The morning started with the first frost of the winter but by the time we arrived at the reserve, 1030 for an 1100 start, the sun was out and the peninsular at the back of the visitor centre was a good sun trap. The breeze picked up slowly as the hours passed, not billowing the nets too much but causing leaves by the dozen to fall into them. This did not seem to deter the birds and I can't remember a single net round without a catch. This pleased the visitors as no one went without seeing some birds. Visitor numbers were good throughout the day, sometimes we had double figures at a time watching. The total catch for the day ended at 35, of which 25 were Tree Sparrows. Many of these were still in primary moult so it gave some good practice doing moult scores.
As usual the staff at the centre looked after us well, keeping us fed and watered. A surprise was a donation of £50 from the centre to the group as a thank you for supporting their events. This was gratefully received and is now in the hands of our treasurer.
Kev
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