Incredible as it seems we are already well past the summer solstice, so now that we have packed away our Druidic robes for another year it is time to see what the group has been up to. Spring and Summer tend to be slow as returning birds keep a low profile while breeding and the end of the year migrants are yet to turn up. Despite heatwaves (we are currently in our third), the group has been out for 31 sessions; most weekends and the occasional mid weeker. We have ringed all the way from the Apple ride in Blowers Bay round to the Northants Reed Bed plus the Leicester Paddock and Reed Bed.
We have ringed 37 species to give a total of 2,101 new birds, an excellent effort! The most common species is, of course, our old friends the Blackcaps (228) followed by Blue Tits (155). All our warblers are finally here, with a promising population of six adult Grasshopper Warblers, so that looks like three breeding pairs... fingers crossed.
Finally...
However we were starting to despair about Lesser Whitethroats which normally arrive from April onwards, but there was no sign of them until the end of June, when three juveniles and an adult were ringed, which came as some relief, as we all have a soft spot for these lovely little birds.
Kingfisher were a bit slow to get going too, most years we get to ring about a half dozen or so, so again delighted to have one turn up in the 60' net in the Paddock, clearly on the way to somewhere important. This was a young female, hopefully there will be a couple more nest-mates coming our way.
At the end of July migration starts and we are all looking forward to that. Stanstock, our annual week long celebration of all things migratory, starts on Saturday 15th August, it's not really all that far away. Time to unpack tents and check inflatable mattresses. Can't wait!