The start of 2014 was a bit windy and a wash out, meaning not many ringers were able to put any mist nets up. I've also been busy elsewhere but I've managed to find a bit of free time coinciding with ringable weather so a couple of early morning starts at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve have produced the following (retraps in brackets).
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 (3) - 4 different birds (including an IRG & site longevity record at 3 years and 15 days)
Wren 0 (2)
Dunnock 0 (5) - including a site longevity record at 3 years, 25 days
Blackbird 1 (0) - a breeding female with a advanced brood patch (code 3)
Song Thrush 1 (0)
Chiffchaff 1 (0) - the first of the spring migrants
Long Tailed Tit 1 (1) - see photographs below
Blue Tit 1 (3)
Great Tit 1 (4)
Chaffinch 2 (1)
10 new birds and 19 retraps (29 handlings, 26 different birds).
There was one bird that went away unringed - that's because we are forbidden to ring this game species:
Above: A Red-Legged Partridge
Red-Legged Partridges, if they do stray into mist nets, would be more likely to leave a hole than to stay in. This one, after having a photo taken, was released and left to go on its merry way.
A much more regularly caught bird, the Long Tailed Tit, threw up another surprise as you can see:
Above & Below: Long Tailed Tit
This bird still retained some pigmentation, but was remarkably pale all over. It was caught along with a regularly coloured bird (presumably a pair) and had a better weight, though the colour of the bird does not effect it's ability to feed. It may provide it with more camouflage during the snowy times though!
1 comment:
That Lotti hasn't been eating its greens! Looks like the site is maturing and becoming productive.
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