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 of Blackcap, Robin, Great Tit and Chaffinch. The Long-tailed Tit flock continues to circulate but all 12 caught were retraps.
Wednesday 23rd
A foggy start to the day which eventually brightened into a nice day with no wind. However, the migrants were in short supply. A total of 26 new birds were caught with five re-traps, a total of ten species in all. A new flock of eight Long-tailed Tits led the way with two re-traps, seven Chiffchaffs were the only warblers caught. The other birds were, one Green Woodpecker, two Blackbirds, three Redwings, three Goldcrests (including one re-trap), one Firecrest, two Blue Tits (including one re-trap) and one Great Tit. There was also a re-trapped Robin.
Tuesday 22nd
A nice morning but windy. A total of 19 new birds and two re-traps caught. The new birds were singles of Wren, Song Thrush, Redwing plus six Blackcaps, seven Chiffchaffs, two Goldcrests, and a Firecrest. The re-traps were one each of Robin and Bullfinch.
Saturday 19th
Managing the nets between showers was tricky and we only caught seven birds, but the visiting Dorking RSPB Group were delighted to see five Chiffchaffs, a Firecrest and a Robin. They were fascinated to watch the ringing process and were absorbed with details of identification, moult strategies and migration routes.
Friday 18th
A windy start but 40 new birds were caught along with 2 re-traps. There were 7 Blackbirds (including 1 re-trap), 2 Song Thrushes and a Redwing. We had 14 Blackcaps 13 Chiffchaffs, 3 Goldcrests (including 1 re-trap) and 2 Firecrests.
Tuesday 15th
It was a milder start with a heavy overcast sky. There was lots of bird sound and we caught 73 new birds and five re-traps. Chiffchaffs were again the most numerous with 25 new birds. Lots of Redwings were moving overhead and ten were eventually caught, nearly all adults. Also caught were three Song Thrushes and two Blackbirds. Other species caught were nine Robins, eight Goldcrests, seven Blackcaps, three Firecrests, and singles of Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, and our first Brambling of the Autumn.
We also caught an adult female Sparrowhawk. This is very unusual these days as the larger females easily escape the nets if caught.
Sunday 13th
It was a cold start to a sunny morning. The clear night kept birds moving and only 24 new birds were caught. As expected ten Chiffchaffs mere the most numerous followed by eight Blackcaps. Also caught were two Robins, two Blue Tits and singles of Firecrest and Great Tit.
Friday 11th
Fortunately the forecast of winds in the thousands of mph and temperatures up to several hundred proved inaccurate. Instead it was a beautiful calm clear morning. The reports in some media of it being the first Kent frost of the autumn were also very wrong.
Eighty-nine birds were ringed. Three Firecrests were notable as was a House Sparrow, the first for three months, showing the worth of feeding the birds again. Chiffchaff was most numerous with 49 followed by Blackcap with 24.
Wednesday 9th
After last nights squalls it was not surprising that there were not many overnight arrivals. There were 17 new birds. This included seven fat Blackcaps and seven fat Chiffchaffs. The Great Spotted Woodpecker roll continued with another new one plus there was a Swallow and a Blackbird.
Tuesday 8th
Another unsettled night followed by an unexpectedly breezy morning, fortunately most of the rain held off. With a large team all the nets went up. There had not been a noticeable overnight arrival and in the end 42 birds were ringed. It was an interesting mix with two more Great Spotted Woodpeckers, another Firecrest and 24 Chiffchaffs amongst the variety. Around one of the bouts of drizzle a hundred or so Swallows gathered and we caught two before they suddenly moved on. The Yellow-browed Warbler from Sunday was retrapped.
A download of the latest Motus data showed this interesting Wheatear movement. It was ringed on Helgoland on August 29th and hung around there until the 31st before moving to De Kooy in the Netherlands and then being detected at Sandwich on September 4th and 5th.
Monday 7th
After a very unsettled night with rain at times it looked as if there were not many new arrivals.
Two Firecrests and the first Reed Bunting of the year were the best bits of 23 new birds. The others were singles of Dunnock, Blackbird, Chaffinch, two Blackcaps and 14 Chiffchaffs. The only retrap was a Chiffchaff which we ringed a week ago, it still needs to put on some weight before leaving though.
Sunday 6th
It was much more breezy than expected but the overcast conditions meant some nets could be used.
Thirty-six birds were ringed. A second Yellow-browed Warbler was the star. There were also 16 Chiffchaffs, 12 Blackcaps, two Great Tits (they keep on appearing), and singles of Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Goldcrest and Goldfinch. A standard autumn catch.
Friday 4th
The promised lull in the wind kicked in overnight and it was a cool start which warmed up with a sunny morning. There were birds everywhere and we ringed 244. The highlights were the first Yellow-browed Warbler of the autumn and an 'eastern' type Lesser Whitethroat. The brown tones and extent of white on the tail were not like any blythi I have seen before and with some of the wing formula was more fitting halimodendri. It maybe that DNA will confirm.
Chiffchaff was the main species with 144 (plus a control), followed by Blackcap with 64. Five Redwings were the first to be caught this autumn and there were eight more Robins. Goldcrests outnumbered Firecrests six to two for the first time this autumn. A Siskin was a bit of a surprise in the middle of the Chiffchaffs.
Thursday 3rd
The wind moved into the east but was much fresher than forecast. This restricted which nets could be used. There were 21 new birds, ten of these were Robins which could be heard ticking from most bushes. There were also six Blackcaps, four Chiffchaffs and a Song Thrush. The first Redwing appeared near us as we took the nets down as the breeze freshened.
Wednesday 2nd
Ringing was not possible for the last two mornings due to the wind and rain and so it was good to be back out today. The unsettled weather overnight restricted new arrivals and 36 birds were ringed. Another Firecrest continued their impressive run (11 in September). There were 17 Chiffchaffs, 11 Blackcaps, two Goldcrests and singles of Dunnock, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Blue Tit and Goldfinch.
It was a successful September with 1,915 birds ringed. The total was helped a lot by an increase in Sand Martins and Chiffchaffs.