Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory, Friday 7 October

Kev, Duncan and I made the annual trip to Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory on Friday. We arrived at Gib at 06:45, just as dawn was breaking, perfect! After a quick coffee in the car park we made our way to the Observatory building to be met by George Gregory, the ringer in charge, appearing from behind the sand dunes. He had kindly arrived earlier and had opened all 23 nets, thanks George!

A quick briefing then a net round and then steady ringing till around lunch time when it slowed down. Following the previous few days of easterly winds and near perfect conditions on the day (after a brief shower) I guess we were expecting a busier day with a bit more variety, but a total of 105 new birds and 24 retraps left us happy.

The highlights of the day were a Ring Ouzel and a female Sparrowhawk which Duncan managed to get to before it escaped from the net. We also had a German ringed Robin which created a comedy sketch you just couldn't write!

Mick P