Tuesday, October 18, 2022

A Whopper Morning

Tuesday had been pencilled in for days. 

This time the forecasts didn’t let us down. There was zero wind and clear dark skies when I met up with Will and Andy at 0700 hours. The starts get later and the mornings darker as we approach the Autumn Equinox and its ritual of changing the clocks. 

As the sky lightened we put mist nets up and saw a Barn Owl hunting the scrubby grass where we parked our three cars. Was this a good omen? Time would tell. 

Barn Owl 
 
Almost six hour later the tired gang of three counted up the catch - 78 birds of 10 species, for us, a whopper of a catch that far exceeded recent efforts. 

The mix of species was good with 35 Greenfinch, 23 Linnet, 5 Long-tailed Tit, 7 Meadow Pipit, 4 Reed Bunting, 2 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush. 1 Wren, 1 Great Tit. 

Two of the Greenfinch bore almost consecutive rings beginning ‘ZY’ that were not our own. Previous experience has shown that our autumn and spring Greenfinch don’t travel far, and that the origins of these two will likely prove to be the top of Morecambe Bay. It is interesting that the two were almost certainly ringed and now recaptured on the same dates, i.e. still travelling together. 

At this time of year it's not unusual to see a steady stream of Greenfinches on the move if you know where to look and how to catch them. Fortunately the species seems to have now recovered from its drastic fall in numbers during the 1970s and 1980s due to trichomonosis. 

Greenfinch

Greenfinch

Long-tailed Tit

Linnet

Meadow Pipit

Reed Bunting

With the ringing being fairly busy our sighting were restricted to mainly overhead Skylarks and Meadow Pipits - 75 and 30 respectively, a chasing Merlin, and the now seemingly resident Cetti’s Warbler in random snatches of song. 

After our session today it looks as if the weather will turn against us now. Make hay while the sun shines everyone. 

Linking at the weekend to Anni in Texas and Viewing Nature with Eileen.


 

11 comments:

  1. Hello Phil :=)

    Congrats on your bumper catch. So glad the weather kept fine, and you saw and identified so many birds. It seems seeing the lovely Barn Owl was a good omen after all. Splendid photos of all the birds, but I do love the Long-tailed Tit, one bird I rarely see but admire its beauty and cuteness.
    All the best :=)

    ps I hope this comment goes through, because I lost it twice.

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  2. Hello,
    I was way off, I was thinking you saw a lot of Whooper Swans.
    I love the Barn Owl. The Green Finch is a cute bird and I like the Long-tailed Tit closeup. So glad you had a great outing. Take care, enjoy your day!

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  3. Wow, that sounds like a fabulous day. I have not seen a finch now for several months, I guess they will return sometime when they are hungry.
    For me, the star of the day would have been the Barn Owl, such a magical creature.

    Keep well, very best wishes, Diane

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  4. Lovely shots Phil, I have said before it is difficult for me to get out as much so it is good to what others get up to. Take care.
    Mike.

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  5. Hello Phil,
    Gorgeous birds and photos. I am envious over the beautiful Barn Owl.
    Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend.

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  6. I agree...we have to get out when the weather allows! Love the barn owl best, but what a day you had. Happy weekend!

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  7. I love seeing that long-tailed tit! Handsome bird a hypotonic eye!
    You three hit pay dirt!

    You linking in this week at I'd Rather B Birdin' is much appreciated!

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  8. What an encouraging report!

    Six hours of ringing nearly 80 birds. That makes me tired just typing it! Kudos to your whole gang.

    Interesting tidbit about the pair of Greenfinches. We know so little about the details of the lives of our feathered friends.

    All is good here. Regular trips are finding the usual migratory suspects enjoying a bit of our hospitality before flitting off to South America.

    Have a great new week!

    Wait - weather forecasters got it right???

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  9. The two green finches look totally different. Here our goldfinches change their "coat" totally in the warm months, going drab over winter. Is it similar for green finches?
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2022/10/rear-view.html

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  10. Well done on your bumper catch.
    I enjoyed seeing your photographs.

    Hope you had a good weekend.

    It's half term holiday this week and the grandchildren are hoping to go pumpkin hunting, I think boots will be needed, we had a lot of rain over the weekend.

    All the best Jan

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  11. Sounds like a fantastic day, Phil.

    Love the photos, especially the barn owl. 🦉

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