February 2022 and recent recoveries

On 2nd Andy completed his seventh "winter CES" and although Jerry called by (in case of a large catch) it was only a modest 15 + (12), made up of Great-spotted Woodpecker (2), Blue Tit 9 + (8), Great Tit 3 + (1), Long-tailed Tit 1 + (1), House Sparrow 1, and Goldfinch 1.

On 7th after completing the last bit of habitat management in our main CES scrub area, Jerry put a net at the feeders for a couple of hours in the afternoon. He wasn't expecting a big catch (as the feeders had run dry the previous day) but had a respectable 12 + (13), made up of Blue Tit 1 + (9), Great Tit 4 + (4), Brambling 1, and Greenfinch 6.

On 11th Andy, Jeremy and Jerry tried the bird crop as it was forecast to be calm enough for this exposed site, but it was a bit chilly in the cold breeze. They opted for single/double panel nets as the birds had
recently been favouring a low section of hedgerow. The 200 strong Chaffinch/Brambling/Linnet flock was still hanging around the nearby root crop and only occasionally ventured into the treetops in the bird crop boundary. The 40 strong Reed Bunting/Yellowhammer flock were now using a different section of hedge (from the nets) and only 2 + (3) birds were caught. Despite the low catch, the recaptures were interesting with a Yellowhammer from the Pennorth crop (February 2020) and Reed Bunting from the jetty (June 2018) & rb2 (September 2020).

From mid month we had a spell of wet and windy weather (including three "named" storms) which had eased by 25th - enough for Jerry to try the hut feeders. But they had run dry some days previously and few birds were visiting. Other factors (light breeze, sun and a more visible "Spidertec" net) also conspired to help most of the birds see (and evade) the net. A total of only seven birds were caught - 3 + (3) Blue Tit and 1 Greenfinch. On 26th Andy did the last winter "CES session" - although a day later than the session 8 period, Lee at the BTO confirmed that the data would still be used. The site is a bit exposed and his catch was affected by the breeze, but still a useful 19 + (10) - made up of Great-spotted Woodpecker (1), Blue Tit 5 + (5), Great Tit 6 + (3) incl a control, Goldfinch 4, Greenfinch 3 + (1), and Chaffinch 1. February ended with 52 birds ringed and a YTD of 132.

Chiffhaff LPB866 was ringed at a jetty roost (age 3) on 2 Sept 2021, and was caught on 24 Sept 2021 at Plaisance, Saint-Froult, Charente-Maritime, France - 22 days, 688 km, 167 degrees

and we have had details of four Canada Geese -

5275958 ringed 26 June 2016 (age 4) and "found" on 7 July 2021 at Llyswen, Powys - 1837 days, 12 km, 0 degrees 

5284659 ringed 24 June 2018 (age 6) and shot on 17 Jan 2022 at Abergwili, Camarthonshire - 1303 days, 71 km, 264 degrees

5287975 ringed 30 June 2019 (age 4) and ring read on 26 Jan 2022 at Llangorse Lake - 941 days, 2 km, 270 degrees

5287998 ringed 30 June 2019 (age 1) and ring read on 13 Nov 2021 at Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly - 867 days, 39 km, 177 degrees (also seen at nearby Bondfield Park on 9 Dec 2021)