Wednesday 29 December 2010

Mince pie burn

With the harsh weather and with me being away we’d not ringed for a while so it was good to get out for a couple of hours this afternoon for our final ringing session of the year.

19 New birds and (10) retraps – Blackbird 1(1), Chaffinch 4, Dunnock 1(6), Reed Bunting 3(1), Robin (1), Treecreeper (1), Yellowhammer 10.

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Warmest spring ever

On 24 November I flew out of Britain to spend a month in New Zealand birding, kayaking, hill walking and visiting friends. While Britain is once again gripped in snow chaos New Zealand on the other hand is experiencing one of its warmest springs ever - Since I've been here it's hit +30 degrees most days!

So far I've seen 51 species of birds. Some familiar many not and where they are familiar there's loads of them - Yellowhammers are everywhere which makes a change from the odd one or two we see back home.

Some of the Kea I've seen are ringed. They're a bit like the monkeys in Gibraltar - Turn your back and they're in your rucksack! I've also seen a Red-billed Gull that was colour ringed.


Kea in the Mountains