At Last!

With clear skies and calm conditions Craig, Ian and I managed to get a ringing session in at the feeding station on the Moss this morning. We were fairly busy and as such didn't really log very much from a birding perspective. We ringed 34 birds as follows (recaptures in brackets):

Chaffinch - 12
Yellowhammer - 2
Tree Sparrow - 3
Blue Tit - 12 (15)
Reed Bunting - 1
Greenfinch - 1
Starling - 1
Robin - 1 (1)
Great Tit - 1 (7)
Coal Tit - (1)

 Yellowhammer

We packed in after a couple of hours to give the birds chance to feed and also because we were starting to recapture birds that we had ringed that morning. As I drove off site I had the Little Owl perched in its usual spot.

I have updated the group totals over on the right and they are the final totals for 2011. These are our best totals since 1996 when we ringed 6,635 birds. In December 2011 we added four new species for the year in the form of Mallard, Turnstone (new for the group), Black-headed Gull and Herring Gull.

The 'movers and shakers' in December were as follows:
 
1. Chaffinch - 652 (same position)
2. Meadow Pipit - 414 (same position)
3. Goldfinch - 371 (up from 4th)
4. Tree Sparrow - 370 (down from 3rd)
5. Swallow - 330 (same position)
6. Siskin - 260 (same position)
7. Whitethroat - 191 (same position)
8. Greenfinch - 188 (same position)
9. Blue Tit - 186 (down from 8th)
10. Lesser Redpoll - 172 (same position)

So, as it's 2012 it all starts again and our target for 2012 should be 5,000 ringed!