The major event was the capture and ringing of a family party of Long-tailed Tits, eight youngsters and two males, the smaller of which I presumed to be "the helper".
Red eye ring indicating juv & white underside but no blue, just a black & white tail, with lots of chocolate round the edges
Red nape indicating male sex, lots of white here & there with a faint bluish hue to the upper feathers
Two more relative surprises were in store - these took the road of the unexpected. First up was a 6Male [>2CY] Great Spotted Woodpecker that was beginning to look a little the worse for wear, especially the flight feathers, and a smart 5M [2CY] Bullfinch. The GSW, in contrast to the 'Bully', was extremely noisy, calling the attention of the local stray (cat), and I managed not to let it drill the back of my hand as they often do.
Proper red breast with an off-white (gray) wing bar and a steely blue hue to the tail feathers in particular
The tally was 24 new birds and (5) re-captures
Gt. Spot 1
Goldcrest (1), a February bird
Gt. Tit 1
L-T Tit 9 (1)
Blackbird 3
Robin 3 (2)
Dunnock 1 (1)
Greenfinch 1
Goldfinch 2
Siskin 2
Bullfinch 1
The forecast is for wind and some of that precious commodity, RAIN!!!
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