Best day of the year yet

Brilliant conditions for ringing today with no wind and warmer temperatures, and this was reflected in numbers. The morning started off so busily that I had to call Hans for backup at one point, and the conditions were so good that I kept the nets up well beyond the standardised ringing period. A total of 224 birds were ringed today, and 10 retraps were caught - so far the best day of the year.

Robins dominated the catch again with 179 ringed. The next most abundant species were Goldcrests (10), and, matching yesterday's record, Firecrests (8). The highlights of the morning include the first White Wagtail for the year, and a beautiful Goldfinch which I was thrilled to get to see in the hand. Also thrown into the mix was a Linnet, a Reed Bunting and a couple of Redwings. In total 15 species were ringed.

The brilliant adult male Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) ringed today

First White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) for the year

What a day!! Time for a glass of red I think.

Breakdown 10/04/2015:
White Wagtail (Hvid Vipstjert) - 1
Wren (Gærdesmutte) - 6
Dunnock (Jernspurv) - 2
Robin (Rødhals) - 179
Song Thrush (Sangdrossel) - 2
Redwing (Vindrossel) - 2
Chiffchaff (Gransanger) - 4
Goldcrest (Fuglekonge) - 10
Firecrest (Rødtoppet Fuglekonge) - 8
Blue Tit (Blåmejse) - 1
Chaffinch (Bogfinke) - 1
Greenfinch (Grønirisk) - 5
Goldfinch (Stilits) - 1
Linnet (Tornirisk) - 1
Reed Bunting (Rørspurv) - 1
TOTAL = 224


Lizzy Joyce