Weedon’s World
This month, Mike looks at how modern technology and connectivity can even increase our knowledge of the movements of an individual bird
How technology and connectivity helped Mike track an interesting bird
Ihave talked a bit before about how modern technology has changed birdwatching and our knowledge and understanding of birds and their activities. Remember that Swedish colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull I found down the road from the BW office? Or last summer’s red-ringed Caspian Tern on its grand and welldocumented tour of the country? I recall how fascinating it was when I read how Bitterns (when they were still very rare breeders) could be identified individually by subtle differences in their booms. And talking of sound recordings, a new vogue among keen birdwatchers is making night recordings (usually from their gardens) to find out what birds have been flying over. Not just ‘night’ birds, but scoters, waders, buntings, you name it. These days, with the fantastic ‘wiki’ resource of Xeno-canto, a vast array of unheard of bird sounds are at everyone’s fingertips. But this month’s tale is about using a combination of digital technology, social media and good old-fashioned analogue feathers, to follow a single individual bird. The story starts on 28 April, when a Cambridgeshire 24-hour ‘bird race’ team braved horrific cold and wet weather and were rewarded with a great find: a Black-winged Stilt, at Eldernell, part of the Nene Washes. Last year was an exceptional year for stilts in the UK, with several pairs breeding. Keen-eyed readers may even remember that on 29 April 2017, I found a bunch of five Black-winged Stilts a couple of miles east from this year’s bird. The ‘current’ stilt did the decent thing and hung around until ‘the anniversary’ (ie 29th). And I came along again to pay my respects and maybe take a distant photo or two. It was a dark-hooded male, with a lovely pink flush to the chest and, in flight or when raising its wings, there was a little gap, a missing feather at the contact between the secondaries and primaries in the trailing edge of the left wing. But it was a bird in rude health. This is where the story picks up a bit. Come 30 April, the stilt had gone, but on May Day, a stilt was seen at RSPB Frampton Marsh, Lincolnshire. The stilt was still there on 2 May. But on 3 May, there was a stilt at Eldernell once more. In fact, it was on exactly the same spot on the edge of the same field, almost to the same blade of grass. Surely, ‘Gappy’ the stilt (nicknamed after the feather missing in the wing) had been ‘hiding’ at Eldernell all along, and the dates were just coincidental. He was seen again on 4th, but the next day, there was no sign, but a Black-winged Stilt was at Rutland Water. The first photos appearing online showed what looked like a similar bird to the Eldernell individual. But on 7th (and 8th) ‘Gappy’ was back patrolling the same spot at Eldernell. Questions needed to be asked. Sure, the stilts at Eldernell, Rutland and Frampton looked somewhat similar and the dates fitted, but were they the same bird? I took to Twitter and asked if anyone had seen or photographed the Rutland or indeed Frampton stilt’s left wing and noticed a missing feather. Almost immediately, a reply came back with a flight photo of the Frampton individual showing the tell-tale space in the wing. Not long afterwards, the Rutland bird was confirmed as having the same gap. So ‘Gappy’ the stilt had been travelling due north 30 miles to Frampton, staying a couple of days then south to Eldernell; hanging around a couple of days then off west 30 miles to Rutland Water for a couple or days, then back to Eldernell. Presumably, all the time looking for a mate at ‘suitable’ habitat. But 2018 is not a ‘stilt year’, so he has had no luck, yet… But, even after this revelation, the story continues, slightly. The very same stilt was once again at Frampton from 9-11 May. Then a stilt (presumably our Gappy) was seen at Welney, Norfolk (20 miles east of Eldernell; 12th-13th and 17th). And on the morning of 18th, a stilt was over Ferry Meadows CP, Peterborough; half an hour later appearing at Rutland Water (staying to 19th). Sadly, the 18th was the day the BW team was up at Frampton, having a great birdwatching day with a group of readers trying to boost our #My200birdyear lists and we missed the stilt! And I say ‘sadly’, because on 20th, Gappy was back at Frampton, showing better than ever! How do I know? The power of social media, the technology of modern digital photography, and the small matter of a little gap in a bird’s wing.
It was a dark-hooded male, with a lovely pink flush to the chest and... a gap in the left wing