Phew, what a scorcher

As we opened the nets this morning it was quieter than yesterday so Dave predicted there would be fewer birds. He was right – there were seven fewer. We ringed twenty two species of which four were new for me – Goldcrest, Lesser Redpoll, Tree Sparrow and Greenfinch. A little surprisingly, for this time of year, we ringed five Sedge Warblers and a Reed Warbler; September’s turning out to be a real cracker.

Sunrise at our site (A Smith)

166 Birds ringed in total. Meadow Pipit (18), Wren (3), Dunnock (2), Robin (9), Blackbird (6), Song Thrush (7), Sedge Warbler (5), Reed Warbler (1), Whitethroat (1), Garden Warbler (1), Blackcap (38), Chiffchaff (15), Goldcrest (1), Long-tailed Tit (1), Coal Tit (1), Great Tit (1), Tree Sparrow (1), Chaffinch (7), Greenfinch (9), Goldfinch (30), Lesser Redpoll (2), Reed Bunting (7).

Lesser Redpoll ringed on 20 September 2009 (A Smith)

In an attempt to send more birds our way we deployed our combine into the adjacent bean field (A Smith)