30th April
We were only here three days ago, but there was quite a different feel to the site from them. The Whitethroats seem to resolved all their territorial issues and there is now much less chasing around and more sitting at the territories highest point and singing. We also noticed that the male female ratio of Whitethroats has changed with more females having arrived now.
Of the captured Blackcaps we noticed that some birds were carrying fat and had not yet completed their journey while others had zero fat and would probably breed locally.
Total: 25 (12)
Wren - 1 (1)
Robin - 1 (1)
Blackbird - 1
Sedge Warbler - 1
Whitethroat - 7 (3)
Garden Warbler - 4
Blackcap - 6 (3)
Chiffchaff - 1 (1)
Blue Tit - 1
Long Tailed Tit - 2 (3)
2nd May
An attempt at the other end of the site that bought 29 birds including 13 ret-raps. Having completed a Whitethroat RAS here over the past five years we are especially interested in the re-traps.
We have already encountered Z762092 (30/04), ringed on 29th July 2017 when a juvenile, AKE4779 (27/04) an adult when ringed on 18th May 2019 and AKE6140 (30/04), a 3J ringed 8th August 2019. There are also a further 7 second year birds returning for their first breeding season to date.
A re-trap Robin Z956653 from 30/04 was ringed as a 3J on 18th September 2016, encountered in both 2017 and 2018 and then not seen throughout 2019 and 2020.
Total: 16 (13)
Robin - 0 (1)
Dunnock - 1 (4)
Blackbird - 1
Song Thrush - 1
Whitethroat - 4 (4)
Garden Warbler - 1
Blackcap - 5 (3)
Chiffchaff - 0 (1)
Blue Tit - 2
Great Tit -1
