Sunday 3 December 2017

Ringing at Kelmarsh Hall

Hello

Today was the first ringing session of the season at Kelmarsh Hall and a rise in the temperature made being out and about more comfortable than a couple of days ago! A small team of ringers managed to catch and process some 173 birds of 18 species. A Kingfisher is always a bonus bird and other birds included 7 Blackbirds some of which provided biometrics suggesting they were not local birds.

We also managed to catch and ring 2 Redwings and a Great Spotted Woodpecker and monitored 33 Great Tits, 69 Blue Tits, 4 Coal Tits, 3 Marsh Tits, 5 Nuthatches, 3 Dunnocks, 5 Robins, 3 Wrens, a single Goldcrest, 3 Greenfinches, 25 Goldfinches, a Siskin, 6 Chaffinches and a Grey Wagtail.

The Goldcrest was interesting, an adult male bird which was first ringed there in February 2015 when it was also aged as an adult male. Goldcrests rarely live longer than two years (the oldest known bird was only five years old), but this bird is at least four years old.

Other birds seen included a couple of Ravens, at least one other Grey Wagtail and thirty or so Siskins.

Three Little Egrets and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today and the Pitsford Reservoir gull roost provided views of an adult Mediterranean Gull and a third year Caspian Gull. A Barn Owl was also present at Staverton early this morning.

Regards

Neil M



Kingfisher.
Always a privilege!

Female Blackbird.

Female Siskin.

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