Mega Mipit Morning

After a couple of evenings drinking in probably the best Pub in Britain and drinking probably the best beer in Britain (check out the Old Crown in Hesket Newmarket, home of Hesket Newmarket brewery) it was quite refreshing to get up at 5.00 a.m. to go ringing! I headed to the Obs and was greeted with full cloud cover and a 5 - 10 mph ESE wind.

It seemed quiet at first, but eventually birds got on the move and the vis was quite interesting. I had twelve Grey Wagtails, 609 Meadow Pipits, three Alba Wags, four Reed Buntings, 13 Goldfinches, five Greenfinches, three Skylarks and a Tree Pipit all heading south.

With such a good passage of Meadow Pipits I did manage to ring a few and in total I ringed 31 birds as follows (recaptures in brackets):

Blackcap - 1
Robin - 1
Meadow Pipit - 22
Reed Bunting - 2
Dunnock - 1
Great Tit - 2 (1)
Willow Warbler - 1
Woodpigeon - 1
Blackbird - (1)

 Robin

 Reed Bunting

In addition to the Blackcap (female) and Willow Warbler ringed the only other obvious grounded migrant was a male Blackcap, unless the male Great Spotted Woodpecker with a ring on was a migrant. I think probably it was a local bird that we have ringed at the Obs in the past, though I do have to say that there is very little 'Great Spot' habitat in the Obs recording area. Raptors were thin on the ground except for two Kestrels. 

The wind is forecast to be northeasterly in the morning and possibly into double figures in terms of wind speed, so it will be a morning birding rather than ringing and birding for me tomorrow.