Hucknall, Sat 18 Sept

I went to the site in Hucknall on Saturday 18 September mainly to check if there are any birds roosting in the small reedbed there. I arrived about 15:30, set a couple of nets and finished about 20:30 having caught 9 birds. This included 2 new birds for the site, Whinchat and Grey Partridge.

The Grey Partridges were all juveniles in full moult, (all had a primary moult score of 28). Juveniles undergo a complete post juvenile moult except for the outermost 2 primary feathers (Ginn & Melville: Moult in Birds). They also have dark bills and the red on the head was just starting to appear.

 

The other birds, caught in the roost, were Pied Wagtail and Reed bunting. The photo of a juvenile Pied Wagtail below shows it is still retaining some of the yellowish feathers on the head and 6 juvenile greater coverts.
Mick P