Fun in the sun

After the early morning cloud had melted away it left a stunning, bright sunny day with only a hint of the cold easterly wind remaining; 39 new birds were caught through the morning with the highlight being a smart Black Redstart along with another influx of 20+ Dunnocks (17 trapped) and a few more Goldcrests.   The Treecreeper managed to get re-trapped only once and a re-trap White Wagtail didn't enjoy his time in the net as the now resident pair of Wagtails saw fit to repeatedly attack it in the net until I managed to run over!

Black Redstart

White Wagtail - this bird had originally been ringed in August 2013 as a juvenile

 



There was a trickle of other things seen through the morning including two Serins with one streaky bird going straight over but a nice, bright male stopped off to give a few bursts of song before carrying on, a Woodlark, a Coal Tit which appeared at lunchtime and 6 Sandwich Terns offshore. 
   A walk north up the coast in the afternoon produced three more Black Redstarts, a Red Kite which powered south with purpose, a few singing Chiffchaffs and a big female Sparrowhawk who I flushed off a freshly killed Woodcock!

Hans arrived late morning leading a guided tour in perfect time to re-trap the Black Redstart which had not been seen since I released it just after dawn; Hans talked about the bird in Danish as I just stood there holding it trying to look pretty!

Louis, along with Kisbye and Torben Lund had a long watch from the tip in the morning producing 10 Red-throated Divers along with 1,410 Eiders and a few raptors heading south including a Hen Harrier, 8 Common Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk.

Small Tortoiseshell