After Halloween

Thurs - mainly sunny but the wind got up. Tried to catch a rarity - but none about! Lol! Did manage 26 but half were retraps. Best birds - ad.male Gt.Spot, a Redwing, 2 young male Bullfinch, but the rest mostly tits. Would have had more Blackbirds but the wind combined with slack netting, holes in netting and feisty birds kept it down to just 2. Nearly made it 3, but the bird shat a humungous wadge all over my glasses and I lost it. After I regained vision and wiped my cheek clean, noticed that it was all over my cap, bins & gilet! Must have had a Halloween curry last night!!!!

For the third day running, had a Harlequin ladybird.

Light Sky Lark passage - stopped by 10:30.

Some Redpolls "buzzing" about, too.

Early pm - Chiff & Blackcap.

Halloween

Wed - a grey morning, at least. On the main lake - 20 Cormorant & 35 GCGrebe; Jon Bish had some Wigeon early. On Fingers - 12 Shoveler, 10 Teal (brilliant!), 5 Gadwall, 4 LGrebe, 2 Heron. Elsewhere - Siskin f/over, 4 Les.Redpoll, 30+ Goldfinch all in one flock, plenty of Blackbirds, Redwings and Chaffinches. Squirrels having a go at the peanut feeders - not for much longer (getting the humane traps out). Gets expensive @ £16 each feeder; nuts currently £22/sack.

Mid-week ringing session

Tues - a middle of the day catching session in bright sunshine produced the following: Dunnock (1), Blackbird 1 - a particularly small imm. female, Redwing 1 - another adult (so far 45% have been this autumn), CHIFF 1 adult male, presumably here for the winter now, a mixture of young & old, male & female tits - Blue Tit 6 (4), Great Tit 4 (7) - two of the latter were first ringed in 2003, Greenfinch 2, Goldfinch 3 - all adult females, & LESSER REDPOLL 1 1st winter male.

Danny (new ranger) saw a Blackcap (didn't say what sex)