Thursday 8 August 2019

Ringing at Harrington and Pitsford

Hello

Today's weather was pleasant and warm with sunshine and cloud, and with reportedly volatile weather around the corner this represented the only day we could really ring safely this week. 

Dave Francis completed the Constant Effort Site ringing session at Pitsford Reservoir in the Scaldwell Bay, catching 53 birds of 19 species (37 new and 16 re-traps). A surprise catch was a Common Buzzard which flew up from the ground next to a mist net and occupied one of the pockets before being (carefully!) extracted and ringed and released! Other birds included a Song Thrush, two Blackbirds, seven Robins, three Dunnocks, five Wrens, six Great Tits, three Blue Tits, two Willow Tits, a Marsh Tit, a Long-tailed Tit, a Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, a Garden Warbler, thirteen Blackcaps, a Whitethroat, two Bullfinches, a Reed Bunting and a Yellowhammer.

David Arden found a Black-necked Grebe in the Scaldwell Bay this afternoon and it was still present at 6pm.

A ringing session at Harrington Airfield today was also successful with some 130 captures of eighteen species made up of two Blackbirds, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, five Robins, three Dunnocks, three Wrens, twenty-nine Willow Warblers, four Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps, fifteen Whitethroats, two Lesser Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, four Swallows, eight Blue Tits, a Bullfinch, a Goldfinch, an impressive forty-one Linnets, two Reed Buntings and seven Yellowhammers.

A Tree Pipit was present and flying around at 6am but not seen subsequently.

Steve Fisher located some good birds at Stanwick again first thing today with a Cattle Egret, a Wood Sandpiper, two Green Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers and two Dunlin. A little later the Cattle Egrets had increased to three. Birds at Summer Leys included a Turnstone, a Great White Egret and two Common Sandpipers.

Regards

Neil M


An immaculate Lesser Whitethroat
having just completed it's post juvenile
moulting process...

Linnet. All forty-one
of the birds caught today
were juveniles suggesting
high productivity locally...

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