This mild weather

... continues here in the south-west. One day the fronts track up from France and it rains heavily and then the wind goes easterly and we're bathed in bright sunshine one minute and under a cloud blanket the next. When you wake up the next day, it's all round to the west with hill fog and drizzle. When the wind clears the murk, the leaves are being shaken off the trees. Such is a ringer's, hard life hereabouts! you just have to cope and get in a few hours when you can.

Any road, I have been fortunate in that the garden has been protected from the worst of the wind this week. The meadows were unringeable as the nets sites were all vulnerable to the wind on any one day. A couple of achievements this week have been the capture of bird species No. 40 for the 1km grid square, the spotting of No. 76 and the ringing of No. 1500 this year.
The Grip - it rejected the pencil in favour of my fingers!
"I'm watching you, mister" [Magpie age 3 (1CY)]

As you may have guessed by now, species number 40 was a juvenile Magpie. They are not very common round here (I suspect they get shot fairly frequently) but there is a successful pair on the outskirts of Watchet which I often see from/at the meadows.

I also caught the first Greenfinch since August, an adult female. They are now very scarce here during the summer months and I suspect their breeding numbers in the area are low, that is until you get closer to the wooded slopes of Exmoor.
Another species that I have not been catching is the Goldfinch. The local breeders (in my tall, front hedge) know full well where the nets are in relation to the feeders and make sure they don't get caught too often.
Understudy for 2011 Goldfinch No.289 or new ring No. 1500

The last "exciting" bird I caught was another Blackcap. This is the fourth in four weeks (an adult female, an adult male and latterly two 1CY males). The only month this year when I haven't caught one of these is, ironically, May, always thought of as one of the better months for overall numbers.
So, as usual, to the totals for the first three days this week (Mon-Wed) . 16 new birds and 14 retraps of 14 species. All the retraps were birds of the year; the only adults were 2 new Blue Tits, a male Blackbird, both new Robins, the male Chaffinch and the female Greenfinch
Magpie 1
Blue Tit 3 (2)
Great Tit (1)
Coal Tit (1)
Long-tailed Tit (5)
Chiffchaff 1
Blackcap 1
Wren (1)
Blackbird 3 (1)
Robin 2 (2)
House Sparrow 2 (1)
Chaffinch 1
Greenfinch 1
Goldfinch 1

Yesterday was shopping in the county town for groceries and materials/fittings for the refurb. Today and the next few days will be non-ringing days; first, it's rip the kitchen out and then varnish the insides of the cabinets before they go in, tomorrow is the BTO/SOS Garden Birdwatch day conference and Sunday is getting the old tiles off and sealing any mdf., i.e. make a mess while the 'good lady' is away in Norfolk. Fingers crossed I'll be able to get the nets up sometime towards the end of next week if the weather holds fair ... and if we get the new kitchen finished.