A Birdless Mid-week For Me

Just in case you had wondered whether I had dropped off the face of the planet I had better report that I have nothing to report! Unfortunately this week has seen me desk bound apart from a day in the field on Tuesday (27th). However, this was a trek across a wet and rainy Saddleworth Moor in preparation for some survey work there next week, and therefore I saw bugger all!

It is weekend so I am hoping that the rain and bird Gods are kind and I can get out for two days of birding. I'll let you know.

I like looking back at my old note books and I have them all from the time I started birding in 1976. On this date (30th July) in 1996 I was ringing at a wetland site to the east of Garstang called Greenhalgh Castle Tarn. It was an early start at 4.30 a.m., but it was a perfect ringing morning with calm conditions and near complete cloud cover. No billowing nets or light reflecting off the nylon mesh.

I had a large number of Mistle Thrushes that morning flying east to feed and I counted 76 birds, which is quite a good count. I managed to ring 51 birds and retrapped 8. The new birds included 2 Swallows, 7 Sedge Warblers, 3 Garden Warblers, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Linnets, 5 Reed Buntings, Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, 5 Willow Warblers and a Lesser Whitethroat.

Blackcap - female

It was a cracking wetland site and was stuffed full of invertebrates so it attracted large numbers of warblers relative to its size. Years later I had to abandon the site as it was getting too dangerous to ring there because of the nature of the peat and I often broke the surface tension of the bog and sank to the top of my thighs without warning!

Let's hope that I have a warbler filled weekend this weekend. How about a warbler from across the pond. I think the Common Yellowthroat below brightens up the page!