Ringing July
Sunday 13th The heat continues and this time it seems to have affected the birds. Just seven new birds were caught and five of these were resident rather than migrant species-two Wrens and single Robin, Blackbird and Great-spotted Woodpecker. Two Blackcaps were the migrants. Friday 11th The encroaching heat meant an early finish. This was not before 16 more juveniles…
Ringing: June
Summary of pullus ringing in May. So far so good! We have ringed 86 Blue Tits and 55 Great Tits in May. The Blue Tits are well up on last year. We will await the end of the month to see it they fledge, which would be great. Sunday 29th the heat continues to build but a gentle breeze…
Ringing: May
Saturday 31st Good conditions for checking nest boxes. The House Sparrows at the Observatory are slowly getting going with a few nests with eggs at last. This is in contrast to just down the road where one nest is now with its second brood. The House Martins seem to have delayed nesting but are also getting going and even better…
Ringing: April
Tuesday 29th A beautiful, calm, clear day. The clear sky overnight allowed a few sheltered bits to have a brief frost-certainly what was not forecast. We are ever hopeful that a few birds might overshoot from the continent but no sign yet. Five birds were caught- three Dunnocks, a Chiffchaff and a Blackbird. They all showed signs indicating they were…
Ringing: March
CALLING ALL RINGERS – Sold out and waiting list started. South East Ringers’ Conference at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory: April 5th 2025 09.30 -17.00 Admission is by ticket only please use this link: https://buytickets.at/sandwichbaybirdobservatory/1582702 Talks will include Waders on the Swale, Nightingales, Motus, Trapping methods, Turtle Doves Raffle to win a pair of binoculars kindly donated by In Focus. Sunday…
Ringing: February
CALLING ALL RINGERS South East Ringers’ Conference at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory: April 5th 2025 09.30 -17.00 Admission is by ticket only please use this link: https://buytickets.at/sandwichbaybirdobservatory/1582702 Talks will include Waders, Nightingales, Motus, Trapping methods, Turtle Doves Raffle to win a pair of binoculars kindly donated by In Focus. Friday 28th Breezier than forecast but that did keep the frost…
Ringing: January
Sunday 26th Although the morning started calm and frosty gales were forecast and started building up by mid-morning. We seized the chance of the quiet bit of the day to ring a few birds. Seventeen were caught of which four were new. The most interesting was a new Robin which weighed 24.4g. 20g is normally a good weight for our…
Ringing: December
Sunday 29th The last couple of days have been so foggy that the nets would have been too wet. It seemed at first today might head the same way, particularly as there was no breeze, but the fog held off. Thirty-six birds were caught. At first 30 of these being retraps might seem a bit frustrating but a main aim…
Ringing: November
We ringed 972 birds of 28 species in October. This is 431 less than October 2023 but we ringed 477 Lesser Redpoll in October 2023 and just 51 this October. Saturday 30th A mild, overcast, with a bit of a breeze, day. Greenfinch was one of the staples of winter ringing here at one time but the bird we caught…
Ringing: October 2024
Wednesday 30th A calm, overcast, morning which dampened the very mild feel. Fifty-six birds were ringed. Top spot went to 28 Lesser Redpoll, which finally seem to be moving. The first Fieldfare (two) of the autumn were ringed along with six Redwings, five Blackbirds and two Song Thrushes. There were also four Chiffchaffs, three Goldcrests, two Blue Tits and singles…