I'd not visited Gedling Country Park since January, having decided to wait autumn passage to start, as I didn't think there would be much to catch in spring and during the breeding season. I had my first visit on 21 July, and just put up the nets in the positions I had used previously, in the scrubby area to the west of the park. One net was reasonably productive, but the other only caught a handful of birds - its position being less than ideal against a backdrop of thick birch woodland.
I visited about a week later to cut out a couple of new rides in the more sparsely vegetated scrub nearby, just two areas - one enough for a 12m net the other only a 9m. These looked much more suitable for catching migrant warblers, with low hawthorn and birch scrub within a mix of more open areas.
A couple of days later I returned and got the nets up. One net had a tape playing mixed warblers, and the other the phyllosc/lotti/crest mix that I've found to be very effective so far.
I was pleasantly surprised to catch a total of 51 birds, and it was one of those days where I think I could have stayed and caught steadily all day, but obviously this has implications in the welfare of the birds, and with time restraints of my own I packed up around 1130, having had nets up for around 4 hrs.
It was a pleasure to handle a few species I haven't really had experience of in the hand since acquiring my C permit, particularly Whitethroat, but also having numerous Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers, rather than catching the odd 1 or 2 a year in the garden. A few Linnet also came to tape at the end of the session.
Totals for the day were 9 Willow Warbler, 9 Blue Tit, 8 Great Tit, 8 Chiffchaff, 3 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Linnet, 3 Robin, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Dunnock and singles of Goldcrest, Blackcap and Goldfinch. There was also one retrap Blue Tit.
Hopefully I'll manage a couple more sessions before turning my attention to Meadow Pipits in September.
Tom
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