There's only a month of 2023 left. It's been a difficult year on many levels, and the weather hasn't helped, so Pete and I were really chuffed this week to find that our group has managed to pass the 6000 new birds ringed for the year. This is way down on out recent pear totals--but it has been difficult so we are really pleased.
Emma, chipped in this week with a session at here Dudley Zoo site, and on Saturday Kevin managed to ring 12 Redwing......he's not done any sessions since then, but I fear they may have been his last Redwing of the year. This morning Pete, Roy and I were out trying for Redwing, and our combined total was.......ONE (!!!!).
Yesterday we ran a very successful demo again for the folks at Jubilee Wood reserve and managed a very welcome catch of, among other things, 28 Goldfinches and a male Blackcap!! These are great events which get the community involved, and bring the members of the group together for a very enjoyable morning.
Gareth has not had much chance to get out recently--but he's been planning for the future by putting up this Barn Owl nest box.....fingers crossed!
We're all on high alert for Waxwings as they filter south and west ( we hope). Gareth had an encouraging sight outside his house on Saturday, with this bird on the wires....
Not a brilliant pic but no question what it is. Again--fingers crossed for Gareth for more.....
We've been running regular sessions at a local education trust site for the last few years, and this morning we had a fairly modest catch--but it gave us a chance to provide some interesting pics--we hope!!??
It's encouraging to see a few more Greenfinches at feeding stations. This is a male as can be seen by the amount of yellow in the wing and tail ( see next pic)--and yellow on the belly. Ageing Greenfinch can be tricky and several features should be examined before making a decision.....
First the shape of the tail feathers...
You can see the wide yellow making it male--but the shape of each feather looks quite wide and rounded at the tip--which is an adult feature.... but is that a pointed feather near the centre?
Now lets have a close look at the wing....the greater coverts (1) are grey and green ( adult) with no sign of brown feathers ( juvenile). However, the primary coverts (2) are pointed, and they do not have bright green outer webs, nor are their tips tipped in grey. Finally, the alula (3), is not clean yellow as it would be in an adult. So this is a juvenile bird which has moulted out some of its juvenile feathers--but there are sufficient juvenile feathers still present to give away its age.
Star bird of the day was undoubtedly this female Brambling....
Not as bright as a male--but knowing that this bird has definitely travelled here from northern Scandinavia at least is always fascinating. Two of the features of Brambling which can often be overlooked are shown in this next photo....
The bright lemon yellow where the wing meets the body is stunning--as are the dark blotched on the flanks--both shown well here.
This was a very early Brambling in our experience so we are hoping it means there are lots more about--lets hope!!
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