ERB was a welcome addition to the team this morning. The temperature was forecast to get quite hot later in the day so we wanted to get nets up and down quickly and to be off site not long after midday. We succeeded in our aim, an extra pair of competent hands always helps and we processed 52 birds throughout the morning. There were frequent swathes of cloud and a cool breeze up until about 11am, unexpected but perfect for ringing.
Leading species was Blue Tit, only just exceeding Chiffchaff. We continue to catch new Marsh Tits and Treecreepers, and there was also a single Willow Warbler and 3 Blackcaps. It still seems strange that we get so few Blackcaps now we're in Norfolk. Blackcaps used to be our 'big volume species' in South Bucks, during autumn we would get as many as this total session just of that species in catches extending to 3 figures, although of course the capture of Marsh Tits was unheard of at all of our then sites. Goes to show the value of ringing to record species demography and how monitoring records situation changes regionally and over time.
Every bird, every session, we take data on species, age, weight, wing length, moult condition, fat carried, muscle status and breeding condition during the breeding season. Again permitting identification of changing trends when taken as part of the wider UK recorded data.
Total: 48 (4)
Wren - 7
Robin - 3
Blackcap - 3
Chiffchaff - 9
Willow Warbler - 1
Goldcrest - 1
Marsh Tit - 3 (1)
Blue Tit - 9 (1)
Great Tit - 7 (1)
Coal Tit - 2
Treecreeper - 3