It was drizzling when we arrived on site, and a bit windier than we would have liked. We had to decide whether to stick to our usual place or try another area where gorse has grown up and paths were cut through in spring as part of the park management. Not knowing this new area so well, we stuck with what we know.
While four nets went up without a hitch, we became aware of a stream of vehicles passing by as there was filming going on somewhere in the park and as it turned out not very far from where we were. The birds were a bit slow to start moving, but it soon became clear that Goldcrests numbers would be lower than last time, whereas Lesser Redpoll numbers would probably be up.
We tried the tape for Redwing, attracting a few birds and catching just one of them. Lesser Redpolls were frequently dropping into the alders and fifty were caught over the course of the morning, 49 new and a control. As we thought, Goldcrests were down to 15 with one retrap from Monday.
A shuttle bus service was running back and forth from the filming all morning - we though it must be something historical when we'd seen props going by on an open backed truck. The rustic wagon had us thinking it may be a western, then we began to hear whooping sounds from the direction of the filming, then the sound of the Redcoat drums. It seemed to be about the American Indian wars.
Now, we always notice those TV programmes with the wrong natural sounds in the background, Poldark with Bee-eater calls springs to mind, but if at some stage in the future, you are watching something set in North America history and can hear the Redwing Latvian love song or persistent Redpoll song in the background, then it's our fault!
It was just as well we didn't go for the other location because the track was completely blocked by their vehicles, we would have struggled to get out and may even have been in shot.
Totals: 76 (2)
Wren - 2
Robin - 1
Redwing - 1
Goldcrest - 15 (1)
Blue Tit - 5
Coal Tit - 3
Lesser Redpoll - 49 (and 1 control)
While four nets went up without a hitch, we became aware of a stream of vehicles passing by as there was filming going on somewhere in the park and as it turned out not very far from where we were. The birds were a bit slow to start moving, but it soon became clear that Goldcrests numbers would be lower than last time, whereas Lesser Redpoll numbers would probably be up.
We tried the tape for Redwing, attracting a few birds and catching just one of them. Lesser Redpolls were frequently dropping into the alders and fifty were caught over the course of the morning, 49 new and a control. As we thought, Goldcrests were down to 15 with one retrap from Monday.
Control S101959, aged 3
Adult Redwing
A shuttle bus service was running back and forth from the filming all morning - we though it must be something historical when we'd seen props going by on an open backed truck. The rustic wagon had us thinking it may be a western, then we began to hear whooping sounds from the direction of the filming, then the sound of the Redcoat drums. It seemed to be about the American Indian wars.
Now, we always notice those TV programmes with the wrong natural sounds in the background, Poldark with Bee-eater calls springs to mind, but if at some stage in the future, you are watching something set in North America history and can hear the Redwing Latvian love song or persistent Redpoll song in the background, then it's our fault!
It was just as well we didn't go for the other location because the track was completely blocked by their vehicles, we would have struggled to get out and may even have been in shot.
Totals: 76 (2)
Wren - 2
Robin - 1
Redwing - 1
Goldcrest - 15 (1)
Blue Tit - 5
Coal Tit - 3
Lesser Redpoll - 49 (and 1 control)