While walking the dog on Friday I came across the first 'big' flock of Fieldfare this winter hereabouts; it contained 28 birds that were feeding on Hawthorn (Crateagus sp.) berries in the lane leading to my meadows site. The following day, 7 Redwing appeared in the Ash (Fraxinus) trees at the bottom of the garden just before dusk. The following morning, a group of them were busy eating their way through the Holly (Ilex) berries on the 15m high tree that adorns our frontage. The missus is worried that they won't leave us any for Christmas decoration!
Is this the beginning of the "winter invasion" that we look forward to, when birds are driven, at last, to feeding in our gardens? Ringers always look forward to birds being attracted to our feeding stations in winter. Trouble is, every third household feeds the birds round here!
Back to the birds caught. As expected many of the new and retrapped ones were birds of the year. A bright male Blue Tit was from last January when ringing commenced, a female sized Robin was also an adult and had only arrived in the garden earlier this month, the Chaffinch, which spends a lot of time under the front shrubbery, was an adult female on tail shape and all the other finches were adults apart from a 1CY female Goldfinch with 2 ogc.
Adult male BULLF; 22nd= species (with COLDO) of 40 ringed by me in ST04
The Greenfinches arrived as a party of 7 birds on Sunday, the first winter 'flock' that I have noticed in the garden to date. The male Blackcap is now the 9th this winter period.
Totals: 13 species, 12 new, 12 re-traps.
Blue Tit 4 (1)
Great Tit (2)
Long-tailed Bushtit (3)
Blackcap 1
Wren (1)
Blackbird (2) - both male
Robin (1)
Dunnock (2)
House Sparrow 1
Chaffinch 1
Greenfinch 2
Goldfinch 2
Bullfinch 1
The weather forecast for the coming week is "not good", with the gale force winds due to batter the south of England this time. I hope we don't get the destruction seen in Scotland last week. Fingers crossed.
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