Home Cottage Farm - 4 February 2011

With conditions ideally right to bring in the Thrushes to the remaining apples with the hard frozen ground conditions we had the first net up by 7am. Whilst we were fortunate to catch five Fieldfares, numbers in and around the orchard were relatively low, therefore not helping our chances of a big catch. The first round was quite productive, but after that things slowed down, but a nice mix of birds were caught, making the morning fairly worth while, with our first new Green Woodpecker in a few visits.

Green Woodpecker, adult female - with old secondaries 

on the right wing and new one on the left

Fieldfare - 5 male

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 5 male

Totals (29 new, 4 re-trap):

Green Woodpecker - 1

Great Spotted woodpecker - 1

Dunnock - 1 

Robin - 2 (1)

Fieldfare - 5

Blue Tit - 1 (2)

Long-tailed Tit - 4

Starling - 1

Chaffinch - 2 (1)

Goldfinch - 10

Greenfinch - 1

We closed up by 12.30 and upon returning home Denise continued ringing in the garden, whilst I head off to Hedgerley landfill in search of the Glaucous and Iceland Gull that have been seen there recently without any success, but 35 Red Kites were seen around the tip area during the visit in one go.

Denise's totals were (9 new, 1 re-trap)

Long-tailed Tit - 1

Siskin - 2

Goldfinch - 5 (1)

Greenfinch - 1