Seeing Yellow

It was extremely murky when I set off to Rawcliffe Moss at 07:00 to meet Craig, Ian and Phil to do some ringing at the feeding station. Normally under these conditions you don't catch at all, but this morning was different.


I was there first and started to put the nets up in the dark and two calling male Tawny Owls kept me company. On the first net round we had an incredible nine Yellowhammers in the two nets. Unfortunately, one escaped but we did catch another one later. Nine Yellowhammers ringed is the most Yellowhammers we have ever ringed during a single ringing session!

In addition to the Yellowhammers we ringed six Chaffinches, two Reed Buntings, Tree Sparrow, Blue Tit, two Blackbirds, four Starlings and seven Long-tailed Tits.


As you can imagine in all the fog the birding was slow and we saw very little. A number of Pink-footed Geese were moving around but we couldn't see them, but two Whooper Swans heading north just out of the murk were nice. Three Corn Buntings were with the Yellowhammers at the Pheasant feeder, but they never ventured towards the nets.

I was going to do a a couple of hours birding tomorrow, followed by several hours nest box building, but I have just looked at the forecast and it looks as though it will just be nest box building. Rain is forecast!