The storm has passed

Little or no damage locally; cannot be said of other parts of our 'large' county. 

Barometer down to 975mb, winds around 35-40 mph from 4-5 am and 1 inch (25.5 mm) of rain. The Monksilver Stream is chocolate brown, fast but not that high, so flooding unlikely  - even though we have had in excess of 160 mm of rain this month already.

Male Goldcrest

Back to birding/ringing. During the last week we saw signs of winter approaching. This was evident from the sudden appearance of certain species in the garden. These were Goldcrests, Blackcap, continental Chaffinch (long-winged female), Song Thrush and Siskin, with other species picked up by sight or sound while walking the dog down by the meadows. They included an influx of Pied Wagtails, a Curlew, generally more Blackbirds in evidence,  passing Fieldfares (they head for the tops, e.g. Dunkery Beacon at nearly 400 m high), singleton singing Skylarks drifting south on most days and the flocking of the Goldfinches. Blue Tits are making more forays to the feeders; for some while now the feeders have hung silent. We are also being entertained, briefly, by the whirring gangs of Starlings, passing over the garden an hour after dawn and a couple of hours before dusk.

Immature Song Thrush

DJO has returned to Bedford with an improved Somerset list. He found a Jack Snipe in a ditch at Capton, French Partridge on Exmoor and some wintering Stonechat. He also picked up some more Barn Owls. Because of the weather patterns lately, little ringing has been possible but I have managed some brief interludes on the calmer days. Two weeks have yielded 30 new birds and 11 re-traps covering 13 species. Nothing out of the ordinary but, with lots of eastern and trans-Atlantic vagrant birds about, from Shetland to Scillies, you never know what may turn up.

Goldcrest 4 - 3 males

Blue Tit 2 (4)

Great Tit 1 (2)

Coal Tit 1

(Blackcap - freed itself as I went to handle it, female)

Chiffchaff 2 - males at 62 & 64 mm wing chords

Wren 2 (1) - a new adult (>2CY) male

Blackbird 3 - 2 females & a male, immatures of probably local origin (short wing lengths)

Robin 1 (1)

Dunnock 1 (1)

Chaffinch 1 - 1CY female with a wing of 90 mm is most likely 'Continental'

Greenfinch - 1 - released unringed as it had Trichomonas symptoms

Goldfinch 11 (2) - r/ts from Jan 2012 (a 2010 or earlier female) & 1CY in Dec 2012

Immature Coal Tit

From now on, all activities will be weather dependent, even getting to the annual Ringers' Conference in Derbyshire. "So long", until next month.