Two days in Autumn at Stanford

Autumn is the time for migrants, so the midweek ringers are out and about whenever the weather allows. It sometimes pays off; on the 10th and 11th October we ringed two extraordinary birds. The first was our fourth ever Yellow-browed Warbler; so that is roughly one per decade. This is an autumn speciality which should really be heading from central Asia to India for the winter - so although there are a steady trickle along the UK eastern coast, it is very much an exciting bird to be found at Stanford.

Yellow-browed Warbler - C Hubbard

On the 11th, Mick extracted a Stonechat from the 20' net next to the reservoir. Although this is not a particularly rare bird for spotting purposes, this is the only individual to be ringed at Stanford, despite various lures and traps being used to catch the individuals which have eluded us along the access track, over the years. As can be seen this is a beautiful bird and ends 43 years of waiting. Next please!

Stonechat - P Norrie

Peter N