Holme Pierrepont, Wednesday 21 September

Duncan and I made a visit to the Skylarks end of Holme Pierrepont today, setting just a few of the usual nets, with a view to removing all the poles and guys from the site at the end of the session if the catch was not exceptional.

The weather conditions were near perfect and catching started steadily but dropped of quite early despite two mp3 players trying to tempt them in. In total we ended with a catch of 44 including 5 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Dunnock 2/1, Robin 5/1, Blackcap 10/0, Chiffchaff 12/1, Reed Warbler 2/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Great Tit 2/0, Goldcrest 2/0, Long-tailed Tit 0/2, Goldfinch 1/0, Reed Bunting 2/0.

The oldest retrap was a Long-tailed Tit from 2014. The only surprise was catching a couple of Reed Warblers as we did not get any at this site 10 days ago. Other than Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, the warblers seem to have gone and Blackcaps are in much reduced numbers since the last visit. However Robin and Goldcrest were around in increased numbers, winter must be on its way!

Kev

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 11 September

Sue, Duncan, Gary and I made a visit to the Skylarks end of Holme Pierrepont setting all the usual nets. The weather conditions were still but clear and this was reflected in the catch, which started very well but dropped off quickly as the sun got higher.

In total we ended with a catch of 73 including 15 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 3/1, Dunnock 1/0, Robin 1/1, Blackcap 28/4, Chiffchaff 11/2, Whitethroat 3/0, Lesser Whitethroat 2/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Great Tit 0/1, Tree Creeper 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 3/6, Bullfinch 1/0, Goldfinch 1/0, Reed Bunting 1/0.

The oldest retrap was a Blackcap from 2013, we had not previously caught this bird since ringing and it was the only adult warbler caught. The catch of warblers was very similar to that made at Ramsdale during the week.

Kev

Ramsdale Park, Wednesday 7 September

Mick P and I made a visit to Ramsdale setting the usual line of 8x18m nets. The conditions were perfect for mist netting and the nets soon started to fill with birds, catching continued steadily throughout the morning.

In total we ended with a catch of 87 including 6 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 5/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 4/0, Dunnock 3/0, Robin 3/1, Blackcap 30/4, Garden Warbler 1/0, Chiffchaff 10/0, Whitethroat 3/0, Blue Tit 8/0, Great Tit 2/0, Coal Tit 0/1, Long-tailed Tit 2/0, Bullfinch 6/0, Chaffinch 1/0, Linnet 2/0.

The retraps were all recently ringed birds. So the Willow Warblers seem to have gone and other than Blackcap and Chiffchaff, most of the other warblers seem to have moved on as well. The urge to head in a southerly direction was also shown by the small parties of Swallows that passed overhead on and off throughout the morning. Strangely a Tawny Owl was heard calling in the distance on and off throughout the morning.

Kev