Nesseby Ringmerken

  Today dawned reasonably bright with much less wind than yesterday. It was a probably the slowest start we have had but eventually the numbers of birds built up, and we ended with 211 of new birds ringed, of 16 species. The biggest difference was the number of redpoll. In any normal situation 110 redpoll in a day would be an excellent result but because it was only a third of the number we had yesterday things felt very different. However, the variety and numbers of other species built up encouragingly throughout the morning. One species in particular provided us with a fascinating ageing conundrum. From the picture you can see, the right wing is adult, whereas the left wing is still in juvenile plumage…. answers on a postcard. 14 Siberian Tits in a day was a local record and 7 Lapland Buntings was an indication of them being on passage.  Since we have been here the number of waders has been disappointing but today it was clear that there had been an influx. We devised a plan...

  The forecast for today was for a brisk Northwesterly and possibly intermittent showers so our hopes weren’t too high. However, most of the nets were reasonably well sheltered and weather conditions didn’t stop birds from migrating. As a result we ringed 396 new birds of 15 species more of which later. But first, “All Hail the Porridge!” We get at 4 in the morning and cups of tea and coffee keep us going until the magical appearance (provided by our hostess, Sissel) of bowls of steaming hot porridge enhanced by local berries and honey. To say that it hits the spot and revives the spirits, and I for one, have become a convert…… Back to the birds…… Yet again, the most numerous migrant we caught was Common Redpoll, with a staggering 339 individuals.  The vast majority of the redpolls are birds of the year, but occasionally we get full adult males with a lovely red breast as in this picture The rest of the cast included another 5 Siberian Tits, Bluethroats and Brambling; 13 Reed ...

Today dawned (at 3:30am) bright but cold and although we had the nets opened by 4:30am it was a relatively slow start. However, things warmed up pretty quickly as did the passage of birds with small groups flying over regularly. Eventually the weather was glorious until we closed the nets at around 1:00pm. During that time we ringed 426 new birds of which the most numerous at 344 were Redpoll. As we have said already, the variation in plumage is considerable but to illustrate that here is a picture of 2 Common Redpoll:- As you can see one is not only much bigger than the other (left in the top photograph, right in the bottom photograph) it is also much paler and with a comparatively bigger beak. Within birding circles there is much debate about Redpoll naming and genetics but current thinking is that the bigger bird is a race which breeds in Northern Russia. We did ring another 16 species of which 2 provided members of our team with birds that they had never seen let alone ringed. This...

  Another warm, calm start to the day, resulted in a slightly smaller catch than yesterday, but we still managed over 270 new birds. Most numerous with 170 were Redpoll, among which were birds like this one which shows significant characteristics of Coues’ Arctic Redpoll. The other 100 or so birds were made up of good numbers of Meadow Pipits and Redwings, with another Garden Warbler, a young male Common Redstart and most excitingly for the group were 6 Lapland Buntings. Group morale remains high as you can see from the picture below. There was a turn in the weather this afternoon with easterly winds, mist and some rain. However, the forecast looks good for the morning, and we take to our beds early hoping for a great day. More news tomorrow.

Welcome to the new Nesseby Ringmerken site, which is a vibrant offspring of the previous Varanger Ringing site. After an enforced absence, we are back very close to the previous ringing site slightly West of Nesseby and after a long journey up here yesterday we started operations this morning with our host Nigel. With glorious still conditions and temperatures around 20 degrees centigrade the team rang 441 birds of 16 species.  By far the most numerous were the 290 Common Redpoll including a few suspected Arctic Redpoll. Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits and 18 Bluethroats provided a superb supporting cast especially those Bluethroats in plumages like this: Male Bluethroat Perhaps the most unexpected birds of the day were 2 Garden Warblers. One of the suspected Arctic Redpoll. The team will be up earlier in the morning with a decent weather forecast, so we are hoping for another great catch. Watch this space.