and 2 Carrion Crows were all that appeared.
The 16th and 17th were blank.
The 18th was a great day. 100 Greenfinches, 80 Redpolls, 3 Chaffinches, 16 Skylarks, 12 Meadow Pipits, and 7 Whooper Swans went west. No less than 4 Peregrines were present and one of them ate the only Sandwich Tern seen. A late departing shearwater was observed to be lacking waterproofing and was late engorged by a Great Black-backed Gull. Of 47 birds ringed, 7 were Greenfinches and 33 were Redpolls.The 19th was a poor day for ringing, though 2 Chaffinches were caught. 12 Goldfinches, a Pied Wagtail and a late juv Arctic Tern were seen. The tern stayed on the Mew rocks for 45 minutes and swam in the water for a while.
The 20th was very poor. Only 10 Goldfinches, and singles of Redpoll, Goldcrest, Skylark and Greenfinch were seen.
The 21st was similarly poor but 2 Redwings arrived. However the 22nd was another big day with 50 Greenfinches, 70 Redpolls, 3 Rooks, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Redwing, 20 Skylarks and a Whooper Swan flew west. 49 Redpolls were ringed as were 5 Meadow Pipits, a Blackbird, a Song Thrush and a Magpie.
On 23rd, 9 more Redpolls and 6 Goldcrests were ringed and amongst a sprinkling of other species was a very late Chiffchaff. The final day of manning for the year (24th) was also good, with 3 Fieldfares, 6 Redwings seen and the ringing list of 7 Goldcrests, 3 Blackbirds, 2 Song Thrushes, 2 Blackcaps and a final Sparrowhawk bringing the year's total to 8.
A total of 13 Blackcaps were ringed in 2004. Other interesting (provisional) 2004 totals are: Redpoll 119, Goldcrest 373, Willow Warbler 312, Chiffchaff 39, Meadow Pipit 252, Robin 24 (very low), Wren 90, Swallow 92, Sedge Warbler 46 (low) and Linnet 96.
There have been many other interesting sightings during October. Many seabirds have been passing or feeding nearby, though nothing rare has been seen. Skuas have been very scarce all autumn. Great views of an otter were very entertaining, including eating a "red" fish, swimming, bounding about and sprainting. Porpoises have been seen in numbers up to 20. The special thing about October visits is the presence of Grey Seal Pups, which can be closely approached. The best count was 11 but by that stage 3 had already left and more will be born.
| © Copeland Bird Observatory, 2001 – 2004 |