Manx BirdLife

Manx bird sightings for week ending 5th February 2012

MBL — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:14:27 +0000

Yet another interesting week for bird reports! Here are some of the highlights. There was a scattering of reports of Swans around the Island; one in Port Erin bay was a Mute Swan, one at Orrisdale was either a Bewick or Whooper, while Mute Swans and Whooper Swans were reported from various other sites – it seems that there were at least 33 Whoopers on the Island. Good numbers of duck were reported from the Point of Ayre Gravel Pits (no public access – sorry), Glascoe Dub, Ballannette, Eairy and Kionslieu. Eiders were widely reported around the coast along with a flock of Common Scoter off The Lhen. The maximum count of Goldeneye for the week was 47 at Ramsey Vollan. Two Merlins were seen at Point of Ayre, where good numbers of Red-throated Divers and a single Great Northern Diver were also seen. The Red-necked Grebe was still in Derbyhaven on 2nd Feb. 5 single Gannets were seen. Approximately 60 Golden Plover were at Rue Point on 1st Feb. An adult Iceland Gull at Peel on 3rd and 4th Feb gave some great views. The Point of Ayre is vying with Sandwick for the largest numbers of Chough – with 24 and 21 seen at these sites respectively this week. 4 or possibly 5 Crossbills were feeding on pine cones at the car park at Ballaghennie on 1st Feb, while 3 Yellowhammers were at Thurot Cottage on 5th Feb.

For full details of last week’s sightings, please click here. They can also be seen by clicking on ‘RECENT REPORTS’ at the top of the screen, go down to ‘February’, then clicking on ‘5th’. Thank you to everyone who has sent in their observations and photographs.

Please continue to send in your observations and photographs using this form.

So far this year 116 different species have been reported to Manx BirdLife, see here for details. Three were reported this week for the first time this year: Mute Swan, Rock Pipit and Yellowhammer. If you see any species that has not yet been reported this year, please could you do so using the usual form.

Week ending 29th January 2012 – bird observations on the Isle of Man

MBL — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:58:16 +0000

Highlights of the week included: continued good numbers of Whooper Swans, with 30 in the Ballaugh Cronk area and scattered reports of others around the Island, 30 Common Scoter on the sea at The Lhen, a Merlin at Jurby, more Red-throated and Great Northern Divers from the Point of Ayre, a Red-throated Grebe was a rare sighting in Derbyhaven Bay alongside the more typical Great Crested and Little Grebes, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits were at Derbyhaven, a Barn Owl was seen at Richmond Hill, Douglas, another Black Redstart turned up at Ramsey Harbour – the 3rd of the winter, Blackcaps were reported from Laxey, Ballaugh and Onchan – with 3 in one garden alone. a Treecreeper survived crashing into a window in Knocksharry, 31 Chough were at Sandwick, 1 Tree Sparrow came to a garden in Peel, a pair of Crossbills were seen in Druidale.

For full details of last week’s sightings, please click here. They can also be seen by clicking on ‘RECENT REPORTS’ at the top of the screen, go down to ‘January’, then clicking on ‘29th’. Thank you to everyone who has sent in their observations and photographs.

Please continue to send in your observations and photographs using this form.

So far this year 115 different species have been reported to Manx BirdLife, see here for details. Two were reported this week for the first time this year: Canada Goose and Red-necked Grebe. If you see any species that has not yet been reported this year, please could you do so using the usual form.

Isle of Man bird observations – week ending 22nd January 2012

MBL — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:31:20 +0000

A typical varied week of winter sightings. Highlights included many reports of Whooper Swans – including an unusual report of a solitary bird in Peel, good numbers of Red-throated and Great Northern Divers passing the Point of Ayre, an Iceland Gull at Peel Breakwater, a Stock Dove at The Phurt, many reports of parties of Long-tailed Tits visiting bird feeders in gardens, a flock of 26 Chough at the Point of Ayre, 2 Tree Sparrows visiting a bird table in Peel, flocks of Twite at the Point of Ayre and from Gansey/Port St Mary, and last but not least a Snow Bunting on Fort Island.

For full details of last week’s sightings, please click here. They can also be seen by clicking on ‘RECENT REPORTS’ at the top of the screen, go down to ‘January’, then clicking on ‘22nd’. Thank you to everyone who has sent in their observations and photographs.

Please continue to send in your observations and photographs using this form.

So far this year 112 different species have been reported to Manx BirdLife, see here for details. If you see any species that has not yet been reported this year, please could you do so using the usual form.

Additional job advertisement for Manx BirdLife – Field worker for 2012 season

MBL — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:09:04 +0000

One full-time surveyor is required for the period 1st April to 31st July, to undertake a variety of bird research tasks. A sound knowledge of British birds and their identification, particularly by call/song is essential, as is previous experience in monitoring breeding birds. It would be advantageous if applicants have a ringing permit, issued by the British Trust for Ornithology. Applicants should hold a full driving license.

The main duties of the post include –

Breeding bird survey of 1km squares as part of on-going population research
Entering ornithological data onto an MS Access database
Assisting in miscellaneous surveys and other tasks as the need arises

You will be working to an established methodology which has been used to produce the ‘Manx Bird Atlas’, detailing the distribution and abundance of species which breed and/or winter on the Island. It has been widely praised as an exemplar of high research standards.

Application is by letter with c.v. addressed to Claire Barnett, Manx BirdLife, 35 New Road, Laxey, Isle of Man IM4 7BQ.

Closing date for applications is 6th February 2012, with interviews scheduled for the week beginning 13th February 2012.

The charity is a small organisation with a challenging workload so the successful applicant should be willing to work long hours as required. The Island has a diverse range of habitats with spectacular scenery and natural history.

Details of the role are on the Environmentjob.co.uk website.

Job advertisement for Manx BirdLife

MBL — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:26:17 +0000

Manx BirdLife is seeking to appoint a ‘Bird Monitoring and Research Project Officer’ .

A full-time surveyor is required for the period 1st April 2012 to April 30th 2013, to undertake a variety of bird research tasks. A sound knowledge of British birds and their identification, particularly by call/song is essential, as is previous experience in monitoring breeding birds. Applicants should be competent in the use and handling of large datasets, e.g. using spreadsheets and/or databases packages. Experience in report writing to a high standard and working experience of mapping programmes such as ArcView is essential.

It would be advantageous if applicants have a ringing permit, issued by the British Trust for Ornithology. Applicants should hold a full driving license, and have their own form of transport.

For further information and an application pack please contact Miss Claire Barnett, Conservation Officer, MBL, 35 New Road, Laxey, Isle of Man IM4 7BG, or email: claire[AT]manxbirdlife.im (replace ‘[AT]‘ by ‘@’).

Details of the role are on the Environmentjob.co.uk website.

New links added – Manx Butterfly Conservation and Isle of Man Woodland Trust

MBL — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:43:45 +0000

Two new links have been added to the Links page:

Manx Butterfly Conservation – with a newly-created website
Isle of Man Woodland Trust.

Manx bird sightings for week ending 15th January 2012

MBL — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:56:25 +0000

Over the past week, some fine (but cold) weather gave many birdwatchers the chance to get out and about, resulting in a large number of reports being sent in to Manx BirdLife and some nice observations.

Highlights of the week include an increase in the number of Whooper Swans on the Island – with the large flock in the Ballaugh Cronk/Jurby area now reaching 28 birds, a Long-tailed Duck was seen off the Point of Ayre, as were some Red-throated and Great Northern Divers. 30 Purple Sandpipers were seen on the Calf of Man – with no warden on the island during the winter, sightings like this tend to be missed. Bob Taylor also saw a Puffin off the Calf. Another Black Redstart turned up at the mouth of Ramsey Harbour and was ringed by Sean Gray; this spot is certainly favoured by Black Redstarts, but there must be a good chance of others being elsewhere on the Isle of Man. The Siberian Chiffchaff in the Bride Hills was a great find!

On the negative side, 6 dead birds – either Shags or Cormorants – were found on the east side of the Island, just south of Point of Ayre. One is definitely a Shag as it was ringed on the Calf of Man as a pullus in May 2009. See Kevin Scott’s Manx Bird Ringing blog for more details. Eve also reported a Shag at Fleshwick that looked ill and didn’t fly off – as a fit wild bird might be expected to – could this bird be ill or possibly malnourished? Photos of the two Shags are included below.

For full details of last week’s sightings, please click here. They can also be seen by clicking on ‘RECENT REPORTS’ at the top of the screen, go down to ‘January’, then clicking on ‘15th’. Thank you to everyone who has sent in their observations and photographs. Please continue to send in your observations and photographs using this form.

So far this year 86 different species have been reported to Manx BirdLife, see here for details. If you see any species that has not yet been reported this year, please could you do so using the usual form.

Updated gallery of bird photographs

MBL — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:02:25 +0000

The Gallery of bird photographs on the Manx BirdLife website has been updated. Photographs of Manx birds are always welcome – in particular those which are not currently included in the Gallery.

If you take a photo of a bird on the Isle of Man and would like to share it, please send it in using the usual form.

Manx Ringing Group – ringing totals and recovery report for 2011

MBL — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:02:13 +0000

Kevin Scott has added a report to his blog detailing the ringing totals of the Manx Ringing Group for 2011, plus a report showing all birds recovered on the Isle of Man (and Manx-ringed birds recovered elsewhere).

4,358 fledged birds and 686 pulli were ringed on the Isle of Man in 2011. A total of 74 different species were ringed. These totals do not include birds ringed on the Calf of Man.

The recoveries report includes Calf of Man ringed and recovered birds. There are some interesting movements of birds, including many between the Calf of Man and the main Island, along with others that have travelled between sites on the Isle of Man.

Manx bird sightings – week ending 8th January 2012

MBL — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:04:57 +0000

Good numbers of winter visitors to the Isle of Man were reported last week, with highlights including a flock of 36 Whooper Swans that were seen to leave the Point of Ayre Gravel Pits early on 8th January – maybe they had been resting and recuperating there after arriving from further north and then moved on to wintering grounds elsewhere. Other highlights were Red-throated and Great Northern Divers seen from Point of Ayre and Black-throated Divers in Derbyhaven Bay, various waders including 1-2 Bar-tailed Godwits around Langness, at least 2 Snow Buntings (also on Langness) and 20 Twite near Point of Ayre.

There were also reports of Blackcaps visiting bird tables in Andreas and Onchan, single sightings of Brambling and Crossbill, plus a welcome report of a Barn Owl near Onchan.

For full details of last week’s sightings, please click here. They can also be seen by clicking on ‘RECENT REPORTS’ at the top of the screen, go down to ‘January’, then clicking on ‘8th’. Thank you to everyone who has sent in their observations and photographs. Please continue to send in your observations and photographs using this form.

So far this year 59 different species have been reported to Manx BirdLife, see here for details. If you see any species that has not yet been reported this year, please could you do so using the usual form.