Bird and Butterflies!

It was a beautiful spring morning as the bird ringers arrived at 07.30. Curlew were calling and the Greylag Geese were making lots of noise on the lake.  As the temperature rose croaking Frogs  - and the slightly higher call of the Toads - accompanied the ringers on the net rounds.  At least three Comma butterflies were seen and one Peacock. These sightings have been added to the observation board in the Field Centre.

Nuthatch, Lesser Redpoll, and Reed Bunting were amongst the 77 new birds processed today.  The last net round included seven new Siskin. Then quite a surprise as the first Chiffchaff, all 7.9g of him, was removed from a bag  This small bird has just completed its long journey back from the Mediterranean region and today (Mar 11) is the earliest date ever recorded at Foxglove for the return of this, our first, summer migrant.  The previous earliest record was 14 Mar 1993!  Another noteworthy record today was the ringing of the 2500th Robin on the reserve!

Many visitors were in enjoying the beautiful weather and the exceptional condition of the reserve after all the effort made during the winter period.