We have found an excellent orchard for winter ringing of thrushes and finches and having gained permission from the owner tried an initial session to work out how birds are using the site. We set four double nets and managed to catch some birds while observing the way it is used. A key point is that the feeding is so good that birds are not pushed out of the orchard by people moving around the 16 acre site. Further to that the plants are perfectly aligned with wide spaces between and trees are uniformly pruned and approximately as tall as the 5 panel nets.
Over 2000 trees, many with windfalls still present
Male Brambling
Fieldfare male
Pulp is returned to nourish the soil once juice has been extracted
Some trees still hold some fruit. The orchard should continue
attracting birds throughout the winter.
Next time we will know the favoured areas and which direction to set all the nets.
Total: 22
Blackbird - 2
Fieldfare - 7
Blue Tit - 3
Starling - 5
Brambling - 3
Goldfinch - 2
Starling - 5
Brambling - 3
Goldfinch - 2