11 more Siskins ringed today at Shepshed. Andy Smith has ringed many during half term week at Thornton and so the group total SO FAR at just 3 sites is over 70 birds in 2003.
4th March 2003
Another remarkable 'Siskin day' with 17 ringed. One bird was a control (i.e already had a ring from elsewhere). We have now ringed 91 birds this winter. Some years ago in Rugby a ringer wondered about the age/sex profile of a small number of Greenfinches which kept coming to his garden feeders. Thinking they were the same few birds coming back day after day he was amazed that by the end of the winter he had actually ringed over 300 individuals. Nigel and Andy have only a handful of birds at any one time at their feeders so the total of 91 individually marked birds tells a similar story. Only ringing (identifying individuals) reveals such incredible facts.
Yet more siskins ringed in Shepshed. 14 today so that makes 81 in this one garden since Feb 1st. A pleasant surprise in view of the Greenfinch story above was that Nigel also caught an adult male Greenfinch ringed as a first year bird on 22/12/1996 (over 6 years old and still going strong).
No Siskins in this part of Leics but 7 Lesser Redpolls ringed at a feeder in Blaby early this morning. The image to the right is a female and below right a first year male (compare rose blush on male with nothing on female). Also Goldfinch (below left) and Reed Bunting ringed.
Just come back from holiday so probably missed the first Wheatears. Each year one of two fields along Springwell Lane Whetstone are ploughed and rolled and attract a number of Wheatears through April & May. Today I caught a Northern Wheatear (oenanthe) but I expect the Greenland sub species (leucorhoa) will start appearing in a couple of weeks. This first year female was ringed about 16:00.
Andy & Nigel have been busy over the last two weekends in the Watermead Heronry ringing 7 more today, bringing this years total to 12 and the grand total ringed at this site to 92 birds. See Projects & highlights also Recoveries for further details.
The first Tree Pipit of the year was ringed at Charnwood Lodge this evening. It will be interesting to see what effect the positive management work at the reserve will have on this species which is now rare in Leicestershire.
