Thursday 29 July 2010

Didn't they do well


We had a short session at the Sewerage works this morning with just TWO nets but still managed 60 birds. Almost all of them were juveniles, which adds weight to the conclusion that the 2010 breeding season has been a very successful one for many species. One of the few adults was this Grasshopper Warbler, a bird we very rarely get to photograph in broad daylight.
Todays catch included a remarkable 24 juvenile Whitethroats.

Sunday 25 July 2010

The French connection!

A good days ringing at Watermead produced a total of 64 birds. This included 17 Sand Martins, one of which had a French ring. We caught 20 Reed warblers, which brings the site total for the year to 66. We also caught 8 Whitethroat, 4 Garden Warblers and 4 Blackcaps.

French fancy


We were mixing and matching at Watermead this morning. Within 200m of each other are the now full blown reed-bed and the artificial Sand Martin bank. We ran the two sites side by side and together they produced a great mix of summer migrants. Reports suggest that 2010 is shaping up to be a bumper breeding season for many species. Our catch profile today looked good on that count but it did include some old friends like several Reed Warblers who have been back and forth to Africa a number of times. Highlight of the morning was French ringed Sand Martin bearing a Paris Museum ring. We are now regularly controlling foreign ringed Sand Martins at this prolific site.

Sunday 4 July 2010

Squabs


Back for another year, the garden Wood Pigeons have nested in the Wisteria and the little squabs were ready for ringing this morning. The parents are coming periodically to feed but also to brood them, especially important in today's cooler breezier weather.