This morning we visited the pond having gained permission from the land owner to try to catch and mark some of the Marsh Tits there for our new colour ringing project. Woodland birds are habituated to being feed at an area close to the pond so we set just two nets in the woodland and put on tape lures.
The Mute Swan family are still there with the three remaining cygnets, although one of the youngsters seems to be spending a lot of time away from the group. He (we believe) did swim out to the centre of the pond at one point and there seemed to be no animosity between him and the adult birds. He was seen feeding on pond weed, although he declined to come to food provided by pond visitors. The other two cygnets appear to be of a much slighter build and are probably females. All five birds are much less keen to take advantage of the free food provided by visitors.
We managed to get the first two birds for the Marsh Tit project. Both were hatched last year.
We only caught four birds but two were the target species with a Goldcrest and Coal Tit bycatch.
Total: 4
Coal Tit - 1
Goldcrest - 1
Marsh Tit - 2