Matty Groves

Yet again, a stunning, sunny, not-a-cloud-in-the-sky day with a very light NE breeze (its getting a bit repetitive now!) but the settled weather meant another fairly quiet morning's ringing; we managed 26 new birds including a White Wagtail, a Blackcap, 5 Willow Warblers and 4 Lesser Whitethroats.   There wasn't much else to be seen really with 2 Coal Tits appearing at lunchtime and a few each of Tree Pipit and flava Wagtail overhead, in times like this I usually spend time gazing out to sea but even this was quiet with 5 Little Terns and a Black-throated Diver passing east.

My first Common Whitethroat of the spring and a Whinchat were just up the coast at Birkemose while 4 Buzzards and a Marsh Harrier were floating around.   A look at Kroghage then produced 2 more Marsh Harriers, a flock of 300+ Golden Plover in the distance somewhere behind town and a few singing Willow Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats.

This lost Marsh Harrier sized snack had to be ushered back towards its family at Kroghage 

Brimstone

 

After a month of entertaining an array of visiting ringers here at the station I am finally back all on my lonesome with Jen leaving yesterday after a few days and Johan leaving at lunchtime to go back up north after around two weeks here - I hope they both enjoyed their stay!   As for me well...its time to turn Fairport Convention back up to full volume, carry out some more naked net rounds and scratch myself whenever I want - just like back in March!