Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 18 August

I joined Kev, Gary, Duncan and Alex for my first session at HPP in quite some time and was amazed at how parts of the site had grown up. In fact when I went for a wander, paths that had been clear on my last visit were not just impassable, the were invisible with thick shrouds of brambles blocking my way.

Nevertheless, the main trapping areas were productive on this pleasant, sunny morning and the first couple of rounds were busy before the sun and wind slowed everything to a halt. We processed 56 birds, 10 of which were retraps. These were all relatively recent other than the Spanish Reed Warbler which we've now caught in 2008, 2010 and 2011 and which was originally ringed in Spain on 18/08/07 as a youngster.

Totals as follows (new/retrap): Long-tailed Tit 0/2, Wren 0/1, Reed Warbler 17/2, Blackcap 14/2, Garden Warbler 3/1, Bullfinch 0/2, Chiffchaff 2/0, Willow Warbler 4/0, Reed Bunting 1/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Robin 2/0, Blackbird 2/0.

Also seen were Yellow Wagtail, several Common Terns, a trickle of Sand Martins and Swallows overhead (but no Swifts...), a couple of Gadwall, 3 Sparrowhawks (including a pair sparring high in the air) and a couple of Jays. Butterflies were present in reasonable numbers, particularly Peacocks and Small Whites, and Brown Hawkers and Common Darters were the most common dragonflies seen.

Pete

The Spanish Reed Warbler that is something of an old friend now. (PML)

It's a battle to get to any point at which you can look over the water now, so thick are the reeds. I wonder how long it'll take for the entire pit to cover?