20th September 2014

Perfect ringing conditions greeted us at Stanford this morning. There was very little wind and visiblity was low for the best part of the day which meant no nasty sunshine to light the nets up. We all arrived at 05:00 and started to erect the nets, minus Mick, who was attending a friends stag night. The movement in the Willows in the net rides suggested that we could be in for a good catch today so tape lures were set for Blackcap and a mix of Chiffchaff and Goldcrest thrown in for good measure. The first round was a meagre catch of just 17 birds of mainly the target species of Blackcap. The second round was far better with 69 birds and predominantly Chiffchaff and Blackcap along with a Lesser Whitethroat, two Sedge Warbler and three Goldcrests. Northants bird county recorder Mike Alibone joined us in time to observe these being processed and was treated to close-ups of a juvenile male Sparrowhawk and a Great Spotted Woodpecker caught on a later net round. The Meadow Pipits didn't really settle in today as there were horse riders using the railtrack for a charity ride although one was caught on the final net round....a Pipit, not a horse! Altogther it was a good day with 93 new birds and 33 retraps processed and there's no sign of things slowing down just yet.

Juvenile male Sparrowhawk - P Maguire