tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31800064568192463742024-03-14T00:26:21.000-07:00The Cardiff Blackbird Project Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-69216786294120443872014-05-10T08:56:00.000-07:002014-05-10T08:56:03.239-07:00Double Figures<div style="text-align: justify;">
As of this week we reached double figures for the number of individual blackbirds re-sighted for the year. </div>
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Bird 10 was BJ, a female blackbird first ringed in 2012. This is our first sighting of her since then so it is good to know she is still with us. Seen on the same day was BB, a male. He was ringed last year, and was seen on several occasions in 2013. BB was had a beak full of worms so has a brood somewhere. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t8kjjPYC8zw/U25KI5A0blI/AAAAAAAAAO0/vfYZU670L7A/s1600/BJ+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t8kjjPYC8zw/U25KI5A0blI/AAAAAAAAAO0/vfYZU670L7A/s1600/BJ+(2).jpg" height="251" width="400" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-29589684559090206562014-04-14T13:29:00.002-07:002014-04-14T13:29:25.944-07:00Out of site...<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recently we were told of a blackbird "with something on it's legs" near some houses south of the study site. So while the trail was still hot, we headed out and soon spotted a familiar site; that of a blackbird with yellow ring! A bit of stalking and lots of photos later we managed an image that revealed the code 'BD' - our first out of site movement! Although we should come clean straight away and say that it was only about 200m out of the study site boundary... does it still count?!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AmgNVVScH9Y/U0w_ga4wEPI/AAAAAAAAAOc/WZJSHWa5Jbk/s1600/IMG_8296+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AmgNVVScH9Y/U0w_ga4wEPI/AAAAAAAAAOc/WZJSHWa5Jbk/s1600/IMG_8296+(2).jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BD was originally ringed in December 2012 when he was in at least<br />his second calendar year. This is the 7th time he has been resighted,<br />the last being in February of this year, c.400m from his recent location.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gJWRyNOwH38/U0w_mpVc3pI/AAAAAAAAAOk/hOtc1-rIp9w/s1600/Site.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gJWRyNOwH38/U0w_mpVc3pI/AAAAAAAAAOk/hOtc1-rIp9w/s1600/Site.png" height="180" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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The cluster of purple dots show where is usually spotted. The red denoting his</div>
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most recent location. He seems to have set up a territory here as he was seen in the </div>
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company of an unringed female and defending his patch from other males.</div>
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This might not be as far as some urban ringed blackbirds can move but it does raise a question about territory. BD was seen in his "normal" location mostly in January and February 2013 but the spot was taken by an un-ringed male during the following breeding season. Was BD ousted? Or perhaps there is another explanation. Some resident blackbirds are known to have have a summer and winter territory;could this be the case here? If it is the case then BD could learn a thing or two <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4353671.stm" target="_blank">from this blackbird.</a> </div>
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Of course for the Cardiff Blackbird Team there is a negative to this sighting; its justified our habit of checking the legs of every blackbird we see!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-7721038696034619082014-04-13T03:06:00.000-07:002014-04-13T03:06:04.837-07:00Good morning Mrs BlackbirdWe had our first successful catching session of 2014 this morning - a new female, Red over Yellow (R/Y) was caught at the eastern most end of the study site. There were plenty of blackbirds in the area but none were ringed. Despite a lot of blackbird activity around the nets we only caught one. We did, however, catch a mallard! The largest bird we have caught on the project!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YqukZGprufU/U0pdkfIySZI/AAAAAAAAAOM/8Q1rBUFHgKI/s1600/2014-04-13+07.24.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YqukZGprufU/U0pdkfIySZI/AAAAAAAAAOM/8Q1rBUFHgKI/s1600/2014-04-13+07.24.39.jpg" height="400" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">R/Y is at least in her second calendar year of life</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-84899348270609527912014-04-01T12:19:00.001-07:002014-04-03T11:52:31.692-07:00Signs of spring<div style="text-align: justify;">
Given the amount of bird song at the study site today it is clear that spring has finally sprung! Blackbirds abound and several were seen in territorial disputes. Three birds with rings were seen but we only managed to read one code.</div>
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BN was ringed in December 2013, the same year she hatched, and has not been seen since July last year. Not far from BN was a male with a beak full of worms so we know breeding is underway in the allotments! Whether this was BN's mate or not was unclear. We had hoped to follow the male back to his nests but he steadfastly refused to move until we were too far away to see where he was going!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x7xI5uc7yXM/UzsQqoOVm-I/AAAAAAAAAN8/cLzUzxT4UaI/s1600/IMG_8211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x7xI5uc7yXM/UzsQqoOVm-I/AAAAAAAAAN8/cLzUzxT4UaI/s1600/IMG_8211.JPG" height="297" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BN refusing to look at the camera!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-30650187464802493792014-03-27T03:36:00.003-07:002014-03-27T03:36:20.642-07:00Not a Big Garden Birdwatch for Blackbirds<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Earlier this year almost half a million people spent an hour
looking out of their windows with one aim – to record the birds they saw as
part of the <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/" target="_blank">RSPB’s</a> Big Garden Bird Watch.
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This annual survey, which has been running since 1979,
provides a snap shot into the fortunes of the UK’s garden visitors and provides
an easy and fun introduction to the world of bird surveys. Not to mention of
course an excellent excuse to watch birds for an hour with a bacon sandwich and
a cup of tea!</div>
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At the UK
level it was all change in the top ten and you can find the results <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/" target="_blank">here</a>.
However, we are really interested in blackbirds here, and our species of choice
has dropped from second to fourth position across the UK. Within Wales, despite holding onto 5<sup>th</sup>
position, the average number of birds seen in Welsh gardens
fell from 3 in 2013, to 2.1 in 2014. </div>
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Within Cardiff
the Blackbird faired even worse! Although it was the fourth most counted
species, the average Cardiff
Garden held a meagre
average of 1.8 Blackbirds in 2014!</div>
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This drop in fortunes could be explained by low productivity
the species experienced in the hot dry summer of 2013, which was <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/ringing/surveys/ces/ces-results/ces-preliminary-results-2013" target="_blank">down 12% compared to the five year average</a> according to the <a href="http://www.bto.org/" target="_blank">BTO</a>'s figures. </div>
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Big Garden Birdwatch takes places on the last January of
each year, so put the date in your diary for 2015!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-8966061001244404192014-03-03T11:32:00.001-08:002014-03-03T11:32:24.666-08:00Fortunes of Fieldwork <div style="text-align: justify;">
A sunny <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_David's_Day" target="_blank">St David's Day</a> jaunt around the study site as part of the <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/winter-thrushes" target="_blank">BTO's Winter Thrushes Survey</a> provided the perfect opportunity not only to see some winter thrushes but also to re-sight some of our birds. Both turned out to be a bit of a success; not only did we see all the species of thrush that make their UK the home in the winter, including over 180 redwing, but we also saw six our birds! </div>
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One was Orange over Yellow (O/Y); one of the birds ringed under our <a href="http://www.cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/ringing-in-changes.html" target="_blank">new marking system</a>. O/Y hasn't moved far since we marked him but it was good to see him. </div>
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AB is a bird we are always pleased to see as he was the first bird marked by the project when it started in April 2012. He was at least two calendar years old then, making him at least four years old now.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-rfhG0V9MY/UxTOEH2t9VI/AAAAAAAAANc/EGnB4X3n7G8/s1600/AB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-rfhG0V9MY/UxTOEH2t9VI/AAAAAAAAANc/EGnB4X3n7G8/s1600/AB.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our man AB - the first bird ringed for the Cardiff Blackbird<br />Project is still going strong three years </td></tr>
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As for the others:</div>
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AH - put in another appearance this year</div>
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BT - only the second time we have seen this bird since he was ringed in 2012</div>
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<a href="http://cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/bk-first-retrap-for-autumn.html" target="_blank">BK - is a project regular</a>. </div>
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FH - this was the first time he has been seen since 2012</div>
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As we have now entered out <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/ringing/surveys/ras" target="_blank">RAS period</a> these six birds will count towards are breeding season survival analysis. </div>
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Its safe to say that we saw a good number of blackbirds on our Winter Thrushes Survey, 36 in total. Each of the yellow dots on the image below represents a blackbird registration but a dot might be more than one bird. Take the four western most dots which combined represent 10 birds! We've seen this number or more there on a number of occasions. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C4o4Mh3cXfQ/UxTU--BJLSI/AAAAAAAAANs/9VNCPyXfV58/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C4o4Mh3cXfQ/UxTU--BJLSI/AAAAAAAAANs/9VNCPyXfV58/s1600/6.jpg" height="187" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each yellow dot represents a blackbird sighting, and might represent 1-5 birds.</td></tr>
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So it seemed a safe bet to head there on Sunday morning for a bit of an impromptu catching session in the hope of adding more birds to the project. After two hours we packed up having seen only two blackbirds 100m away, and nothing in the nets! The fortunes of fieldwork!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-61099535588173965732014-03-01T11:36:00.000-08:002014-03-01T11:36:30.951-08:00The First for 2014We have been taking advantage of some recent respites in the weather and have been out re-sighting blackbirds or at least attempting too!<br />
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There are good numbers of blackbirds in the study area with several ringed birds being spotted. But as February draws to a close we have only managed to read four codes so far, all on the same day. <br />
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AC - first ringed in 2012 when he was at least two years old<br />
AH - he was also ringed as in 2012 (also at least two years old!)<br />
BD - Another of the class of 2012, BD is now in her 4th calendar year<br />
FS - he was at least 2 years old when caught in February last year<br />
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Hopefully as the weather improves and evenings become lighter we'll get more!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-20260687591255723172014-02-05T11:00:00.000-08:002014-02-05T11:00:09.630-08:00What a Cracker!Well with the New Year getting off to a rather damp start we have not been out with the birds much. And when we have the birds have been less than forth coming with showing us their legs or at the least the codes they carry!<br />
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With strong winds and rain lashing against the window, spring could not come soon enough. But for one pair of blackbirds in Cramlington (Northumberland) it would appear the spring could not soon enough - they have <a href="http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/cramlington-christmas-tree-stay-up-6641503" target="_blank">nested in the town's Christmas tree!</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-29269849215412954532013-12-31T04:13:00.003-08:002013-12-31T04:13:57.690-08:00End of Year Round Up<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well as another year draws to a close its only fitting that we say thank you and Happy New Year to those who have been helping with catching and re-sighting birds, publicising the project, or just reading the blog! </div>
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Our highlight of 2013 was reaching the <a href="http://www.cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/50-at-last.html" target="_blank">50 bird milestone</a>! For a while it didn't seem like we'd make it! Although the birds haven't exactly been rolling in since then and we finish 2013 on a project total of 56 birds; 29 of these being caught in 2013.</div>
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We had 99 re-captures/re-sightings of 22 individual birds in 2013 compared to a mere nine in 2012! A big thank you to Hattie Fuller, Ellie Brown and everyone who has contributed to these. We'll be looking to beat this number in 2014 so keep your eyes peeled and <a href="http://www.cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/p/submitting-sightings.html" target="_blank">don't forget to tell us!</a></div>
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As you can see from the graph below there is a lot of variation in the number of times different individuals have been re-sighted. This will be in part down to the individual behaviour - its no surprise that A4 tops the chart as he is the most approachable bird we've ringed. Other highly visible birds were often on the avenue (e.g BX and BK) or easily <a href="http://www.cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/spot-difference.html" target="_blank">recognised such as B6.</a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IjOpQpQwaRk/UsKyRNKLcmI/AAAAAAAAANM/9EXPMZhkwEk/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IjOpQpQwaRk/UsKyRNKLcmI/AAAAAAAAANM/9EXPMZhkwEk/s400/Untitled.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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During 2014 we'll keep you up to date with the project's progress and news. 2014 will be on us in a matter of hours and the start of the breeding season hot on its heals. What will 2014 hold? Hopefully lots of blackbirds!</div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Happy New Year from the Cardiff Blackbird Project team!</span></strong></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RHfdzYilMX0/UewReGSgLmI/AAAAAAAAAGc/Dmg-mZX1O1Q/s1600/A4+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RHfdzYilMX0/UewReGSgLmI/AAAAAAAAAGc/Dmg-mZX1O1Q/s400/A4+%25282%2529.JPG" width="396" /></a></td></tr>
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We couldn't have a post without a picture of a blackbird could we?! Here is one </div>
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from the archives - our most approachable blackbird, A4</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-6244411739654902572013-12-08T02:00:00.001-08:002013-12-08T02:00:29.612-08:00Ringing in the changes<div style="text-align: justify;">
The number of blackbirds is building up nicely in the study site, particularly around the paddocks. So this is where we headed on Friday for the third catch of the winter. We were hoping for at least one new blackbird as the last two outings have drawn blanks. </div>
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We caught three males in quick succession while putting up the nets and while these were being processed we caught a further two birds! Our project total now stands at 55 and we'll hopefully increase this total over the coming weeks. The session's "by catch" was a surprise too, containing as it did two young magpies. Despite being a common bird, only 30 magpies were ring in Wales in 2012 and only 6 of these were caught in Glamorgan. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W7PRe34zBO4/UqN0QtNA_cI/AAAAAAAAAM0/vnup-1PmGKY/s1600/2013-12-06+09.19.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W7PRe34zBO4/UqN0QtNA_cI/AAAAAAAAAM0/vnup-1PmGKY/s400/2013-12-06+09.19.58.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Three in a row! These males were the first of five new birds added to the </div>
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project. These three were in at least their second calendar year while the fourth</div>
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was one of this year's young. Our fifth bird was a female.</div>
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Friday's session was also the start of a new colour ringing scheme. We have been having some trouble with obtaining field sightings of the coded rings and so have begun using a conventional plain colour rings. Over the coming months we will be comparing which of the two techniques is most effective. Should you see blackbirds with either ring type then please let us know!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wOH4ME72gVo/UqN0Rvla-5I/AAAAAAAAAM8/ICHSL5POFBk/s1600/2013-12-06+09.20.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wOH4ME72gVo/UqN0Rvla-5I/AAAAAAAAAM8/ICHSL5POFBk/s400/2013-12-06+09.20.32.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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One of Friday's blackbirds ringed with conventional plain colour rings. </div>
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Hopefully these rings will increase the ease with which birds are resighted in</div>
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the field. We will keep you posted on the comparison. </div>
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A big thank you to Hattie, Ellie, Laura and Chrissie for helping with the session. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-10584904792282265532013-11-28T13:19:00.001-08:002013-12-02T02:59:22.142-08:00The Tales of Four Travelling BlackbirdsDuring the winter, the UK's resident birds are joined by <a href="http://www.cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/autumn-restart.html" target="_blank">migrant birds</a> arriving from the continent. You might notice the influx in your garden or where there are berry laden bushes. In fact the blackbird visiting your garden could well be a bird from the continent. <br />
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This is well illustrated by four birds from Pentrych, a small village on the outskirts of Cardiff. All four birds were ringed and later found dead by members of the public - usually having hit a window. All four show how well connected Europe's blackbirds are and it is interesting to see that they moved from urban area to urban area. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zA_S8yENxso/UpfI0cPHfyI/AAAAAAAAAMo/mEW3C6pTQgs/s1600/K994348.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zA_S8yENxso/UpfI0cPHfyI/AAAAAAAAAMo/mEW3C6pTQgs/s400/K994348.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Our first bird is K994348, a first year female ringed in Zandvoort, The </div>
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Netherlands on 15th November 1998. 17 days late she was found dead in </div>
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Pentyrch on 2nd December.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0yA3D97Ed_I/UpfG3MJnPwI/AAAAAAAAAMY/cMCEj4xRryA/s1600/RP48651.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0yA3D97Ed_I/UpfG3MJnPwI/AAAAAAAAAMY/cMCEj4xRryA/s400/RP48651.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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RP48651 was ringed in March 1999 as a first year male. He didn't live long, </div>
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being found dead having hit a window in May of the same year. He had however</div>
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made all the way to the Swedish town of Borlange.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U_VXNpInQjM/UpfDoeEaIaI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/2c6TPorEoa0/s1600/CW34666+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U_VXNpInQjM/UpfDoeEaIaI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/2c6TPorEoa0/s400/CW34666+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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CW34666 was ringed as first year male in February 2006. Just over eight months later</div>
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in November of the same year he was found dead in the Norwegian town of Egersund. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1QMwBBMeAFU/UpfAfdUHAZI/AAAAAAAAALw/HH6UVnt9ubc/s1600/LB34416.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1QMwBBMeAFU/UpfAfdUHAZI/AAAAAAAAALw/HH6UVnt9ubc/s400/LB34416.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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LB34416 was an adult female ringed in Pentyrch just before Christmas in 2010. </div>
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She was found dead two years later having hit a window in the Dutch town </div>
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of Naaldwijk in November 2012</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Robinson, R.A. & Clark, J.A.(2013) The Online Ringing Report: Bird ringing in Britain & Ireland in 2012 BTO, Thetford (http://www.bto.org/ringing-report, created on 15-August-2013)</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-5306411988754380292013-11-10T05:13:00.002-08:002013-11-27T15:13:44.532-08:00Winter WalkThis morning saw us out on one of our regular walks of the study site which are being done in line with the BTO's <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/winter-thrushes" target="_blank">Winter Thrushes Survey</a> to further increase the value of these sessions. We were joined by Hattie, a second year zoology student at Cardiff University, who will be volunteering on the project over the next few months to help with surveys and resightings.<br />
<br />
Today's walked picked up several blackbirds but we were only able to read the ring code on one bird, BX (see map below). He was ringed on 5th December 2012 as an adult making him at least three years old. Where BX was seen today is his usual spot and its likely it is close to where he bred this year. The vast majority of the other blackbirds seen were unringed - we need to get out more!<br />
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The results of our mornings survey. B = blackbird (the yellow B is BX), </div>
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R = redwing (we saw 8), and MT = mistle thrush</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-50780465145794141432013-11-03T01:36:00.002-08:002013-11-03T01:36:49.469-08:00BK - the first retrap for the Autumn!We headed out this week with the intention of adding some more birds to the project total. It was rather a dank morning and although there were plenty of "chooks" and "chucks" from our resident birds as the sun rose, sightings and movement were virtually non-existent. In two hours we managed to catch two birds; a robin and a blackbird. Both retraps!<br />
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Our retrap blackbird was BK - a female originally caught in mid October 2012. She was at in at least her second calendar year of life when caught, making her a minimum of three years old when caught this week.<br />
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The green triangles (you might have to enlarge the image!) so the locations of where BK has been sighted since her original capture. She was caught within this area this week. Earlier in the year she was seen<a href="http://cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/relaxing-in-sun.html" target="_blank"> feeding a fledgling</a> so it is like she nested somewhere close to the boundary between the allotments and the riding school <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-49361646657275596582013-10-27T12:56:00.001-07:002013-10-27T12:56:55.094-07:00Autumn restart<div style="text-align: justify;">
With summer well and truly over, blackbirds have finished their post breeding moult and are becoming more obvious in the study site. This time of year is a good for spotting first year males - they will have brown outer wings, unlike adults which are a uniform black. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blx1.bto.org/birdtrack">http://blx1.bto.org/birdtrack</a></td></tr>
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At this time of the year our resident blackbirds are also joined by birds from mainland Europe. These visitors are the same race (<em>T. m. merula</em>) as our resident birds. There is often great debate over whether male blackbirds with dark bills and eye rings are migrants from the continent or not. All first year male blackbirds will have these characteristics so they can not be relied on to determine the origins of these birds. However, at this time of year we do catch bird that differ in general size and feel different in the hand than "normal" and these could be migrant birds. </div>
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A winter visitor form the continent or a bird born locally late in the season? This</div>
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particular individual was noticeably smaller than would be expected compared to <br />
birds we usually catch. </div>
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An easy to spot winter arrival whose numbers will be on the up in the next few weeks is the redwing. The BTO is looking for volunteers for its <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/winter-thrushes" target="_blank">Winter Thrushes Survey</a> which aims to map the distribution and work out the habitat needs of visiting fieldfares, redwings, mistle and song thrush and blackbirds. Were conducting the survey during our regular walks of the study site, although at the last visit we only recorded one redwing! We will keep you posted on our results but why not <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/winter-thrushes" target="_blank">take part the survey</a> yourself?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-13351057685698012712013-08-03T07:01:00.001-07:002013-08-03T07:01:23.146-07:00Blackbirds Thin on the Ground<div style="text-align: justify;">
Despite AB and A4 putting in regular appearances recently, its becoming more difficult to re-sight our blackbirds simply because there are fewer blackbirds about! Only two blackbirds (including A4!) were seen during a walk around most of the study area yesterday.</div>
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</div>
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The detectability of blackbirds (as can be seen from the <a href="http://blx1.bto.org/birdtrack/main/data-home.jsp" target="_blank">BirdTrack </a>graph below) declines as the summer progresses. At this time of year the birds begin to go through their annual moult; a time when they renew their plumage an the birds tend to skulk in the undergrowth, keeping themselves to themselves. Although this behaviour reduces their vulnerability to predation it of course makes them harder to see! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6xddE5_L9nA/Uf0D8EblggI/AAAAAAAAAJw/WZWlGj2QK6o/s1600/data-home+(588x320).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6xddE5_L9nA/Uf0D8EblggI/AAAAAAAAAJw/WZWlGj2QK6o/s1600/data-home+(588x320).jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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Reporting rates of blackbirds reported to <a href="http://blx1.bto.org/birdtrack/main/data-home.jsp" target="_blank">BirdTrack </a>show the seasonal change in the 'detectability' of the species. </div>
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The blue line shows the reporting rate for 2013 and the red line shows the average reporting rate for all previous years.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-18071005564353657752013-07-18T15:03:00.000-07:002013-07-18T15:03:26.155-07:00Relaxing in the sunIt appears it isn't just us humans that are taking advantage of this current spell of fine weather. On Tuesday a ringed male (sadly we didn't see his code) was seen foraging along the avenue that runs down the centre of study site. Having consumed a worm he walked quickly to a bare spot, turned around before fattening himself on the ground with his wings outspread. <br />
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Blackbirds are known to "ant" where by they lie near an ants nest, allowing the ants to clean parasites off them. However, after the bird had flown off the area was check for ants but none were found. This male might have just been taking time out to relax in the sun; and who could blame him!<br />
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This male was either 'anting' or sunbathing, either way he appeared to be </div>
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enjoying himself in the midday sun. </div>
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BK was also spotted, in fact she was the only bird who's code we were able to read despite there being several others! She seems to have had some success in the breeding stakes as she was seen feeding a rather large, and noisy, fledgling. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A5XbJ1gQhIo/UehTVUCMHOI/AAAAAAAAAF0/RLOiX4SNwIE/s1600/BK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A5XbJ1gQhIo/UehTVUCMHOI/AAAAAAAAAF0/RLOiX4SNwIE/s400/BK.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BK looking watchful as her youngster was not too far away.</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-28816990794076859412013-07-15T11:27:00.000-07:002013-07-15T11:27:17.181-07:0050 at last!The project finally reached the milestone of 50 Blackbirds! The latest addition, an adult female ringed HP, was caught this evening while we working on another project. Hopefully the next 50 won't take so long!<br />
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Judging by the size of here brood patch she is likely breeding</div>
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close by to where she was caught.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-33263840539194261152013-07-14T11:02:00.000-07:002013-07-14T11:02:06.929-07:00Catch Up<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We must apologise for the lack of updates of late; with a
delayed spring and blustery (and sometimes wet!) start to the summer fieldwork for
the project has been sporadic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Much of our time of late has been re-sighting birds we’ve ringed
over the last year for the <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/ringing/surveys/ras" target="_blank">RAS</a> element of the project. This is also allowing us
to build a picture of how the birds use the park. Some birds seem to hold very distinct territories (or are at least
seen in discrete areas) while others wander a little more. So far we’ve re-sighted
over 25% of the birds ringed in the last year, several of which have been
collecting worms or feeding very plump fledglings. <a href="http://www.cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/p/submitting-sightings.html" target="_blank">If you see any colour-ringed blackbirds then please let us know!</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SiDAN1L3Lk4/UeLgl2McjJI/AAAAAAAAAEo/Dqdbuz_F7GU/s1600/sightins.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SiDAN1L3Lk4/UeLgl2McjJI/AAAAAAAAAEo/Dqdbuz_F7GU/s400/sightins.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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While some birds, such as A4 seem to stick to a discrete area, others like AB</div>
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apparently like to wander about more. However, the picture is far from complete</div>
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and we would welcome more records from the allotments!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ringing sessions ceased for a couple of months while the
birds began to breed during a very cold and delayed spring. These sessions started
up again recently and we have managed to add two more birds, both this year’s
young, bringing the project total to 49 (47 of which are colour ringed). These
sessions not only allowed us to catch up with birds we have not encountered
so far during the breeding season but also provided some interesting “by-catch” in the
form of a <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/k/kingfisher/index.aspx" target="_blank">kingfisher</a> and a <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/l/lesserwhitethroat/index.aspx" target="_blank">lesser whitethroat</a>. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6ykwcVy_aDI/UeLjTByWQ7I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/KkYSW8ZMmRQ/s1600/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6ykwcVy_aDI/UeLjTByWQ7I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/KkYSW8ZMmRQ/s400/A3.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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A3 was the 10th bird ringed for the project and was recently</div>
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re-caught less than 100m from where he was originally ringed</div>
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last May.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-82000297695065481792013-04-14T06:51:00.000-07:002013-07-14T09:20:00.761-07:00Signs of Spring<div style="text-align: justify;">
Despite the weather we've been out and about in the study area re-sighting birds. In the paddocks near the weir (the very east of the study site) we caught up with CH and a colour ringed male but we could not read his ring combination. He is likely to be AS, who was ringed and seen there in the past. CH was ringed in January of this year at the allotment feeding station, making her a long distance mover in terms of this project!The <a href="http://cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">metal ringed only male</a> was seen again. However, he seems to have lost his tail since the last time we saw him. Perhaps he has had a narrow escape from a sparrowhawk, cat or been in a brawl? Or perhaps its an entirely different bird?! </div>
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<br />
A ringing session in the paddocks failed to catch the metal ringed male. Although we were unsuccessful on that front we did manage to add two new birds to the project, bringing our total of colour ringed birds to 45 (project total 47). We also managed to catch a <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/m/mistlethrush/index.aspx" target="_blank">Mistle Thrush</a>, only the second one we've caught, and two chiffchaffs which is a sure sign that spring has finally arrived. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DJ5W0E9xcY/UWXhS7Svc4I/AAAAAAAAAD4/aVtyhAsF_2k/s1600/CH+HB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DJ5W0E9xcY/UWXhS7Svc4I/AAAAAAAAAD4/aVtyhAsF_2k/s400/CH+HB.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Above: The projects latest recruits; HB and CD. Sadly we didn't catch the</div>
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metal ringed male. Below: Chiffchaffs, and their close relative the Willow </div>
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Warbler, are migrating through the study site at the moment. Some </div>
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individuals will breed there too. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ndV4Nej8KPc/UWqpDNL5HII/AAAAAAAAAEQ/h2OyQwjkdWU/s1600/Chiff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ndV4Nej8KPc/UWqpDNL5HII/AAAAAAAAAEQ/h2OyQwjkdWU/s400/Chiff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Casual re-sightings of birds along the main avenue has also revealed another sign of spring when C3, an adult female, was seen adding to an already full beak of worms. She was seen flying off over a hedge into the Pontcanna Permanent Allotments where she is obviously feeding a hungry brood; a timely reminder that spring has sprung and that we should start nest recording pretty sharpish!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-55233659056508481112013-04-01T14:34:00.003-07:002013-04-01T14:36:03.526-07:00Have we met before?<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the whole the recent weather has not be conducive to catching birds but we have managed the odd session. The last resulted in four new birds for the project bring our total to 43 colour ringed birds and 45 birds ringed since the project started. Among the four new birds was a male with a white chin spot. Hopefully this will be as a useful aid to identifying this bird as <a href="http://www.cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/spot-difference.html" target="_blank">B6's white spot</a>. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0QUAjhC5qn0/UUmJRIQWZXI/AAAAAAAAADY/1yiyqVWbSZ8/s1600/2013-03-20+06.57.00+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0QUAjhC5qn0/UUmJRIQWZXI/AAAAAAAAADY/1yiyqVWbSZ8/s400/2013-03-20+06.57.00+(2).jpg" width="299" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The white chin patch of one of our new males.</td></tr>
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We have of course been continuing with re-sighting already ringed birds. One surprise while trying to re-sight birds in the east of the study site was coming across the male pictured below. Although several blackbirds have been ringed in other parts of Cardiff, prior to the start of the project only a handful of blackbirds had been ringed on our site; and only one of these was male. If this is LB09234, he is doing well as he will be in his fifth calender year! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vHcEM50-mGw/UVn0DtCUOhI/AAAAAAAAADs/3mV6qPRpCmg/s1600/DSCN9942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vHcEM50-mGw/UVn0DtCUOhI/AAAAAAAAADs/3mV6qPRpCmg/s320/DSCN9942.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this LB09234? </td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-28567774326492747282013-03-14T16:35:00.001-07:002013-04-01T14:39:49.215-07:00A Trio of Thrushes<div style="text-align: justify;">
We were out catching more blackbirds for the project this morning. There were plenty of un-ringed birds about and we managed to add another three to the project - two males and a female. We could only colour ring one (due to the rings breaking!) so we are now on 39 colour ringed birds and a project total of 41- niether is far from our target of 50 for the first year! We also re-caught AH and re-sighted A4.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-arUzWdJiaOI/UUJW39vfreI/AAAAAAAAADI/4mZSNhIe0-8/s1600/Thrushesa.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-arUzWdJiaOI/UUJW39vfreI/AAAAAAAAADI/4mZSNhIe0-8/s1600/Thrushesa.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right: one of the new Blacbirds (DH), a Song Thrush and a Redwing</td></tr>
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Among the other birds we caught were two other thrush species - a song thrush and a redwing. The latter is a winter visitor to the UK. They are famed for their night time migration and on clear autumn and early winter nights you can often hear their faint "tseep" call as they pass overhead. Redwing are commonly seen in our study area during the winter and occassionally the odd fieldfare, anther winter thrush.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-74245815427234428112013-03-12T13:44:00.001-07:002013-03-12T14:03:13.024-07:00Spot the Difference<div style="text-align: justify;">
Catching new birds for the project has been put
on hold recently due to the cold and windy weather of recent weeks. Instead
we've been out re-sighting previously ringed birds. All our birds carry colour
rings providing us with an essential way of identifying seemingly identical
looking individuals.</div>
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</div>
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Occasionally however, a bird will give you a
helping hand by having a trait that tells them apart from the masses. For
example A4, a male, is very tame and allows close approach which provides a
clue to his identity. Some traits, such as plumage variations, are far more
useful. Although male blackbirds live up to their name, every now and again one
will have plumage that deviates from the norm of plain black. One such male is
B6 who has a small white spot at the top of his left breast. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FYNWhCZoM6s/UT-KsdhC0YI/AAAAAAAAACY/erXulQPBAU0/s1600/B6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FYNWhCZoM6s/UT-KsdhC0YI/AAAAAAAAACY/erXulQPBAU0/s400/B6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B6's white spot makes him easy to recognise in the field.</td></tr>
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Plumage abnormalities can be caused by a number
of reasons; genetics diet, injury, disease or even age. Where the cause is
genetic the abnormal colouring will be consistent from one moult to the next.
Abnormal colouring caused by environmental factors, such as diet, can often be
reversible. Sometimes you will hear partially white birds referred to as a
"partial albino" however this is incorrect - albinism is absolute,
there being half way house. A bird is an albino or not. </div>
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Blackbirds are among the species most reported
with abnormal feather growth. Whether this is because they are abundant and
closely associated with humans or because they are just more prone to colour
abnormalities is unknown. But research is under way on to the prevalence of
abnormal plumaged birds in urban environments. The British Trust for
Ornithology run an <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/about/background/projects/plumage" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Abnormal Plumage </span></a><a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/about/background/projects/plumage" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Survey</span></a>and are asking people to <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/plumagesurvey" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">report</span></a>
abnormally coloured birds they see in their garden. </div>
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Compared to some blackbirds, B6's plumage aberration is <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/about/background/projects/plumage/gallery" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">very slight</span></a> but it is still very useful identifying mark, especially
when he is feeding in long grass!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-69191739575086333702013-02-24T14:50:00.001-08:002013-02-24T14:59:59.139-08:00Are you looking at me?!<span style="font-family: inherit;">A large part of the Blackbird project involves re-sighting birds we have previously caught. On our most recent visit we noticed that the birds' behaviour to our attentions can be different to that compared to their behaviour toward other park users. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Even though a walker, cyclist, jogger or even dog walker would pass by a few metres from them, the birds would move away calmly with a few hops towards cover, re-emerging only a few seconds later. However, on a few occassions when we focussed scopes or binoculars on them, despite being 10m or so away, the birds</span> would move towards cover with much more urgency sometimes flying to the nearest hedge or up into a tree. Surely, being further away, we represent far less of a threat?</div>
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The answer may lay in the results of a recent study published in the journal Ethology. Clucas and colleagues looked at how American Crows (<em>Corvus brachyrhynchos</em>) varied the urgency of escape and flight intitiation distance to approaches by humans with varying degrees of eye contact and facial expression.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although the facial expression (smiling or scowling, sadly they didn't test frustration) of an approaching human had no affect on the crows behaviour, the amount of eye contact did. Crows moved away sooner and with more urgency when the human was gazing directly at them compared to when they averted their gaze. Such a response may represent an adaptation to living in urban areas with the crows using this visual cue to gauge the intention of onlookers.</span><br />
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While other park users may pay little attention to the blackbirds, we are directly gazing at them when trying to read their ring numbers. Perhaps some of them perceive the lenses of our binoculars or scopes as eyes, exaggerating the "gaze affect"? <br />
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With a little fieldcraft and patience we did manage to re-sight A4, B6, B4, AB, BK and BD, not to mention several unringed birds! A4 in particular seems completely oblivious to our attentions and at one point stopped in front of us before resuming feeding a few metres away. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LxWRS-JKTt4/USqXqenBkNI/AAAAAAAAACI/9xn3QnqyoyQ/s1600/A6+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LxWRS-JKTt4/USqXqenBkNI/AAAAAAAAACI/9xn3QnqyoyQ/s400/A6+(640x427).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Here's looking at you: Intially some blackbirds are wary when the binoculars</div>
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are focused on them, while others carry on feeding as normal.</div>
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<span style="background: rgb(153, 153, 153); color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><em>Clucas, B., Marzluff, J. M.,
Mackovjak, D., Palmquist, I. (2013), Do American Crows Pay Attention to Human
Gaze and Facial Expressions?. Ethology. doi: 10.1111/eth.12064</em></span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-43405691067125210662013-02-17T07:09:00.000-08:002013-02-20T10:36:40.648-08:00Five new birds!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Two early morning visits to the park on Friday and Saturday resulted in the addition of five new birds to
the project; three males and two female. This brings our project total to 37 marked
birds. Our target of 50 before April 30th should be achievable!</div>
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Friday's catch very much exemplifies our data set
as a whole, with males out numbering females 2:1. Watching the birds may
have provided part of the answer; the males seem to blunder and bluster about
the park, showing off to rivals and generally being boisterous towards the each
other, whereas the females keep very much to themselves. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iul5TlEasp8/USDwDCiD3VI/AAAAAAAAABg/CfAyL5O4z0w/s1600/Rouges+Gallery.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iul5TlEasp8/USDwDCiD3VI/AAAAAAAAABg/CfAyL5O4z0w/s400/Rouges+Gallery.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The three birds from Friday's catch with their new colour rings. </td></tr>
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After each
catching session we took sometime to catch up with already ringed birds,
managing to re-sight A4, AB, AH BC, BB, BD, BX and BK. The latter two seem to have
established a territory together on the border of the Llandaff Allotments and
the muddy paddock to the south. Although she was not seen carrying any away, BK
was seen picking up potential nest material so nest building in the park is
imminent if not already in progress. If you see colour-ringed blackbirds in (or
out!) of the park then please do let us know. You can find out how to submit
sightings <a href="http://www.cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/p/submitting-sightings.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q87d1zxV1_k/USDw4UfwahI/AAAAAAAAABo/0e9Iv3tYw8g/s1600/BX+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q87d1zxV1_k/USDw4UfwahI/AAAAAAAAABo/0e9Iv3tYw8g/s400/BX+(4).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BX (above) seems to have set up territory with the similarly coded female BK</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3180006456819246374.post-57061597858907305092013-02-10T15:48:00.000-08:002013-03-12T13:56:48.053-07:00The Cardiff Blackbird Project<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <span style="font-family: inherit;">Cardiff Blackbird Project</span> was
established in April 2012 to examine the ecology, behaviour and demography of urban birds using the blackbird as a
model. <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The blackbird has many traits that make
it ideal as a model species. It is a common species, making for large data sets.
It is a relatively large species, meaning it is easy to observe. Blackbirds also
wide spread which allows comparison between populations in different habitats
and geographical scales.</span> </span></span></span>Currently the study site for the project is the northern part of Pontcanna Fields in the area which includes the allotments and Cardiff Riding School.</div>
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<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="250" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=51.494931,-3.203759&spn=0.00668,0.023646&z=15&output=embed" width="550"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=51.494931,-3.203759&spn=0.00668,0.023646&z=15&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small>
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The project is based around developing a long-term monitoring programme, contributing
to the British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) <a href="http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/ringing/surveys/ras" target="_blank">‘Retrapping Adults for Survival’</a>
scheme, on which a number of more
detailed research projects examining blackbird ecology in a suburban
environment will be based. The success of these projects
relies on having a large population of individually marked
birds that can be followed throughout the year. Unique plastic colour rings are
fitted so that individuals can be recognised through
binoculars/telescope, avoiding the need to capture birds multiple times. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zHfcUxdDhr8/URgvGyQ9jsI/AAAAAAAAAA0/UcqjAEX29Uw/s1600/CJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zHfcUxdDhr8/URgvGyQ9jsI/AAAAAAAAAA0/UcqjAEX29Uw/s400/CJ.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
Close up of a female blackbird showing the metal BTO ring and her Cardiff Blackbird<br />
Project colour ring. CJ was ringed in January 2013</div>
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If you see a colour ringed blackbird we'd love to hear about it. You find out how to you can submit sightings <a href="http://www.cardiffblackbirds.blogspot.co.uk/p/submitting-sightings.html" target="_blank">here.</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282733743151241638noreply@blogger.com0