Thanks

I must thank all my online friends for the helpful tips, advice and encouragement after my PC fizzed, struggled to load, and then expired, not exactly in a puff of smoke, but it might as well have done. In retaliation I consigned it to a dark corner of the garage in disgrace where it will stay until I have more time to think about it. Both PW and RK were right of course about my bereavement and the ensuing withdrawal symptoms, or in my case the sheer panic as to how I could live my life without a PC, the Internet or Mr Google’s life support system of blogs and blogging.

Dawn On The Moss
So I took Errol’s advice and pulled up a few loosely nailed floorboards as he does periodically, and then I went out to Tesco to buy a new PC, a bog standard HP. And Stu, not an expensive Mac, I’m an OAP not a teacher you know.

Thankfully I don't need a PC to go ringing so off we trotted again to Out Rawcliffe for 5am in the hope of catching the first 3J Whitethroats of the year plus some of the Sedge Warblers and Goldfinches that hid nests from us so well, not to mention the three reluctant Kestrel chicks hiding in the blackness of that tree.

Birds caught totalled 35 of 8 species as follows: New birds:
Goldfinch 3
Sedge Warbler 2
Blue Tit 1
Whitethroat 5
Chaffinch 2
Willow Warbler 8
Blackbird 1
Kestrel 2 (nestlings)

Recaptured birds:
Sedge Warbler 4
Whitethroat 1
Willow Warbler 4
Blackbird 2

We caught 5 juvenile (3J) Willow Warblers and 3 adults, each of which was beginning their post breeding moult which they start soon after or even whilst breeding and complete before heading back to Africa. We caught only one 3J Whitethroat when all around us the adult Whitethroats were busy feeding young. We surmised that the young although fledged weren’t quite ready to explore further than their immediate nest area where we didn’t have nets.

Sedge Warbler
Willow Warbler
Willow Warbler Moult
After the netting we revisited the Kestrel nest of a few days ago, approaching very quietly, which allowed us to retrieve four out of the five young birds, two of which we ringed previously, therefore two more received their free gift of a BTO ring.

Kestrel
Other birds seen this morning were 2 Buzzard, Kestrel, 5 Mistle Thrush, 10 Swift and that other rarity nowadays, a Cuckoo.

I haven’t yet delved into the cardboard boxes that contain a new PC and enough polystyrene to float the Titanic, so this post is done on Sue’s laptop which will explain why it is so late appearing. So I had better let her get back to doing the important tasks like her research on Trip Advisor and Holiday Truths, while I get busy unpacking.

I just hope I'm back to normal soon.