early February Nyger sessions, and a "bumper" Yellowhammer catch

Jerry was at the Lake (cutting/dead hedging) on the 5th, and although it was a little blustery, he set a net at the nyger feeders. Andy joined him later, and only one Great Tit (a pullus from 2015) spoiled the "quality" of the catch, with the session ending on 22 + (6). The rest was made up of (1) Nuthatch, 14 + (2) Siskin, 3 + (2) Lesser Redpoll, 4 Goldfinch and 1 Greenfinch.

The forecast for Thurs 11th was the best it had been for months, with just the slightest of breezes. It was a cold start at the Llangorse cover crop, but Carlton, Elinor and Jerry soon warmed up in the sunshine. The main nets were set along a different section of hedge (than in previous visits), and with much reduced numbers of Chaffinch to guide the buntings to the taller roadside trees, the catching was steady. In total 81 + (10), made up of 3 Wren, 1 Robin, 5 Dunnock, 2 Song Thrush, 3 House Sparrow, 2 Chaffinch, 10 + (4) Reed Bunting and 55 + (6) Yellowhammer (although our highest day catch, the maximum day ringing total was set just last year at 59). Most of the retraps were from earlier this winter, but three of the Yellowhammer were ringed last winter. What is interesting is that two Reed Bunting and two Yellowhammer had moved from the Pennorth cover crop, to the Llangorse site, during this winter (a distance of about 5km) - one Reed Bunting had been ringed on 23 Nov and the other three birds were ringed on 5 Jan. A male Sparrowhawk flew into one net before escaping (perhaps with a bird), and a Yellowhammer was unfortunately taken by a cat - the first time a cat has been seen in the area, and something to be aware of next time.

On 12th, our feeder area was relatively sheltered, and although it was only a week since last netted, Jerry put up a net at the nyger feeders for a couple of hours. The total catch of 15 + (12) was made up of (1) Dunnock, (3) Blue Tit, 13 + (5) Siskin, 2 + (1) Lesser Redpoll and (2) Goldfinch.