Birds Galore!

Yesterday the bird ringers were ringing at another site and were thrilled to catch some Yellowhammers.  One was seen at Foxglove about  two weeks ago, a very rare visitor to the reserve.  These birds prefer open fields.

They also processed over 20 Reed Buntings.

Ringing took place again today at Foxglove and the ice was crunching underfoot as the nets were raised.  Net rounds were carried out regularly and birds were returned to the ringing room.  It soon became clear that we were in for a busy time!

63 Chaffinches were caught of which 40 had not been ringed before.  These birds are frequently seen in the back garden and flying through the trees around the reserve.

A rarer visitor was this Nuthatch.  They can sometimes be seen collecting food from the back garden feeders and flying off with it, to hide for later use.

10 new Robins and 13 Blackbirds were ringed.  NO new Great Tits! 16 Brambling including a control, a bird that has been ringed elsewhere, were handled.  Unusually only three new Lesser Redpolls were caught.  A surprise was a Common (Mealy) Redpoll.  There were more Bullfinches processed today than there has been recently.  The final total for the day was 233 birds.

Although the sun shone and there was blue sky overhead it remained cold.  However Brian found this larch flower, so it has just made it onto the March observation board - a hint of spring?

Thank you to everyone who helped today, ringing, walking miles on net rounds, checking birds, making tea, baking delicious cakes! and of course not forgetting the counting of the bird bags and tidying up at the end of the day.