MisterT
Always Birding
The year did not start on a high with 2 members of the team undergoing major surgery which made me wonder what kind of year we would have. As it turned out, the spuggies had a bumper year, and we were only a thousand or so observations down in the early months of the year.
2023 turned out to be the most productive year ever for our spuggies with an amazing 395 juveniles ringed. The first newly fledged bird appeared on 11th May, 8 days later than last year with the first juvenile ringed 3 days later. Amazingly, the last newly fledged bird was ringed on the very late date of 23rd September but was in poor condition and was later found dead. An additional 29 birds were ringed, most in the latter part of the year.
In July, 141 birds were ringed, the most ever in a month and the sightings count was of 171 birds (adults + juveniles), also the highest monthly count. In August a total of 133 birds were resighted and September resightings were of 120 birds, a 30% increase on last year and 92 more than the dark days of 2015 when they were hit by a trio of diseases.
Throughout the year a total of 4795 observations were made.
There were fewer reports of birds seen away from Askernish with 6 birds seen throughout the year in a garden at Bornish (12Km), 12 in South Glendale (11Km) in April, September, October, and November, 2 in Frobost (2Km) in July, 2 in Kildonan (7Km) in December, and a bird found dead in Mingarry (3Km) in September. Only 2 birds made the trip to Barra with individuals seen in Brevig and Borve in the October.
A wet and windswept D00 at Kildonan; Movement of House Sparrows in 2024
2023 turned out to be the most productive year ever for our spuggies with an amazing 395 juveniles ringed. The first newly fledged bird appeared on 11th May, 8 days later than last year with the first juvenile ringed 3 days later. Amazingly, the last newly fledged bird was ringed on the very late date of 23rd September but was in poor condition and was later found dead. An additional 29 birds were ringed, most in the latter part of the year.
In July, 141 birds were ringed, the most ever in a month and the sightings count was of 171 birds (adults + juveniles), also the highest monthly count. In August a total of 133 birds were resighted and September resightings were of 120 birds, a 30% increase on last year and 92 more than the dark days of 2015 when they were hit by a trio of diseases.
Throughout the year a total of 4795 observations were made.
There were fewer reports of birds seen away from Askernish with 6 birds seen throughout the year in a garden at Bornish (12Km), 12 in South Glendale (11Km) in April, September, October, and November, 2 in Frobost (2Km) in July, 2 in Kildonan (7Km) in December, and a bird found dead in Mingarry (3Km) in September. Only 2 birds made the trip to Barra with individuals seen in Brevig and Borve in the October.
A wet and windswept D00 at Kildonan; Movement of House Sparrows in 2024