Saturday 24th
A calm, clear, night resulted in a shock to the system with a slight frost to start with. The sun quickly cleared this. It was a case of quality over quantity with just two birds caught. One of these was the second male Firecrest this year and the other was a retrap Redwing.
Friday 23rd
It was a bit breezier than we would like but last nights downpours had passed through and it was possible to use some nets. Nine birds were caught, three of which were new.
The new ones were a Blackbird (a large female, bigger than some of the resident males), a Robin and a House Sparrow, Amongst the retraps was a Woodpigeon which had done well to survive eight years around here.
Tuesday 20th
Reasonably calm to start with. There were 11 new and nine retrap birds. The new birds were singles of Robin, Blackbird, Fieldfare Starling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and a nice and bright Firecrest. There has been an increase in the number of tits in nearby hedgerows and two each of Blue Tit and Great Tit perhaps reflect that.
Friday 16th
An unexpected break in the unrelenting rain and/or wind allowed for the last BTO Winter Project session. It is mild and the birds are not queuing up for the feeders. Sixteen birds were caught of which four were new. The new birds were a Wren, two Great Tits and most notably a Starling. The retraps were two each of Dunnock and Great Tit, three House Sparrows and singles of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Blue Tit and Chaffinch.
Sunday 4th
Today the only new birds were a Blackcap and a Chaffinch. There were 11 retraps including another Starling, two Robins, a Blackbird, four Long-tailed Tits and three Blue Tits.