With the first real day of summer the reservoir burst into life with tits calling everywhere and the first real flush of juveniles in evidence. Dave and I met at the gate at 04:15 with no wind at all (the first time this year) so off we trotted down the old rail track to the res to get the nets erected at the CES site, better to get it done early than struggle for decent weather later on. With the nets erected we settled down for a good mornings ringing (we hoped). The morning progressed at a decent rate with 119 birds processed, this being the first 100+ day of the year.
What a great morning we had with the best bird being a Jay. We do not catch many of this species as we are mainly a scrub habitat and Jays are mainly Woodland species. We also had a great morning for Willow Warblers with 15 new birds and a retrap from a nest of young we ringed earlier in the month. Whitethroats reaching double figures, were not far behind.
With this start hopefully this breeding season will be a lot better than the last. Here's hoping!!!!
Mick
It was a first for me I have never processed so many birds in one day. What a fantastic day even though I was shattered when I got home.
ReplyDeleteDave