Getting reacquainted with Tits!

Jerry and Peter visited the lake today, with Jerry also having visited over the weekend to continue the cutting and dead hedging. They mixed things up, first repairing one of the constant effort nets, before then opening nets at the niger feeders and about an hour later at the sunflower feeders. Between net rounds and processing the catches Jerry did even more dead hedging and Peter dragged all the previously cut branches to the low points in the dead hedge, ready for the next visit!

After a promising start with 12 Goldfinch flushing off the niger feeders (unfortunately the wrong way) on the first net round things were very quiet at that site, probably because the net was in the sun and a couple of birds were seen avoiding it to get to the feeders. The sunflower feeder net provided the vast majority of the catch of 3 + (24). Made up of Dunno (3), Coati (1), Bluti (12) Greti (6), Siski 1 + (1), Lesre 1, Goldf 1 and Nutha (1).

The catch once again comprised of a higher proportion of adult birds than would be expected at this time of year. Reflecting the poor breeding season for the 'traditional' garden feeder birds like the tits. The low catches of new birds and the lack of big finch flocks at the feeder probably reflect the, so far at least, almost perfect winter for our birds, ie mild, with a large amount of natural food around.

The 8 ticks removed from one unlucky Great Tit - unfortunately 1 was left as it was to small to remove.