BELVIDE RINGERS: A bit of a Ticking off ??!!

I'm using this title as a bit of a play on words.....

First of all-apologies for the lack of posts recently. It's a pathetic excuse but it has been a very busy period trying to get our annual report, our AGM, and a couple of scientific papers I'm working on--all sorted out. But most are done now so I hope blogs will follow more frequently. I must try harder so I don't get another 'ticking off' from a reader..........

Teams have been out quite regularly during January, and we have ringed over 500 new birds as a result. It's been hard going though with feeders being occupied inconsistently and those finches that are present being even more difficult than usual to catch. A similar story is coming from thermal imaging teams who are finding plenty of birds but equally are finding it difficult to catch them.

Here's a a picture which could be from the latest 'Alien' movie.....

It's a blood sucking tick which we took off a bird last week ( ticking off......). It;s only a few millimetres in length but by the size of this one's abdomen it's just had a good feed..

We've been asked to do some surveying work on a couple of new farms in the last week, and these are looking good with plenty of Skylarks and Woodcock in particular to ring. I've collected a few pictures of some of the species we've been ringing to get the blog rolling again:-

This is a Grey Partridge which are always a good sign for the farmer that good wildlife things are happening on the farm

This is a Brambling- a finch which breeds in northern latitudes visiting southern Europe during the winter months. Reporst from around the UK suggest that this year there are lots of Brambling around--and that is supported by the fact that we are catching a few much earlier than normal

This is a Lesser Redpoll--these are beginning to venture to feeding stations as their natural food runs out so we are hoping for more of these. They seem to wander far and wide in search of food so we can get some good recoveries