I really don’t like leaving things to the last minute but this was the absolute latest date that I could run the final CES of this year. I was joined for the session by David at 6:00, and we had the nets set up and open by 7:00. The weather was rather concerning: it was like being inside a cloud of mist – mizzle. It wasn’t enough for us to shut the nets but it wasn’t very pleasant for sitting around in. Ironically, the nets were actually well protected by the overhanging vegetation. In between rounds we sat in my car to stay out of it. We were joined by Claire and her two children at just after 8:00. I had texted her and given them the choice, given the unpleasant weather, but the children were apparently insistent on coming.
We didn’t actually catch any birds until 8:00. I suspect that they were also sheltering from the miserable weather! The weather finally relented and dried up at about 9:00 and, by 10:00, the sun peeped out, and by 11:00 it was positively warm and bright. The catch was an underwhelming 19 birds in CES 12 2022 and I was hoping that we would see some improvement. It started promisingly, with four birds in the first round, but that went up to ten in round two, and another nine in round three. After that, however, it all died away, with just another five birds caught in the next two hours before we shut the nets at 11:30.
The bird of the morning was our first juvenile Bullfinch of the year:
Juvenile Bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
The list for the day was: Blue Tit (1); Wren [1](1); Dunnock (1); Robin [1](1); Blackbird [1]; Blackcap [17]; Chiffchaff [2]; Willow Warbler [1]; Bullfinch [1]. Totals: 24 juveniles ringed from 7 species and 4 birds retrapped from 4 species, making 28 birds processed from 9 species. Every bird, except for the retrapped Blue Tit, was a juvenile.
During the morning we were treated to some excellent views of a Great White Egret on the opposite bank of Mallard Lake. Apparently the Otters were also being very busy on the lake, but we didn’t get to see them as they were around the corner from our ringing station and nets.
David’s dad, Trevor, arrived to help us take down, and we were all packed up and ready to leave by about 12:20.
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 