After a few days of warm spring sunshine, today's cloudy conditions and chill wind was a bit of a shock to the system for both ringers and birds alike. There was visibly less bird activity, and bird song was also reduced.
The female Marsh Harriers were seldom seen with only the males hunting. Presumably, brooding duties (whether eggs or chicks) were a priority in the chilly conditions. A male Cuckoo was heard from time to time, but there was no sound to indicate the presence of any females. Three Swallows flew through from the direction of the sea bank.
With little obvious activity, a total of 34 wasn't at all bad for a spring catch (always lowish, due to birds being more 'experienced' than the rather naive youngsters of autumn and with many of the paired birds sitting).
The session brought our first Reed Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler of the year. More than a third of the catch were retraps, again showing how site faithful resident and migrant birds are, often returning the exact same portion of the field, reeds or hedgerow year after year.
Total: 22 (12)
Wren - 1 (3)
Dunnock - 1 (1)
Song Thrush - 0 (1)
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Sedge Warbler - 4 (2)
Grasshopper Warbler - 1
Blackcap - 2
Chiffchaff - 8 (2)
Goldcrest - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 1 (2)
Reed Bunting - 1