4th September
A less windy day that seemed much more promising than the last two days. Bo, Stanley and Martin were here to help and there was a steady steam of birds including a few species that we've not ringed here before. We caught our first Tree Sparrow, Sparrowhawk and Reed Bunting of the trip. There was a steady passage of Meadow Pipit overhead all morning with four caught. We intend to put up an extra net for pipits and catch a few more. We said goodbye to Stanley as he went back to his usual observatory.
In the afternoon we attempted a roost catch. There were only a few Yellow Wagtails in evidence and not a significant number so as to warrant too many more roost catch attempts. It's just Chris and myself tomorrow so we'll see what the day brings.
Totals: 124 (24)
Sparrowhawk - 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 0 (1)
Meadow Pipit - 4
Wren - 1
Dunnock - 2
Robin - 17 (5)
Redstart - 10 (2)
Sedge Warbler - 6 (3)
Reed Warbler - 29
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Whitethroat - 6 (1)
Garden Warbler - 13 (3)
Blackcap - 27 (3)
Willow Warbler - 1 (1)
Chiffchaff- 1
Great Tit - 1
Tree Sparrow - 1
Reed Bunting - 1
5th September
There was a mild frost over night. The air soon warmed 'though and by the time other people were up and around there was no sign of the frosty patches that we'd seen before 5am when setting the nets. It was a quieter day than yesterday but we still caught a decent number of birds.
By 11am it was very warm with an increasing wind and all the main nets were closed. We tried for Meadow Pipits for a short while, but it wasn't much of a passage day for them and we soon closed the nets.
We had our third attempt at a wagtail roost in the evening and, as the sun sank and the wind dropped, we caught around thirty or so birds.
Totals: 111 (11)
Tree Pipit - 1
Meadow Pipit - 2
Blue-headed Wagtail - 29
White Wagtail - 3
Dunnock - 1
Robin - 9 (1)
Redstart - 4
Blackbird - 1
Reed Warbler - 12 (1)
Lesser Whitethroat - 2
Whitethroat - 1
Garden Warbler - 5 (1)
Blackcap - 26 (8)
Willow Warbler - 3
Chiffchaff- 3
Blue Tit - 3
Great Tit - 2
Chaffinch - 2
Greenfinch - 1
Reed Bunting - 1
A less windy day that seemed much more promising than the last two days. Bo, Stanley and Martin were here to help and there was a steady steam of birds including a few species that we've not ringed here before. We caught our first Tree Sparrow, Sparrowhawk and Reed Bunting of the trip. There was a steady passage of Meadow Pipit overhead all morning with four caught. We intend to put up an extra net for pipits and catch a few more. We said goodbye to Stanley as he went back to his usual observatory.
In the afternoon we attempted a roost catch. There were only a few Yellow Wagtails in evidence and not a significant number so as to warrant too many more roost catch attempts. It's just Chris and myself tomorrow so we'll see what the day brings.
Juvenile female Sparrowhawk
Lesser Whitethroat
Great Spotted Woodpecker - adult
Meadow Pipit
The observatory house - our home for the month
Cranes coming in at the end of the day
Sparrowhawk - 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 0 (1)
Meadow Pipit - 4
Wren - 1
Dunnock - 2
Robin - 17 (5)
Redstart - 10 (2)
Sedge Warbler - 6 (3)
Reed Warbler - 29
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Whitethroat - 6 (1)
Garden Warbler - 13 (3)
Blackcap - 27 (3)
Willow Warbler - 1 (1)
Chiffchaff- 1
Great Tit - 1
Tree Sparrow - 1
Reed Bunting - 1
5th September
There was a mild frost over night. The air soon warmed 'though and by the time other people were up and around there was no sign of the frosty patches that we'd seen before 5am when setting the nets. It was a quieter day than yesterday but we still caught a decent number of birds.
Juvenile male Chaffinch
Tree Pipit - adult
Young male Blackbird
First year male Reed Bunting
We had our third attempt at a wagtail roost in the evening and, as the sun sank and the wind dropped, we caught around thirty or so birds.
Adult female White Wagtail
Juvenile male Blue-headed Wagtail
Tree Pipit - 1
Meadow Pipit - 2
Blue-headed Wagtail - 29
White Wagtail - 3
Dunnock - 1
Robin - 9 (1)
Redstart - 4
Blackbird - 1
Reed Warbler - 12 (1)
Lesser Whitethroat - 2
Whitethroat - 1
Garden Warbler - 5 (1)
Blackcap - 26 (8)
Willow Warbler - 3
Chiffchaff- 3
Blue Tit - 3
Great Tit - 2
Chaffinch - 2
Greenfinch - 1
Reed Bunting - 1