Pitsford Ringing

Hi

This morning a CES ringing session took place in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Res.  Sixty-four birds were captured, a juvenile Spotted Flycatcher perhaps being the scarcest bird caught and ringed.  The improvement in numbers is presumably due to successful later broods of breeding birds and immigrant warblers.

Other birds noted included a single Crossbill and two Nuthatch.

Below is a couple of images of an adult male Great Spotted Woodpecker that was caught.  The wing picture hopefully depicts the unusual moult strategy with the browner primary coverts and primaries and secondaries being replaced with blacker feathers.  Although it is not easy to see, this birds was moulting its secondaries inwards from both the inner and outer secondaries at the same time.  The adults of most smaller birds commence their moult strategy following the exodus of their young or at whatever stage their breeding cycle concludes for the year.