This weekend felt very autumnal, with perfect conditions for our mist netting trip to the golf club. Whilst there, we tried to attract finches and autumn migrants with tape lures. These attempts were successful, which led to a busy morning of ringing. 42 birds were caught, including 3 retraps.
We caught three Redwings and two Redpolls (as pictured) – our first encounters this year with these species after their migration over to our shores. All three Redwings were aged as adults; notable as juveniles are more frequently caught. We are hoping that this was just because of the timing this year, instead of being indicative of a poor breeding year for them.
Four Greenfinch and seven Goldfinch were also caught in the nets. The proportion of feathers moulted by the juvenile Goldfinch were on average less than the populations our group catches in more urban areas. This may be because of food availability at artificial feeders giving them more energy and allowing a greater extent of post-juvenile moult.
Additionally, one of the juvenile Great Tits appeared to have moulted more feathers than we would usually expect. As shown in the photos, the outermost primary covert and innermost secondary feather were a different generation to any others. Something to look out for in the future.
The totals for the day were: 3 Goldcrest, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Blue Tits, 8 Great Tits, 7 Goldfinch, 4 Robins, 2 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Dunnocks, 4 Greenfinch, and 3 Redwing.
Josh
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| Redpolls (JP) |
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| Great Tit moult (JP) |
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