Ringing in early January, and Barnacle Goose sighting

The mainly inclement weather from December continued, but the first session of the year saw Gareth at the hut feeders on a cold Saturday 3rd. The catch of 3 + (21) was dominated by retraps (birds previously ringed), as it was less than a week since the previous visit. The mix was Blue Tit 1 + (17), Great Tit 1, Coal Tit (1), Chaffinch 1 + (2), and Bullfinch (1). The Bullfinch was ringed in 2024, and this was its first re-capture, scaling on the tarsus was such that the ring had to be removed (before it started to cause more problems).

At the Pennorth garden, Andy has had two sessions with the "walk in" trap, catching 10 Starling on Wednesday 7th, and 8 + (3) on Friday 9th.

Another cold day on Wednesday 14th and WRP6 was completed by Andy/George/Jerry, who had a decent catch of 39 + (21) - Great Spotted Woodpecker (1), Blackbird 1, Robin 2, Blue Tit 20 + (12), Coal Tit 2 + (1), Great Tit 4 + (2), Long Tailed Tit (4), Nuthatch (1), Starling 4, Goldfinch 5, and Siskin 1. In the afternoon, Andy caught 2 more Starling in the ground trap, bringing the day total to 41 + (23).

Barnacle Goose 1289102 (yellow P32) was ringed as an adult on 23 July 2022. It was seen at Slimbridge in Jan 2023, and was back at the Lake in May 2023. It was not recorded at Slimbridge during the winter 2023/24 and had moved to Little Singleton, Lancashire on 11 May 2024. It was then seen at Kirkconnell Merse area, Dumfries and Galloway on 20 April 2025, and at Kelton Mains area, Dumfries and Galloway on 26 April, where is was with the Svalbard population (that winters on the Solway). P32 is our most widely traveled Barnacle, and there is still potential for it now move (and be seen) even further away.