Grasshopper Warblers Just Keep on Coming!!

Regular readers of this blog will be well aware of the high numbers of Grasshopper Warblers being captured at Titchfield Haven during the 2011 autumn bird ringing season.....well they just keep on coming!!

Grasshopper Warber Titchfield Haven 2011

The week of 22nd August began with a couple of early morning ringing sessions, which due to work commitments I was unable to attend, but nonetheless produced 83 groppers. A massive 71 of these were captured on the 23rd, the second highest daily total ever. A three day Bank Holiday weekend gave me the chance to get in on the action, and with nothing much else planned I chose to ring on all three days. I will update this blog with the end of August totals in due course, but Saturday 27th was notable in its own right. 

Whilst opening the nets it was evident that there were lots of Groppers around due to their distinctive contact call, but we never imaged just how many. By the end of the session we had captured and ringed 105 Grasshopper Warblers, one third of the total capture total, and the highest ever total captured in one day at Titchfield Haven. A further 25 were captured on the 28th August, bringing our total for August to 439, with the overall total for July and August to a record 709, and we still have one day to go!!!! 

I will keep you posted......