After 15 days of being unable to get out, due to a combination of bad weather and ill health, I was determined to take advantage of the next available day. On Sunday, unsuitable for ringing due to high winds, I got out and topped up the feeding stations at my three Forestry England sites. It was forecast to be wind free but cold this morning. As it was going to be sub-zero, I decided to limit the number of nets, so that we could ensure no birds were left in the nets for any length of the time. As expected, the nets adjacent to the feeding station were the busiest.
I was joined for the morning by Miranda. We set up at 7:30. Unfortunately, it is going to have to be 7:00 starts for the next few weeks, and I will have to steel myself for starting even earlier. It was full daylight soon after we arrived.
With the nets set up, the birds started arriving straight away. The first round delivered the two most interesting birds of the session:
We had a male and a female about 12″ apart in the same net. This immediately begs the questions: do Nuthatch stay paired from year to year or do they pair up very early in the year? As they don’t start laying until mid-April, that does seem early.
As expected, the catch was very Blue Tit heavy and was as follows: Nuthatch 2; Blue Tit 13(5); Great Tit 2(8); Coal Tit (3); Marsh Tit (1); Robin 1(2). Totals: 18 birds ringed from 4 species and 19 birds recaptured from 5 species, making 37 birds processed from 6 species.
We started packing up at 11:00 and were off site by just before midday.
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 