It's great to catch large numbers of birds as it increases the chance of some of them being found again--but now and again ( just like in birding generally) it's exciting to ring unusual species or ones that although familiar, are rarely caught.
This week, two of our team, Gareth and Liz had the excitement of new species-which also happened to be new species for the group this year.
Over the last 20 or so years, Buzzards have become so much more common than previously. However, they are difficult to catch--especially in mist nets, because, they tend not to fly low enough, and also because of their size, they tend to flop out of nets in the unlikely event that they fly into one. Imagine the surprise then last Sunday when this fabulous bird was sitting in the bottom shelf of a mist net near one of our feeding sites....
Buzzards are very variable in plumage but this one is pretty typical--an absolute stunner.
Certainly not as stunning in the conventional way, or as big; Gareth's new species was equally exciting and quite unusual in our mist nets. Jackdaws are pretty common in towns and villages, but being members of the crow family they tend to be extremely wary and suspicious of mist nets or any other strange objects in their vicinity.
Considering crows are regarded as simply fairly large black birds--the subtlety is stunning. The really bright silvery/white iris really stands out; and the grey hood gives the Jackdaw a really distinctive look.
And finally, a portrait of a much underrated bird. Buntings are generally little brown jobs--especially the females--and as such are often overlooked as sparrows in gardens. This is a female Reed Bunting, and as you an see the markings around the head are very distinctive....and not at all like a sparrow. It's worth looking carefully, especially during cold spells because this is when Reed Buntings often visit garden feeding stations.
The last blog of 2022 is coming soon, and will give a preliminary report on how well we have done during the year.
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