Miss And Hit

Time's running out to catch the Linnets at Cockerham where the latest food drops show 35 to 45 birds max and where finding a break in the weather for a ringing session becomes a precise art. Very soon the Linnets will be winging their way North to Scotland; hopefully a few more will carry our rings and data gathered throughout will help the conservation of this Red Listed Species, Linaria cannabina. 

But the weather forecasts continue their torment where both ITV and BBC predictions for Tuesday morning were miserable doom laden affairs of wind and rain sweeping across the screen from left to right. These “forecasters” must be on a hundred grand a year to read out dodgy predictions gathered via satellites, balloons, radar and computer programmes that cost millions if not billions of £s. Maybe a look out of the nearest window every few hours might result in a more accurate result? 

Internet charts for Tuesday seemed to show a stiff wind yes, but no rain until midday. By midday any ringing session would be over by which time we'd be home and dry in every sense. I arranged to meet Andy at our private site of Gulf Lane at 0730. 

OK, it was a little breezy as the wind played a part in limiting our catch, but not a single drop of rain fell in four hours. 

We finished with 15 birds, 14 Linnets and 1 Chaffinch – the Chaffinch an adult male, the Linnets split as follows: 6 first winter males, 6 first winter females, 2 adult males. 

Chaffinch

 

Linnet

 

Other birds in and around the seed crop this morning - 4 Skylark, 2 Blackbird, 2 Mallard, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Chaffinch, 3 Stock Dove, 1 Little Egret  

Stock Dove

P.S. 1400 hrs still no rain.  1600 hours and it's raining, eight hours later than the prediction.

Don't miss Another Bird Blog on Thursday when there should be more news.