Wednesday was a bit hit and miss as the forecast was for it to be very windy. I was grateful that both Andrew Bray and Jonny Cooper turned out to help. We had hoped that the projected wind direction would enable the wood to provide enough cover for us to set our nets in the usual places. Unfortunately, the forecast direction turned out to be incorrect and we had to set most of the nets in less than optimal places.
However, we did manage to catch some birds:
Blue Tit 6; Great Tit 2(3); Coal Tit 3; Long-tailed Tit 1(1); Wren 1; Robin 2; Redwing 1; Chiffchaff 1; Goldcrest 1; Bullfinch (2). Totals: 18 birds ringed from nine species; six birds retrapped from three species, making 24 birds processed from 10 species.
The birding highlight was our first Redwing of the winter. It is our earliest capture of a Redwing to date, by two days. However, my highlight of the session was a beetle:
I haven’t seen a Devil’s Coach Horse for years, and this beastie stayed around for quite a while and posed beautifully.
Simon Tucker
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 