If it Wasn't For the Greenfinches..........

..........Ian and I would have had a very weary ringing session yesterday morning. The weather was pretty good for mist netting when we got to the reedbed at first light, with no cloud cover and calm. If I was being a bit fussy I would have preferred some cloud cover to take any glare from the sun off the nets.

 Greenfinch

We ringed twelve birds as follows (recaptures in brackets):

Whitethroat - 2
Blackcap - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Greenfinch - 8
Dunnock - (1)
Willow Warbler - (1)
Sedge Warbler - (1)

 Whitethroat

The birding was even quieter than the ringing and the only thing of note was a repeat of last week when we had a Snipe drop in at our feet, but this time it was a Lapwing! From the air, the open area area where we have our ringing station must perhaps look like an open wet area and it causes these birds to drop down and take a look. Of course as soon as they land they take off having realised their mistake.

Fingers crossed we should be ringing some Swallows tomorrow evening as we have a Swallow roost in one of the reedbeds. Ian had a session there on Friday night and managed to ring fifty Swallows on his own; he thought about 3,000 were coming in to roost!