More Manor Farm Bird Ringing - 25th January 2014

This morning I headed back to Manor Farm Country Park for a spot of bird ringing, and for a change I was accompanied by a nearly full complement of trainees. We started early, with the aim of getting the nets up before first light, in the hope of catching some winter thrushes. The session didn't start as well as hoped due to equipment failure,  but the first net round still produced two Redwing, a Blackbird, a Song Thrush, a Wren and two Dunnocks. The second net round wasn't much better; the highlight this time being a new female Goldcrest. Another Redwing made the effort almost worthwhile, but there was really not much more to report.

All of the Redwing were aged as first year birds, or age code 5, so I took a couple of photos of one.

Head Shot of Redwing at Manor Farm Country Park

Close up of Greater Coverts showing Large Thorns on Juvenile Coverts

Pointed Tail Feathers of Juvenile Redwing

During the session we caught four recoveries, three Dunnocks and a Blackbird. The two longest recoveries were both Dunnocks, one was originally ringed on the 9th April 2011 and the other on 12th February 2012, so 2 years 291 days and 1 year 337days since ringing. By the end of the session we had ringed nine species, but unfortunately had added no House Sparrows for my RAS project.

I did also hear back from BTO HQ this week about one of the nestling Barn Swallows that I had ringed in the summer. This bird had been ringed in the nest on 2nd June 2013 and was retrapped on the 25th August seven kilometres to the south-west, 84 days later. Not the longest distance recovery, but it is nice to know that one of my birds successfully fledged.