It's Surprising What's About Even On A Quet Day

It was relatively quiet this morning at the Obs and with full cloud cover and a lot of mist and murk I didn't expect too much.

There was some vis, although not heavy, it was fairly constant and I had 102 Meadow Pipits, three Grey Wagtails, two Goldfinches, seven Alba Wags, three Chaffinches, a Reed Bunting and a Skylark.

Grounded migrants were thin on the ground but sprinkled with a little bit of quality. At first all I'd had was a Chiffchaff and three restless Dunnocks, and then the murk increased to the south and east, and a 1st wint. female Stonechat appeared. Shortly after that just as I was packing my ringing gear away I heard what I thought was a Sylvia warbler 'tacking' from an Elder bush just in front of my car. A bit of pishing and a streaky Locustella popped out. A few alarm bells rang at first, but then I could see that it was a juv. Grasshopper Warbler.

Ringing was slow and I ringed eight birds as follows:

Dunnock - 1
Robin - 2
Meadow Pipit - 1
Reed Bunting - 1
Great Tit - 1
Chiffchaff - 1
Greenfinch - 1

 Dunnock

 Chiffchaff

It's going to be cooler and clearer tomorrow and perhaps with some heavier vis; I'll let you know.