Pied Flys and Things

Ian and I spent the morning checking boxes at three sites. First up was our site in the Hodder Valley in the heart of Bowland. Most birds were sitting tight, either on eggs or brooding small young. We did manage to ring a brood of 5 Great Tits and lifted 2 female Pied Flycatchers off the nest. The first female Pied Fly was ringed at this site as a breeding female in 2009 and each year we have recorded her at the site. It gives me goose bumps when I think about the mileage she has covered flying to and from West Africa each year, and the dangers that she has seen and overcome. Absolutely amazing!

 Great Tit

The second female wasn't one of ours and was a control; X932417 anybody? It will be interesting to see where she was ringed. Wandering around the woodland we had singing Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap.

Our next port of call was Rawcliffe Moss to check our Tree Sparrow boxes and we managed to ring 23 pullus here. We then moved on to a friends farm at Nateby to check a further 25 boxes. We ringed one brood of two Tree Sparrows and a brood of four Great Tits. Like our site in the Hodder Valley a lot of females were sitting tight on the nest, so it looks like next week will be a busy weekend ringing.

 Tree Sparrow

Don't forget to click Fleetwood Bird Observatory  to find out what was at the 'obs' today.