Fill the feeders

Just a quick jaunt down this morning to replenish the feeders. One has peanuts in and the other has a 'finch type' mix with black sunflowers.

I decided to watch the feeders after filling and it was noticeable that the Great Tits preferred the peanuts, whilst the Blue Tits fed exclusively on the seed mix. The Great Tits had to work for their breakfast by chipping away at the nuts, whereas the Blueys just grabbed a piece and shot off to a branch to eat it.

There was an absence of Blackcaps, a lone male Chiff singing, several 'squeeky' Robins (maybe new-comers), one or two high flying thrushes and a pair of Gadwall on Fingers that are now resplendent in their "normal" plumage. A Kestrel came and hovered above the 'Rough' looking for prey items but decided to retreat to a perch high in the lakeside willows and survey the prospects from there. It was blowing "half a gale" and I sympathise with him/her.

I suspect we will get a ringing session in sometime next week, wind and rain permitting, and a reminder that there is a walk next Sunday (11th) starting at 9am from the Visitor Centre.

Ray Burley has made a decent job of the path down by the Kramer hide, which has been soft for years. It's a pity he didn't go an extra 4 yards into the 'Flower Meadow' - which is where the wide, soft and muddy patch will develop as soon as we get any decent rain.

A winter's tale

Now that the CES programme is concluded for another year. we have set about starting up the feeding station again. Feeders and nuts bought ... and the first now in place. Just need to wait for results, wait until the birds have found it and then put up a seed feeder.

The first feeder - once the birds have found it, in goes the second.
After that, the net will go up.

Of course, this involved cutting out the appropriate net lane, since the veg has grown tremendously over the last 10 months, when it was cleared of trees and bushes 100% by BTCV & ourselves.

Throughout September, we will endeavour to trap as many of the remaining and transient warblers as possible, before turning our attention to the tits, finches and thrushes, core winter rations.