0745, and after a clear and bright beginning things were rather quiet and just a couple of Goldfinch to show for the first net round. And then about 0900 it seemed that Andy and I might be in for another busy and prolonged morning of ringing when from the north and north-west gangs of Redwings appeared above the treetops to the west and headed towards us. The Redwings flew over and then into the trees behind where a couple of nets are positioned. In an hour we saw about 250+ Redwings mixed with about 50 Fieldfares. Finches came in good numbers too with small flocks of Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Greenfinch plus two or three Brambling.
We caught in one, twos and threes only. And then about 10 o’clock it seemed that someone had dropped a curtain across the landscape and stopped all visible movement; by 1030 we discussed packing up and by 11o’clock we drove off site.
Our observations between the low numbers processed, and with time on hands to watch, showed that many birds just carried on going, heading south and west, away from our plantation and further inland or towards the coast.
We finished with just 20 birds, way below recent endeavours and something of a disappointment given the visible rush of birds in that single hour: 7 Goldfinch, 3 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Goldcrest, 3 Chaffinch, 2 Blue Tit, 1 Coal Tit and 1 Greenfinch.
Our Greenfinch had been feeding on rose hip berries, the red fruit of the rose plant and a favourite food of the Greenfinch.
Greenfinch
Rose hips - via Wiki
Greenfinch
At this time of year, and for the purpose of data collection, it is not always possible to determine the sex of a Lesser Redpoll via the plumage. The one below is an adult male and retains some of the summery claret colouring in its breast feathers.
Lesser Redpoll
Lesser Redpoll
Chaffinch
Goldcrest
If the wind stays below 10mph we will have another go at the Cockerham Linnet flock in a day or two. We are up to 73 new birds ringed already, zero recaptures and one from elsewhere in three visits. As usual where birds are concerned, there’s a lot more going on than first meets the eye.
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11 comments:
Beautiful birds, Phil! And this is my kind of traffic. Adorable, sweet, pleasant and no pollution...and pretty sounds, not loud or annoying. I love birds. :)
So frustrating when you can see them passing across like that.
You have a good shot of birds...
Claret....now there's a lovely descriptive for the colour of a Redpoll. I will have to add that to my repertoire of colours to describe avian plumage. On an entirely different note, I just spent some time delving into Donald Trump's abominable behaviour and deplorable business practices as they relate to his properties in Scotland. I truly hope that every citizen of the UK boycotts anything connected to him. May he flounder and fail "bigly" as he is so wont to say. Let us all hope that after he loses the election, as he surely will, his name disappears from the news media forever. There surely must be someone more interesting to talk about than him. I am thankful every day that I live on this side of the border.
Loving your little birds. There seems to be fewer and fewer in our garden sadly.
I have horrible memories of rose hip seeds down the back of my collar on my first day of primary school.
Have a wonderful week :)
Hello, wonderful variety of birds and lovely photos. I love the cute Greenfinch and the Redpoll! Happy Wednesday, enjoy your day!
Such beautiful birds ...
All the best Jan
Rose hip berries is an important plant in our landscapes.Here is the most common plant cross 21 km in the Greenway of the Silver(via verde de la plata in spanish).Certainlly,too many Green finchs and Common linets live inside.
Hello Phil!:) The Chaffinch and Greenfinch visit our feeders every day, and now we see both male and female Blackcaps. Still lots of Black Redstarts and Flycatchers too. The weather is warm, in fact temperatures rose to 30 degrees one day this week. This Oct has been the warmest I can remember. Loved seeing all your sweet bird images.:)
ps.. I answered your queries on my post.:)
so that's rose hips beak
Claret...kind of a nice ring to that. I think that whatever the name is, that slight splash of it in those beautiful feathers are quite lovely. Phil, what are you countrymen thining about these elections across the great pond by now. I am just feeling quite weary over all of it. Have a great week~
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