Foxglove’s annual bird-ringing course

Foxglove's annual bird-ringing course started today. 23 students are ringing on four different sites over the next four days. The eight students and the trainers who are working with them at Foxglove have ringed 190 birds with more still to be processed in the ringing room. These included Jay, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Nuthatch, Reed Bunting, Sedge Warber, Restart, Spotted Flycatcher and Bullfinch. You can see from the happy, smiling faces that they are having a good time.

A Common Snipe was ringed, only the second one in 10 or more years, and the first two Tufted Ducks for the site were also ringed having been trapped by the ringing course members using a floating net. The results of the course will be published over the next week but initial indications are that an interesting variety of birds have been caught.

Also on site today were 16 young people from the Gloucestshire Army Cadet Force. Tony gave then an introduction to MoD conservation policy and then they had a walk around the site. They all wanted to get up close to the cattle! McDuff was the only one to get in the picture though!

Out on the wet meadows there are still Lapwing chicks about. The parents were seen swooping and calling this afternoon.
Elizabeth, Andrew and Marion spotted two very fresh and vibrant Painted Lady butterflies, a pale blue Froghopper (unfortunately not a good enough photo to post, but I'll try and get another) and a baby newt which was only about 1 1/2 inches long. There were Blue

Damselflies around the ponds and Green-veined Whites fluttering among the rushes.

Lots of visitors were around enjoying the sun.