Ramsdale Park Golf Centre, Tuesday 11 August

Having tried and failed to get another visit in to Ramsdale last week Jim and I got there this morning. The weather was calm with variable cloud and we set a line of eight 18m nets and had two mixed warbler recordings playing.

The first round was busy with just under 30 birds, the second was busier with 52 birds and no spare bags. At this point the processing had to speed up so we stopped doing weights. Catching remained good until about 1300 when it dropped dramatically.

We finished on 151 birds including 4 retraps, 99 of the birds were warblers. It was good to catch the first Tree Pipit the group has had since 2012 and the first Jim and I have seen in a net for many years, the Siskin was a 3J and I can’t remember us having caught a 3J before.

The species totals (new/retrap): Dunnock 3/0, Wren 2/0, Tree Pipit 1/0, Robin 6/1, Blackbird 3/0, Blackcap 22/1, Garden Warbler 13/0, Whitethroat 13/1, Lesser Whitethroat 1/1, Chiffchaff 27/0, Willow Warbler 20/0, Blue Tit 11/0, Great Tit 2/0, Greenfinch 6/0, Goldfinch 13/0, Siskin 1/0, Bullfinch 3/0.

Not surprisingly, with so many birds caught we had little time for bird watching but we did note Nuthatch and Green Woodpecker. A great session and good to be out ringing passerines with Jim again.

Kev

the net ride hanging with warblers (J. Lennon)

 young Chiffchaff with typical central tail feather moult
(J. Lennon)

 juvenile Whitethroat with prominent fault bar in tail
(J. Lennon)

young Tree Pipit (note short hind claw)

 (J. Lennon)

  young Siskin with 2 old greater coverts (J. Lennon)