Thursday 19th July RAS at rb2

The cows were back in the rb2 fields, and as Jerry was crossing, they started to follow him (nothing unusual). But he noticed that one of them had a nose ring. He's no longer noted for doing the 50 yard dash, but he certainly "speeded up a bit", and went faster than most members have seen him go for a long time. Fortunately the cows/bull soon lost interest. Catching was slow to start, with the reeds very wet from overnight mist, but once it started to dry out, it picked up from 8 - 10am, to end on 57 + (7), made up of Wren 3, Sedge Warbler 3 (just starting to move through), Reed Warbler 31 + (7) (at least two juveniles with pronounced tail fault bars, so originating from somewhere that had unsettled weather when these feathers were growing), Blackcap 4, Garden Warbler 1, Chiffchaff 2, Willow Warbler 4, Great Tit 1, Treecreeper 1 and Reed Bunting 7. For most of the morning a Song Thrush was doing a very good job of mimicking a Red Kite. Best sighting of the day was a large (700-800 mm) Grass Snake between SG and the hut, which made a very reasonable attempt at "rearing up".