Friday 31 December 2010

Garden 23 - 31 Dec 2010

Whilst I still suffered in true male style with the flu, Denise had a few brief sessions in the garden, either with a potter trap or a 20ft net which due to the cold weather was more or less watched constantly and birds removed straight away, though the snow went quite quickly and today was a balmy 9c. Siskins have come in small numbers, and whilst one capture on 30/12 was one of our previous years birds, X380147, a 4 male, previously rung on 7/3/2009 as a 5 male. The foreign ringed male did not put in an appearance.

Siskin - X380147
Totals were:

23th - Blackbird (1)

26th - Dunnock (1), Blackbird (1), Song Thrush (1), Great Tit (1), Goldfinch (5) and 2 re-traps.

27th - Dunnock (1), Robin (1), Song Thrush (1), Blue Tit (4), Great Tit (2), Coal Tit (1), Goldfinch (2), Siskin (2) and 3 re-traps, one a Blue Tit V461478 originally ringed on 23/6/2007 as a 3J.

29th - Goldfinch (1)

30th - Woodpigeon (1), Blue Tit (4), Long-tailed Tit (2), Goldfinch (4) and 3 re-traps, including the Siskin mentioned above.

31st - Blackbird (1), Blue Tit (2), Great Tit (1), Goldfinch (5), Greenfinch (1), Siskin (3) and 1 re-trap.

A wander around Thorney CP on the 26th produced a good sighting of a Bittern in thin reeds on the ice, a fly over Little Egret, a Buzzard moved around the trees by the lake and a drake Red-crested Pochard on one of two small open areas of water.

Bittern

 Afterwards Denise took a wander around Hardings Row Nature reserve.