CES 7 & RB2 RAS 4

Two successful sessions were completed on July 4th, Carlton In the garden and Jerry in RB2.

Weather - other than some early mist at 05.30 (that soon cleared), it was fine, still, dry and virtually cloudless throughout, with the temperature steadily increasing through the morning, ending up very hot by midday. As is usual with these  conditions, sun on some of the garden nets probably had a negative impact on the total number of birds caught.

The garden (CES) session started extremely slowly, with only about 7-8 birds being netted in the first three hours. So it was welcome when the numbers picked up later, surprisingly during the warmest and sunniest part of the morning.

The highlight of Jerry's catch was the re-trapped Pied Flycatcher (a female that had just started its wing moult), while for Carlton, it was the relief that the morning ended with a reasonable total and variety, including 2 juvenile Siskins (indicating successful local breeding). .

Details were.

The herd of cattle moved into the church field for a while mid morning, complete with the lame bull, and as if to make a point, and assert his authority, he parked himself next to the stile, blocking the way out from the ringing hut. Fortunately they all moved off to the rb2 fields, before it was time for Carlton and Jerry to leave.