We're on the move

Things have been a little slow of late, hence the long interval between posts, but there seems to be some movement just recently. Over the past three weeks, my new bird totals have been 17, 17 and 34 - and the weekly species total has risen to twelve.

First year male Goldfinch completing PJ moult (October)

Naturally, at this time of year, Goldfinches have returned to Number 1 spot, with 18 new birds and 9 retraps last week, despite the periods of wind and rain that hamper much of our ringing hereabouts.  I am well over 500 new for the year already - with the main influx of newbies still to come (hopefully) - plus 72 individuals from last year, 14 from 2012 and 7 from the year before, my first here.

First year male Blackcap (October)

Same bird - underside (note the pale yellow flush)

The other tell-tale sign of winter is the catching of Blackcaps; the first (a 1CY male) on the 18th was right on cue, then another (1CY female) on the 22nd and three more since. I checked on the number of birds that were ringed in the orchard last winter (November - mid-March); it came to 22 birds, with two of those returning from previous winters.

Fun shot of a male Goldcrest's crown feathers

Another sign of the impending short days was the presence of a few new Goldcrests. The species breeds quite locally to us and I retrap birds from March to June, but after that it's only the odd new bird until the clocks go back when we then expect some winter arrivals, most likely passage birds heading for the Exmoor forests to the south-east of us. 

The bird that is missing so far - is Redwing. I saw one locally on the 14th and then a flock of 18 on the 25th. There was a major arrival on the north-east coast of England overnight on 28/29th so it will be another week or so before we see them regularly and, hopefully, one or two in the net.

Perversely, we saw a Swallow hurriedly heading south over the house on the 22nd in the late afternoon! Our local birds left ages ago.

The composite list for the last three weeks is: 

[same period retraps omitted]

Gt. Spotted Woodpecker 1 - adult male

Goldcrest 3

Blue Tit 1 (5)

Great Tit 1 (1)

Long-tailed Tit 4 (6)

Chiffchaff 1 - hatch year female

Blackcap 5

Wren 3 (3) - all young birds

Blackbird 2 (3) - just the 1 adult (female), retrapped

Robin (3)

Dunnock 2 (5)

House Sparrow 5 (6)

Chaffinch 1

Greenfinch 1

Goldfinch 38 (18)

118 birds of which 68 were new birds

Immature male Great Tit. Note the large, shiny bib.

One piece of late news - the southern end of the meadows has been fenced off, the horses now confined to the northern section. This means we can put nets up again, not just while the hay crop is growing.

About to burst into action?

It's that time of year again, when summer turns to autumn and the days get appreciably shorter and cooler. It is also the time of year for a complete change of the local avifauna; the summer visitors have left, the winter visitors are soon to arrive and different, resident species take advantage of the feeding stations, although the individual birds may now be strangers to the area also.

From a bird-ringing point of view, it is our quiet time. The remaining regulars know the score and how to get to the food without getting caught too often. Hence the shuffling of the feeders and the net. But still it's quite quiet and slow going. It was the time to get on and sort out the garden for the winter - all those chores a big garden demands.

The last 28 days' figures (145 handlings of 127 birds) attest to the change in the seasons: daily figures - new, (recaptured), species;

Week 38 - 0 (0) 0; 8 (8) 3; 4 (13) 3; 1 (2) 2; 1 (2) 3; 1 (1) 2; 5 (4) 5;

Week 39 - 1 (1) 2; 0 (0) 0; 3 (1) 2; 0 (3) 2; 2 (3) 1; 2 (4) 4; 4 (2) 4;

Week 40 - 0 (1) 1; 3 (0) 3; 2 (0) 2; 0 (2) 2; 0 (2) 2; 3 (3) 6; 3 (3) 6;

Week 41 - 3 (0) 2; 4 (4) 3; 3 (2) 1; 3 (3) 4; 9 (2) 8; 2 (6) 2; 10 (0) 3;

Female Goldcrest showing "powder" from newly emerged body feathers

Freshly moulted male House Sparrow of indeterminate age

1st calendar year male Chaffinch

1st calendar year female Chaffinch

It can be seen that the last week has produced nearly half of the new birds for the period. The change in the weather probably had something to do with it, as well as the moult season coming to a close. The picture is not as bleak as it appears when you know the minimum number of individual birds that have availed themselves of your hospitality. 
If we then total them up, leaving out any birds that were caught more than once, we get 76 new birds of 17 species, plus 51 recaptured birds from an earlier period, as follows:

Collared Dove 1

Goldcrest 2 - in the last two weeks; one was an adult female on tail shape

Blue Tit 2 (4)

Great Tit 2 (2)
Coal Tit 1 - adult male
Long-tailed Tit (1) 

Chiffchaff 2 (1) - all in the first week, the r/t was from the meadow a month earlier

Blackcap 1 - in the second week

Wren 8 (2) - two surges of young birds

Blackbird 5 (1) - half of these were on the last day, so movement has started 

Robin 6 (3) - all new birds (juvs) in the second/third week

Dunnock 0 (4)

House Sparrow 14 (16) - 30 birds but at least double that must have used the bird table
Grey Wagtail 1 - this female has taken a shine to our little pond 

Female Grey Wagtail

Chaffinch 4 - all this year's young

Greenfinch 1 (1) - a declining species, it seems

Goldfinch 26 (16) - making a strong presence in the last week (18 new, 8 r/t)

Goldfinches make up over a quarter of all the birds I catch and this year looks like being a bumper one for numbers. I have caught just six birds so far this summer (1%) that were ringed in 2011 (my first year here), four of which were at least 3 years old and one male was at least 5 years old. I will probably add to that in the coming weeks.

Juvenile Goldfinch replacing all its lost greater coverts 

Young Goldfinch coming to the end of its PJ moult

Pointed juvenile tail feathers - Goldfinch

The gold flash on the primaries that gives the Goldfinch its name

Meanwhile, in and over the garden we have had a couple of Magpies, four Jackdaws, up to nine Collared Doves, just the dominant pair of Herring Gulls, a Buzzard, a Raven and the daily parade of Rooks. This week, the Dipper has started singing again down at the stream and the Little Egrets pop by about once a week.

So, it looks like the winter feeding and ringing season is almost upon us and the bird food bill is about to spiral upwards. At least I don't have to think of the cost of rings like some teams, who can ring 3-400 new birds in a session, and on several days a week. I should just be able to achieve that sort of number between now and the end of the year!

I hope it won't be as long as this has been before I have something new to report

Two weeks on ...

... and we had 46 mm of rain in 5 hours. That's the same as the ten year average, all on the first day of the month! More thunderstorms have ensued since. Anyway, back to birds and the last 18 days.

Garden-wise, it's the House Sparrows that have been most in evidence, as they always are at this time of year with this year's youngsters looking for their next meal. They don't go near the feeders, as a rule, but prefer the bird table, either ours or our neighbours. That means I catch them as they cross the open part of the garden, where I don't usually net. There is still an active Blackbird's nest somewhere; both mum and dad collect mouthfuls of suet pellets early doors and scoot off with them.

Cinnabar caterpillars on Ragwort
(click to enlarge)

It's been a very good year for butterflies and moths. We have had many more Cinnabar moths this year and, with a small patch of Ragwort at their disposal, hundreds of caterpillars have emerged. Right now, they are looking for somewhere to pupate.

There has been a lot of Herring Gull activity post fledging, all ages readily coming to the broken up Hovis crusts I deliver. One pair are still attending their nest site, which they haven't used, just played about with a few bits and bobs of rubbish to form a base. The building's owners usually take the old nest away each autumn, as do many owners/occupiers. Still doesn't stop the birds from returning to their allotted spot each spring, though. 

There was a flurry of Swallow activity last week with 26 birds hunting over the garden one evening. Down on the meadows the number of individuals hawking for insects has decreased noticeably. The meadows are fully cut and part has been "mown" ready for the inevitable gymkhana that the owner's sister puts on for her young female riders. The better news is that the owners are going to fence off and gate the southern two meadows (that includes the ford) and resolve to contain the various horses in the larger northern section (that also has a crossing). Most of the site that I use could be available for ringing all year round next year.

Despite various restrictions, mainly on the domestic front, I have still managed to ring 98 new birds this period and re-capture another 26 individuals, (I discard any same period re-traps), of 19 species as under. The list is dominated by juveniles, before, during or after their post-juvenile moult.

Collared Dove (1) - long-winged, adult female of indeterminate age (>4 yrs), with BP
Kingfisher 1
Gt. Spotted Woodpecker (1)
Goldcrest 1
Blue Tit 6
Great Tit 3 (2) - 2 post-breeding females re-trapped
Long-tailed Tit (3)
Chiffchaff 7 - incl. adult male & female
Blackcap 10
Whitethroat 2 (1) - re-trap breeding female & a new 2CY male
Wren 8 (2)
Blackbird 8 (3) - includes the late breeding female (2x) although I try to avoid her.
Robin 5 (1)
Dunnock 1 (3)
House Sparrow 27 (8) - a new adult male & female
Grey Wagtail 1
Greenfinch 5
Goldfinch 11 (1) - adult male from beforehand

Grey Wagtail - juvenile

Goldcrest - juvenile

Blackcap -juvenile male
Note single, new, black feather emerging above eye

 Today I spotted (pun) my first local flycatchers. They, a pair, were carrying food for some youngsters tucked away somewhere around the old water-wheel site that served Egrove Farm mill. Couldn't stop - other half about to leave for Norfolk.

Off-site I did manage to meet up with two old Beds birding mates (DJO & DK) for a pint and a curry like the old days. Hilarious.

A big push north

For some time now, in fact from about the 28th of last month, the Goldfinches have been coming through in noticeable numbers. It becomes apparent when the unringed birds start to carry an "abnormal" fat load compared to birds which are with us for most of the year. The other noticeable effect is that one tends to trap them from midday onwards until a couple of hours before sunset. Birds that are re-trapped during their stay are putting on 0.7-0.8 grams a day. Conversely, immediately after dawn and prior to dusk are when the "locals" pop in for their SFH - and you won't catch them if it's a bright day!

Easily sexed Goldfinch - a female
(reduced red above & below the lores)

Having said that, the only other birds that one is likely to catch are returning juveniles, especially males. Caught as 3Js, perhaps more than once, and unsexed at the time (it's dodgy sexing juveniles; it's too easy to get 'caught out' later), I can only presume that they must have migrated some distance, if only to the south Devon or Cornish coast, to see out the coldest time of the year. The toughest time is right now, when any seeds are in short supply except weed seeds on tilled ground. But soon relief will come with the many dandelions currently flowering.

Nice turn-up - a male Lesser Redpoll

On the non-ringing front, the Robins, all three pairs, have young in the nest and are raiding the bird table like no tomorrow. One pair must be nearing "chucking out time"! The Blackbirds appear twice, sometimes three times, a day, indicating that they are still sitting. The Bullfinches must also be nesting as the females have been replaced by Joseph coated males. The Chiffchaff, whose "spring" is running down, is still parading ours and the other local (tall) hedgerows. It's a job to say what the Dunnocks are up to as there are so many individuals present here, but I suspect they have laid or are laying.

Weather wise, it was wet and breezy at the beginning of the week, then warmer and drier for the next three days, before reverting to cloudy with a cold wind. Today (Sat) the Swallows have been moving through, going west, plus a singleton House Martin. More Blackcaps have arrived but very few Willow Warblers. Ringing has been 'on-and-off', partly because of the need to get on with some gardening while the weather is in our favour. The lawns have suffered badly with the extremely wet weather we endured. 

Thieves at work - two Rooks helping themselves

The Sparrowhawk didn't just have this Collared Dove for lunch;
it also killed a Wood Pigeon the day before

Nevertheless, here's what did get caught in the last seven days (re-traps in brackets):

Goldcrest (3) - local (breeding) pair ... and a spare (male)
Blue Tit 1 - adult female with makings of a brood patch.

Chiffchaff (1) - territorial male

Blackcap 3 - all 2CY, 1 female

Robin (1) - no effort made to catch these as they are all feeding young

Dunnock (2)

Chaffinch 3 (1) - all 2CY, 1 female

Greenfinch 1 (1)

Goldfinch 34 (6)

Siskin (1) 

Lesser Redpoll 1 - 2CY male

Bullfinch 1 - 2CY male

More of these, please - male Barn Swallow

Holy Week ahead. Perhaps get down the meadow/stream if I'm in less agony. Even the owner wanted to know if it was on yet. Hey ho!
[Ed. SFH - sun-flower hearts, the preferred food of many species]

Sixteen days of dark

Hi again. We are nearly at the point when the evenings (theoretically) start to get lighter! I'm a SAD old git! and won't be waking up properly until mid Feb. Such is life.

A bit low on pics but I either forget to take one that will illustrate a point I want to pass on, or forget to get the camera out. [It's only a Fuji compact]. Ringing, or, more correctly, id in the hand is not always as straight forward as some will have us believe - nor as difficult as a few sceptics would either. The exchange of photos of "good" and "bad" birds can but help the less experienced to learn a bit more and avoid pitfalls.

Male Goldcrest - orange crown just visible

Ringing at home was a bit hit and miss, partly because of the weather and also because I was away 'up country', delivering Xmas presents, seeing old pals elsewhere and attending the 80th BTO Conference in north Derbyshire (mainly ringing, of course!) BUT, it's been good when I tried with just the two (semi-permanent) nets. I cleared the leaves twice and talked to the trees - but they didn't listen.

Immature female Goldfinch
with retained median/greater coverts

The biggest hit were the King Harrys (Goldfinches) which have only just started coming to the feeders in any number. 

Immature female Goldfinch
that has moulted all its coverts

They brought a few Siskins with them, too. The Redwings and Fieldfares are still taking berries but the occasional one sits in an apple tree, picking at the apples that are still left hanging on, up there where I can't get them. 

Redwing

My efforts up to the 11th succeeded in catching:

Collared Dove 1 - f.g. female

Goldcrest 1 (3) - 3 males

Blue Tit 5 (6) - birds of the year, except for 2 first-time breeders

Great Tit 1

Coal Tit 1 (2) - 1CY's

Long-tailed Tit 19 (5) - 16 together in one net!

Blackcap 7 (1) - the re-trap was feeding up for 'the off' (F1>F4)

Wren (2)

Blackbird 10 (1) - 4 adult females, 5 imm. females, 2 imm. males.

Fieldfare 2 - ad. male & 1CY female

Song Thrush 1 - adult

Redwing 1 - immature bird (123 wing)

Robin (3)

Dunnock 1 (1)

House Sparrow 2 (2) - caught during a chase (3 males!)

Chaffinch 3 - females, 2 adult

Goldfinch 59 (16) - 75 different birds, oldest from March 2011 and its first recapture; of the rest - 21 adults, (10 males, 8 females, 2 unsexed), 54 immatures, (25 males, 25 females, 4 unsexed); the females were prevalent in the earlier catches.

Siskin 3 - all adults

NB. I've taken out all the same period re-traps from the figures to give some idea of the number of birds present/ passing through. I always do this and put the recapture totals in brackets after the newly ringed birds.

Adult male Fieldfare 

Plenty Spring Chiffin

Well, another week has gone by so I need to put pen to paper - or bash the keyboard in modern parlance.

The Equinox weather is not as kind as last year; we are suffering minus 5 at night and, if the sun shines, plus 5 during early afternoon. The wind continues to come from the east or north-east and only occasionally drops to "light air". We also had 35mm of rain on 21st/22nd and a light drop of snow this morning. Compared to counties further north and east, we are positively 'balmy'. At least the roads are clear, very clear.

Vismig wise, Stock Doves and Meadow Pipits seem to be all that is happening, although I did hear a Curlew calling from the hill. Every day the garden has played host to between 3 and 7 Chiffchaffs, not all of which have found the net (can't put them everywhere!). Over the last few days, Blackcaps have started to appear, too. As far as I can tell, all the birds of both species which are passing through here are males. Females usually appear some 7-10 days later; we'll have to wait and see. I am also expecting to extract the first Willow Warbler sometime next week. The Apple trees want to blossom but it's so cold for the time of year.

I was given a fresh Sparrowhawk that had flown into some garden furniture. No ring.

Things are beginning to even up on the Siskin front. Previously, there has been a heavy preponderance towards adults and a bias for males. More recently the imbalance between full adult and 2CY has reduced (7:5), and it's the same for the sexes (M:F). They had a shocking breeding season last year round here (prolonged rain and felling of much larch affected by Phytophthora), so a shortage of "virgin" birds is to be expected. 100 Siskin in total ringed so far this year compares favourably with 40 last year and 43 the year before. And controlled birds, too!

Goldcrest - 1, a passing male
Blue Tit - (1)
Great Tit - (1)
Long-tailed Tit - (2), obviously a pair
Chiffchaff - 15, all with wing lengths from 61-66mm, no obvious 5's (2CY)
Blackcap - 6 (1) + 1 control, new birds were all males except the one 2CY; re-trap was one of our over-wintering females, control L293404 of as yet unknown origin.
Blackbird - 1 (1), both males, the females are on eggs but visit at dawn for a sultana or two
Robin - (2), both last year's youngsters, the ladies are on eggs somewhere
Dunnock - (3), courtship activity has slackened over the week
Chaffinch - female with 'scaly leg' not ringed
Greenfinch - 1
Goldfinch - 5 (2),
Siskin - 10 + 2 controls, 1 from the other side of the village (2km W) more than once, and 1 as yet unrecognised male L869461
 Total = 40 + 13 re-captures + 3 controls

Male Blackcap - spring

We have frog spawn! Fortunately, the pond is close to the house and doesn't often freeze over.

TW3

Migration has certainly slowed down now. There are two reasons for thinking this. One, is the daily passage westwards of a flock of up to 100 Starlings shortly after dawn from their roost on The Levels to their daytime feeding areas, somewhere Minehead way. Two, there was a flurry of Redwings and Fieldfares on Monday, that built up to more impressive flocks on Tuesday and then waned on Wednesday. These latter birds were all moving north-east over the Quantocks in groups varying around the twenty mark, sometimes coalescing into flocks of c. 100. Up the lane, the owner has planted many berried trees and shrubs that attract them; it was quite impressive in the mornings, but tailing off before noon. Several thousand must have passed through.

John, who lives "the other side of the pylons", managed to catch a few of these thrushes recently, namely 12 Redwing and a single Fieldfare - plus loads of Blackbirds. I should add that the pylons skirt the north of the village and John lives in an area detached from the main village by an area known as 'Danesfield' where there was a battle with the Viking invaders, many, many, many moons ago. That also makes us twice as far from the coast as he is.

This week, I have again managed to catch 48 birds, as last week, but only 36 of them were new, all requiring BTO bling. As last week, the species tally was also 14. At long last, the painters have left and the scaffold has been taken away. Just leaves another week for the jobbing builders to come and do the 'snagging' and the unfinished jobs. Peace and quiet will then reign and perhaps the birds will deem to grace the feeders, etc. in the usual manner.

Top dog, sorry - bird, was the Tom Tit, followed by King Harrys, much the same as last week, with Blackie replacing the Golden-crested Wren. [These are the country-side names]. New Coal Tits are still coming through as are Blackcaps. Just the other day, I noticed a singing Chiffchaff that had taken up residence where there were two breeding territories in the summer.

The all important list:
Gt. Spot. Woodpecker (1) - ad. male first caught this Sept.
Goldcrest 1 (1)
Blue Tit 9 (3) - 5 of the new ones were 'adult'
Gt. Tit 1 (1)
Coal Tit 2 (1) - 
Long-tailed Tit (1) - from early Jan this year
Blackcap 1 - a female this time
Blackbird 6 (1) - more females than males
Robin 1 (1) - the new bird was still in PJ moult
Dunnock (1)
House Sparrow 2 (1) - all males
Chaffinch 3 - all females, 2 adult
Greenfinch 1 - a 3F
Goldfinch 8 (1) - no adult females

Male House Sparrow (1CY) November

Male Gt. Spotted Woodpecker (2CY) November

Female Blue Tit (adult) November

Female Blackbird (1CY - 4ogc) November; immigrant?

Male Blackbird (1CY - 4ogc) November; immigrant?

Female Goldcrest

  

For those of you young ones, TW3 (TWTWTW) was a satirical TV programme called "That was the week that was" with David Frost, John Cleese and many others of that genre .

Back home

We're up and running again!

Last week I returned to Bedford to attend to family matters and to do some shopping while I was there. I was back home last weekend and managed to get in one day's ringing before I was off again. The weather was not very conducive for much migration to take place, but I gave it a go in the orchard between the intermittent showers.

Birds caught (22) and ringed (19):

Collared Dove 1

Gt. Spotted Woodpecker 1 - young female (5ogc)

Blue Tit 5 (1) - just 2 juvs.

Coal Tit 2 (2)

Wren 1 - cock bird

Chaffinch 2 - of the female persuasion

Goldfinch 5

Siskin 2 - both adult males

Fema;e 1CY Gt. Spot. Woodpecker - note a few red feathers in the crown but buff collar

This was very much the same fare as recent efforts and typical of the month of October. Three species were conspicuous by their absence - Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird and Dunnock.

I then had the pleasure of travelling east and meeting up with my sole surviving 'C' permit  holder from Bedfordshire days. [My other 'C's and 'T's all opted to transfer to senior members within the ringing group.] It turned out that the weather was not very conducive  to "non-stop" ringing once again; being near the coast made it doubly so. A vigorous front passed backwards and forwards over much of southern England, depositing fair amounts of rain that caused local flooding.

However, I was able to ring plenty of my favourite bird - Goldfinch, while Amanda got stuck into Lesser Redpolls. My trainee got to grips with a few 'crests ... but I did wrest a Firecrest from her, the second this year, but eons away from the previous two, which were 'ringing ticks' at that time.

Male 1CY Firecrest

Back home, the weather improved albeit slowly, enabling me to erect a net in the orchard ready for the morning. It so happened that the day, (today), although not spectacular from a meteorological standpoint, turned out to be a steady one and I had 32 new birds by the end (tea-time actually), plus 4 "I had prepared earlier".

Total for the session, covering 9 species:

Goldcrest 3 - included all tail shapes, Euring ages 2, 3 & 4

Blue Tit 4 (1)

Great Tit 3 (2)

CoalTit 6 - all juvs.

Blackcap 1 - 1CY male

Robin 1 (1) - the ringed bird from July as a juv.

Chaffinch 1 - young male

Greenfinch 1 - adult female (1st for a while)

Goldfinch 12 - 50% adults

Male 1CY Goldcrest

The Siskins turned up late in the day but decided on a collaborative effort and stayed high over. One or two often arrive at 'first light' but always sneak in from next door and return the same way. I'll be moving the feeders the other side of the net to see if that entices them.

The weather promises to be 'fair' for a few days after misty starts; who knows, we may be in for some more birds to ring.

Note: individual birds that have been recaptured are always given in brackets, (n), on my blog

Saturday Awayday

I travelled up to Buckinghamshire again for a session in the New Wood. As well as Dave S, I was joined by trainee Andrew W, who normally rings with Mick A'C in the wood to the east. The two woods are very similar but that is not surprising as ours was modelled on the semi-ancient one next door. The main difference, apart from age, is that more Hawthorn (of both types, English and Midland) has been incorporated into the New Wood.

The weather was not over conducive for a large catch since the wind was at the top end of acceptable and the cloud cover was 'solid', with not the slightest hit of some sun. A little of the latter might have helped "excite" the birds. It was raining when we got up - not what the Met. Office ordered! The catch was mostly what one would have expected at an 'in-between time', with the summer birds all gone and the winter birds not arrived here yet.

During the morning, we managed to catch and ring 29 new birds and recapture a further 6.

The others found the young male Goldcrest exciting to handle which took the shine off the female caught soon after.


Me, I liked the young, male Chiff that was still undergoing a heavy PJ moult at so late a date.


Four Bullfinches was as good as this time last year but we wait to see if we will be able to ring 14 in November as we did last year.

Blue Tit 7 (2)
Great Tit 3 (2)
Long-tailed Tit 11 (2)
Goldcrest 2
Chifchaff 1
Wren 1
Bullfinch 4

Hopefully, we shall find a window of opportunity during the first half of November for a final visit of the year. With the weather and rest days against us, we (EN & DS) have rung up a total of just 70 new birds ringed (and 7 re-traps) of 18 spp. against last year's totals of 231 new plus 60 r/t of 28 spp. In November 2010, a single visit brought in 88 birds. Fingers crossed!

Some surprises

A slow, but steady, week so far. We were promised better winds but the light southerlies did not materialise, just a very light and variable breeze yesterday. Even today, when we were promised southerlies, the wind is in the north-west, off the sea.

I did manage a few birds, though, but not as many as last week. However, a couple of surprises were in store.

The Goldcrests are either nesting in our one, remaining conifer, or the one on the other side of the road junction. This female was the first of these for a month.


The Siskins also returned after a month's absence; I caught 2 of 2 Friday and 1 of 2 on Saturday (today). The latter was a breeding female with an engorged and wrinkly belly. Her partner stayed calling from above the net.


Total catch - 38 birds. The 'King Harrys' still dominate the catches with every third new bird another Goldfinch.
Goldcrest 1 female with BP
Blue Tit (1)
Great Tit (1)
Willow Warbler 3 - all females
Blackcap 2 - 1 of each
Wren (1)
Blackbird 6 (3) - a new '6 male' looked as if he was working hard (see below)
Robin (3) - 2 brooding females
House Sparrow 1
Goldfinch 12 (1) - mainly migrants carrying fat
Siskin 3



There was a C.Whitethroat singing loudly this morning two doors away! And the male Sparrowhawk came straight down the middle of the net lane and over my head later.