Jim, Alex T and I opened up the feeding site at Brackenhurst for the winter, with expectations of a bit of a tit-fest, and we weren't really wrong on that front.
We got off to a somewhat spluttering start with foggy conditions affecting travel, a delay getting through the security gates, and then a couple of concrete blocks creating an impassable obstacle down to the ringing site, meaning a U-turn back to the Equestrian Unit to park and a walk down to the feeding station...
Nevertheless, we kicked off nicely with a busy round of c25 birds and we were soon getting our eyes back in with the ins and outs of Blue and Great Tit ageing and moult.
Things became steadier after that, with most rounds being fairly busy, but mostly with day retraps. We caught a decent number of Chaffinch too, but with the policy at this site of releasing birds due to the high incidence of FPV-infected birds, we had to let them all go. One bird in particular was possibly one of the worst examples Jim and I had seen in terms of severity of infection.
Other interest came in a couple of Coal Tits and 2 female Bullfinches - the 18th and 19th ringing records of both species for the site. Otherwise, species richness was fairly poor, with Dunnock being the only other species caught amongst over 40 Blue and Great Tit. Thrushes were notable by their absence, though heavy fog may well have put them off, as when it cleared a reasonable-sized mixed flock was noted over the far end of the field.
Tom
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| Chaffinch with severe FPV infection |
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| Adult Great Tit, with 82mm wing - one of the largest caught by the group |
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| 1cy female Bullfinch |
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| An almost unrecognisable ringing station with young plantation starting to develop |
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