On the 10th June we ran a session for the Swindon Wellbeing Group at the Firs. It was a decent catch: 58 birds ringed and 12 birds retrapped from 16 species. I am not sure why I decided to go back there so quickly – something to do with the projected wind direction and speed. It was nice to know that the temperature was going to be bearable, with no chance of heat stress for the team or, more importantly, the birds.
I was joined by David, Laura, Adam and Pete at 5:00 and we set the usual nets down the central glade. To be fair, they set the usual nets. Unfortunately, I am having some serious mobility problems, so I set up the ringing station and stayed there for the session. Laura was team leader for the session.
The obligatory bird hit the nets just as were opening them, this time a juvenile Blue Tit. Over the next two and a half hours we caught another 37 birds: slightly better than usual, but not extraordinary. What happened next was remarkable for us in any of our sites in June, the next four rounds produced: 20, 18, 24 and 20 birds respectively. This number, 120 birds in the session, is nearly double any previous catch at any of our Braydon Forest sites and larger than our largest catch at Lower Moor Farm (109 birds processed).
The key to the catch was the number of juvenile Blue Tits, as you can see from the catch list: Great Spotted Woodpecker [2](1); Nuthatch 1(2); Treecreeper [5]; Blue Tit 2[48](5); Great Tit [6]; Marsh Tit [1](1); Long-tailed Tit 2[2]; Wren [3]; Dunnock [2](1); Robin 1[7]; Song Thrush 1; Blackbird 1; Blackcap 1[10](2); Garden Warbler [1](2); Chiffchaff 1[7]; Goldcrest [1]; Chaffinch (1). Totals: 10 adults ringed from 8 species, 95 juveniles ringed from 13 species and 15 birds retrapped from 8 species, making 120 birds processed from 17 species.
It is just remarkable across the board. Take the Blue Tit juvenile numbers: 65 ringed in June across the Forest. The next largest catch of juveniles in June is 25! The only times that monthly figure has been beaten is in October to December inclusive, when the feeding stations are operational, and then only eight times in 13 years to date.
Nice to add another juvenile Marsh Tit and a retrap, to improve the figures in my previous post. Other cracking catches: five juvenile Treecreepers! The most in any June, and equal to the total number of juveniles ringed last year.
This is another nice statistic:
This is the fourth juvenile we have ringed this month. To put that into perspective, we have never ringed more than four juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers in any one year. In fact, we have only matched this figure on two occasions: 2020 and 2025. We have only ever caught two single juveniles in June before: 2020 and 2025 again, and none any earlier.
We shut the nets on the last round at 11:30 and processed the last batch of birds. Much to Adam’s disappointment, as he was looking down the slope he saw a Sparrowhawk shooting along the net line! That would have topped the lot!
Anyway, we packed away and left site by 12:30 after a most astonishing session. Since the clearance work the Firs has just got better and better. The only thing, apart from the Sparrowhawk, that would have made the session complete, a Spotted Flycatcher. We have only caught nine since 2016 and five of those have been in the Firs: three of those in the Firs in the month of June.