Ringing

Saturday 29th although the wind rattled branches hard overnight it drooped for a while this morning allowing some ringing before the forecast squally rain arrived mid-morning. Twenty one birds were led by eight Willow Warblers and five Blackcaps. Pied Flycatchers continued their good ( for these days) autumn with another two. One of these was an adult male which was…

Friday 31st Unfortunately none of the team were available yesterday but warbler migration continues steadily. Twenty-four birds were ringed today. Warblers formed the bulk of this led by six Willow Warblers and four Whitethroats. There were two each of Sedge Warbler,  Blackcap and Chiffchaff plus a Lesser Whitethroat. Resident birds continue to appear , including juvenile Blue Tit, Dunnock, Goldfinch,…

Wednesday 13th It was windier than hoped but still okay before thundery and icy showers arrived mid-morning. The attempt was rewarded with a variety of new birds. This included the first juvenile Chaffinch and Long-tailed Tits (8). A new, full adult, Blackbird  and a Chiffchaff were unexpected. It will be interesting to see if the colour ringing of the Blackbird…

Wednesday 29th A check of the nest boxes in the shelter of the Elms was positive with all the occupied nests from the last visit still active and a couple more now with sitting birds. We only detected hatched chicks in one box. The Robins in the Observatory tower have fledged. Another amazing Motus record has surfaced. This time it…

Sunday 29th A clear night ensured migrants are keeping going and not stopping here. The four new birds were all passing through- singles of Siskin, Redwing, Chiffchaff and Chaffinch. Saturday 28th Some interesting bits from Thursday. First was the finding of a Robin’s nest, with four eggs, along Sandown Road. The other bits involve information on colour ring sightings. The…

Thursday 26th Another field sighting of a ringed bird. This time a darvic-ringed Mediterranean Gull on Restharrow Scrape. We have contacted the co-ordinator and should hear back shortly. Wednesday 25th A warm, settled, start was forecast but still a bit of a surprise. Although we could not ring yesterday today proved well worth it. Thirty-two birds were caught of which…

Please watch out for colour ringed birds and report them to us.   Wednesday 28th The promise of a calm morning was enough to tempt us out and we were not disappointed. The calm and clear did result in a frost which melted away once the sun got up. Thirty-four birds were caught of which seven were new. This included…

Thursday January 1st 2026 Please watch out for and record colour ringed birds. I earlier mentioned about the stories of the neck-collared Barnacle Geese. These had been photographed by one of our keen observers. When I saw the flock today I could not see any collared ones. Have they moved on or were they elsewhere on the marshes? I saw…

Sunday 30th The weather continues to swing from one thing to another very quickly and today was forecast to be dry. As it was clear ice and frost gathered as dawn came along but the sun melted it quickly in the places exposed to it. It was enough to have a morning for the next period of the winter project.…

Wednesday 22nd A lovely, calm, day with warm sunny intervals – the lull before the storm. Today might well be the last time for about a week when conditions are suitable to ring and it was pleasing to be joined by some of our trainees. It was an interesting morning with 95 new birds plus two birds with rings from…