Sunday, 6 September 2015

Ringing


I always tell people how sunrises are much better than sunsets.....fancy holidays are sold on the idea of watching the sunset....still...im quite glad people decide not to believe me, or it might get a bit crowded in the mornings....so...in the meantime I could enjoy this rather spectacular scene on my own....nice!!

But some ringing has to be done too.....

Fault bars.....usually seen most effectively on the tail feathers of a juvenile bird....such as this first picture.....


This is a Blackcap tail....another give away for the age is how pointed the feathers are...so with no round ends to be seen....it has to be a juvenile....

Interestingly the fault bar appeared on the wing as well....clearly there were food issues at one point in its development, which is usually what makes fault bars....


In both pictures above and the one below you can see the fault appears as a straight line across the feathers.....adults can also have fault bars but as they usually moult feathers individually on wings or in pairs on the tail, the fault bar would appear not in line....


Ageing a Blue, Great or Coal Tit means comparing Greater and Primary coverts....clearly two different colours here...


This will mean it is a juvenile as an adult will have moulted and therefore both sets of feathers would be the same colour....

A highlight of ringing at the orchard this Summer was this Tree Pipit...


One of the quickest ways to differentiate between Tree and Meadow Pipit is to look at the length of the hind claw.....the Meadow Pipit having a much longer and therefore less curved claw.....


 A glance will usually tell, but heres a quick measurment....

Lastly....Whitethroat....a lovely bird to see and hear....and have in the hand with is wonderfully subtle colours in the wing....I always find it interesting that at distance the white patch under the chin appears luminous....but in the hand blends in quite well....


But it still needs ageing....so...back to the tail....its edged and tipped pure white...an adult....the juveniles will have rather sullied outer tail feathers....


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