Duncan, Ruth and I made the third visit to Granby on Saturday. Weather wise it was the usual winter GFE (Granby Fridge Experience), but nevertheless bright and sunny with less wind than predicted. And also enlivened by Pete & Penny dropping in.
Yet again the majority of the catch was Chaffinches & Great Tits, with birds being caught steadily through the morning 'til we packed up early at midday. The full catch was 57 - 32 new birds with 25 retrapped. Fifteen of the 16 Great Tits were already ringed, so I guess we now have the local population well marked. The Yellowhammers are starting to build up with five caught, no Dunnocks were caught again. So that's three in three visits. It does look like they got hammered by the dry weather this year.
Virtually all the retraps were from the last year or so, bar a Great Tit from 2007. Typically, for an old bird, it turned up late morning. There were plenty of thrushes roosting when we arrived and the first five Blackbirds of the winter were trapped. We also ringed the 14th ever Bullfinch at the site; all bar one have been captured before the New Year.
Full catch numbers were (new/retrap): Blackbird 5/1, Robin 0/1, Blue Tit 1/7, Great Tit 1/15, Chaffinch 16/1, Greenfinch 3/-, Bullfinch 1/-, Tree Sparrow, Yelllowhammer 4/1.
Jim
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