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Wednesday 29th
A cold and frosty morning with no breeze. Thirty-four birds were caught of which 21 were new. Blackbird was top with six followed by five Goldfinches. The trickle of Chiffchaffs continued with another three, all firmly in Western European plumage.
Sunday 26th
A calm, frosty, morning with high cloud building up. Forty-four birds were caught of which 30 were new. Blackbirds continue to appear and 13 were ringed. One male had a wing measurement of 144mm, nearly 10mm more than some of our local males. The other new birds were nine Goldfinches, two each of Robin and Redwing plus single Song Thrush, Great Tit, House Sparrow and Chaffinch.
One of the retraps was a House Sparrow which we colour ringed in October 2019 (in itself a good life span for our sparrows) but it no longer had a colour ring. This is the first example we have had of a bird losing its darvic colour ring.
Saturday 25th
Even as they were ringing the forecast was saying it was much more breezy than it was. It was actually a pleasant, sunny, morning. There were 18 new birds and 14 retraps. The new birds were six Chaffinches, two each of Robin, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, and Goldfinch, plus single Redwing and House Sparrow.
There was no sign of yesterday's Pallas's Warbler, maybe it had moved on with one of the Long-tailed Tit flocks.
Wednesday 22nd
A slight breeze quickly faded away to give a calm overcast day which are good conditions for ringing. Eighty birds were caught of which 46 were new. Blackbirds led the way with 15 new and three retraps. The other new birds were 11 Long-tailed Tits, five each of House Sparrow and Chaffinch, three Great Tits, two Blue Tits and singles of Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest. Goldfinch and Bullfinch. The tits were out in force with 11 retrap Blue Tits and 10 retrap Great Tits.
All this contributed to a successful national Winter Project morning. As cold weather approaches from the north it also shows the value of keeping the feeders topped up (and cleaned).
Friday 17th
A beautiful morning with no wind or rain and a mild sun. The unsettled weather seems to have brought most migration apart from thrushes to an end with no Redpolls for instance for the second day. We did ring 12 birds - four House Sparrows, three Blackbirds, two Chaffinches, and singles of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Fieldfare, and Redwing.
Wednesday 15th
Frustratingly the forecast reduction in breeze strength was wrong and it was actually more breezy but still mild. Ten birds were ringed the best of which was a Firecrest. One of the seven retrapped Blackbirds had been ringed at the end of October 2019 and not recorded subsequently. It may have been returning here to winter.
Tuesday 14th
Although breezier than expected it was from a direction allowing some nets to be put up and the rain held off until late morning.
The trickle of winter thrushes continues and six Blackbirds, two Redwing and a Song Thrush were part of the 18 new birds. The others were a Robin, three Goldcrests, a Long-tailed Tit, a Chaffinch, a Goldfinch and two Lesser Redpolls.
Sunday 12th
Yesterday evening a heavy frost formed but by morning cloud had gathered and, despite there being no wind, the frost had gone. It was a good morning with 49 birds ringed. The highlight came at the end when a juvenile Common Rosefinch was caught. This was the second in two years after a gap of over 50 years without any.
There were also 14 Goldcrests, a Firecrest and a Chiffchaff, seven Chaffinches, five Goldfinches, eight Long-tailed Tits, four Blackbirds, three Robins, two House Sparrows, a Fieldfare and a Redwing plus a Blue Tit. A nice mixture well worth the effort.
Saturday 11th
With a clear sky and the breeze dropping it was no surprise that a frost formed but it did not last long as a warm sun got up. There were 22 new and 10 retrap birds. The frost seemed to encourage a few more birds to the feeders as six Chaffinches, a House Sparrow and a Goldfinch were ringed. The other new birds were a Moorhen, a Robin, a Wren, a Blackbird, a Blue Tit, a Wren, a Blackcap, three Redwing and five Lesser Redpolls.
The Moorhen reflects how wet the Haven and Heligoland are already.
Friday 10th
Fairly calm and no rain so we could get on with some late autumn ringing. The catch was typical of this time with a few more retraps than new birds. Fourteen birds were ringed - three Lesser Redpoll, two each of Siskin, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff and Blackbird plus singles of Robin, Goldcrest and Great Tit.
Tuesday 7th
It was not a surprise when, after a clear night, the temperature continued to drop a bit and a slight frost formed. It did not last long as a stronger than expected breeze got up.
It was the first time this month when we could ring and 36 new and 16 retrap birds were caught. There were 14 Lesser Redpoll (still no other forms of Redpoll), nine Long-tailed Tits, four Goldcrests, two each of Siskin and Chiffchaff, plus single Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Song Thrush and Redwing. The single Blackcap as ever raised the question of whether it was a late departer or a new arrival from the continent.
So not a big catch but a nice variety. The numbers probably reflect the effects of the last few days weather and the continued availability of wild food.
Saturday 4th
Whilst the weather remains unsuitable for ringing we can look at more of the recent batch of movements. Blackcap is usually the most numerous species to be ringed here. In the recent batch. There were Blackcaps moving NE from Titchfield, Hampshire (in a day), ESE from Greens Norton, Northants (13 days later), and WNW from Lodge Hill (in a day). A Blackcap ringed here drifted W along the coast to Icklesham, East Sussex six days later.
A Sedge Warbler ringed here on August 11th followed a regular route SSW to Frossay in France where it was retrapped six days later