The Holy Trinity?

Apologies for anyone offended by this biblical reference--none intended. Last night we re-visited the farm where we resumed operations recently after a lay off. After the most recent deluge the fields were pretty damp but we were able to operate without too much trouble. There was a noticeable reduction in the number of Skylarks in the fields-whether this signals their departure north and east or was some local issue remains to be seen.
There were good numbers of waders around and we managed to catch 2 Jack Snipe, 1 Common Snipe ( we don't catch many of these using this technique) and 1 Woodcock-- a small number but a quality trio--hence the title. Any ringer catching these three species in a single night would count themselves pretty lucky.

 

 

Jacks will often sit for some time on your hand in a similar way to their well known natural 'freezing' habit of staying stock still on the ground to avoid detection.

I know we have posted pictures of Woodcock on here previously but I never tire of seeing these magnificent birds

 

 

A rapid change of plan this morning left me a small window to visit our main Jack Snipe site to survey their numbers. There were only a handful of Common Snipe around but the Jack Snipe population is still decent at aroun15 birds. Numbers are tailing off now as birds start moving north and east on migration. I managed to catch 6 birds three of which were 'new' and three already ringed. One was ringed here a couple of weeks ago; and one we reported on recently as a bird possibly dropping back into the site to refuel on its way north after having been ringed here in March 2019. The third bird we suggest supports this theory in that it had been ringed here by us in November 2018, not seen again until now when presumably it also is fuelling up before a move north. It also provided us with another known adult bird with which to hone our ageing skills.