2 for joy.

9/9/16

Our first full day within the taiga forest with the Pasvik national park. The team spent the morning prepping the site for ringing over the next 10 days at our usual site at Nyrud. Following a dawn start, it was clear that our later arrival in the year has reduced the numbers of birds still present within the valley.

However, upon our arrival at the ringing site it was clear a good mixed flock of Great, Willow and Siberian Tits were present. The latter 2 mostly managed to avoid the nets however the bulk of todays catch was made up by their common and larger cousin. Our original dismay at the lack of birds was dismissed, and combined with a sustained passage of Meadow Pipits throughout the morning led to a sustained effort until the early afternoon, by which time most activity had died down. This mornings totals can be seen below:

Great Tit	23
Meadow Pipit	11
Reed Bunting	9
Willow Tit	2 (1)
Magpie	2
Dunnock	1
Willow Warbler	1
Garden Warbler	1
Totals	50 + (1 retrap)

Rather unusually, the team managed to catch a Garden Warbler, a surprising addition to the trip list considering the date and northerly location. More usual however were good numbers of Reed Bunting present around the ringing base, with the total caught making only a small percentage of the areas population.

A number of the team were very happy to catch (and see) northern race Willow Tits. strikingly different in plumage to the birds we see in the UK, we were struck by really how smart they looked. Of the 3 caught, one was bearing a Norwegian ring, presumably from the groups ringing at the site last year.

A stunning Willow Tit with a stunning background. (CR)

Just how pale these birds are, comparable in colour to a Birch (CR)

2 for joy (CR)

Having deployed a number of feeders at our campsite on our return, they were soon attracting a good number of birds, and so, as well as our ‘high flier’ net, we decided to put out a net beside our feeding setup. Although not a huge number of birds, we caught the first of a true Arctic speciality, a Siberian Tit. This was quickly followed by a 2^nd bird, and very interestingly, both were re-traps and were in sequence, meaning one was ringed after the other.

Siberian Tit (CR)

As we type, our high flier net is still ready to catch any Redwings moving back towards their roosts, so our totals may increase further!

Willow Tit	3
Siberian Tit	(2)
Redwing	2
Totals	5 + (2 retraps)

Away from ringing, the team had managed to find a good number of notable species throughout the day. Raptors were well represented with White-tailed Eagle, Rough-Legged Buzzard and Osprey all being seen. A number of Black Grouse were seen on our journey to the ringing base this morning however the main highlight for most was a significant passage of Common Cranes down the valley, with a minimum of 114 noted. A Musk Rat was seen on a nearby lake and a showy Fox continues to frequent the campsite.

One of  a number of overflying Crane flocks. (JH)

A migrant Whinchat gives hope that there are still migrants out there to be found! (JH)

The team checking out some roadside habitat. (CR)