Razzle Dazzle . . . 

This morning saw the 3rd Purple Sandpiper ringed in 2 days  - spring trapped in South Haven. Bird of the day goes to an adult female Tufted Duck which was caught in North Haven. The appalling weather seemed perfect for a nights dazzling, so Phil and several Obs staff headed out north after dark to dazzle Gulls, only to return an hour later clutching 10 Greylag Geese! Quite a catch, which left the ringing room floor in a bit of a state!

Snow Flurry . . .

Well hardly a flurry - managed to catch 3 Snow Bunting out of a large flock of over 50 birds on North Haven Beach. A single panel net was used in the only sheltered area on the beach. There will be further attempts . . . . 

Fair Isle Ringing - October 2008

Redwing  - showing size & plumage differences between  races, iliacus on left & the larger, darker, coburni on the right. Also Reed Warbler & Common Redpoll (probably islandica).  A Pink-footed Goose which was 'dazzled' in Boini Mire,  Lesser Whitethroat, Barred Warbler & Redshank (Redshank spring trapped on South Haven).

Wagtail Roost - Woodbridge Sewage Works - Sept'08

The first session at the sewage works proved successful with 10 Pied Wagtails being caught, 8 juveniles and 2 adults (at this stage it is not possible to confirm whether the juveniles were Pied or White). The images below are of juveniles.

Nightingale - Woodbridge - Suffolk Site.

The images below are of an adult Nightingale taken at our Woodbridge ringing site in May 2008. We had at least 6 breeding pairs present throughout the summer. 1 adult was a control from Strasbourg. 1 juvenile was caught and ringed.

Firecrest - Woodbridge - Suffolk Site.

We had a male Firecrest present throughout the summer. Breeding was not confirmed. This individual was joined by a second male in September.

Ringing on the Deben, Suffolk - 22nd-24th Sept'08

We have been ringing at the Woodbridge site since May 2008 on a fairly regular basis. To date, we have ringed 530 birds there. Highlights include 10 Nightingales, 1 Firecrest and best of all: 1 Yellow-browed Warbler trapped on the 23rd September (see photo opposite) and a good inland Suffolk record. We have controlled 3 birds at the site so far, these being a Nightingale that was ringed in Strasbourg (believed to be the 6th foreign recovery of this species in Britain), a Long-tailed Tit and a Greenfinch. During this latest ringing session we caught a total of 92 birds over 2 days with 4 'site firsts' - Yellow-browed Warbler, Siskin, Barn Swallow and Redwing.We also noted small numbers of Redwing and Song Thrushes passing through, these were our first Redwing of the Autumn. Other birds ringed over the weekend included several Coal Tit (15th ringed since May) and Blackcaps. This is a first year (3) male. Note the brown specks in the blackening crown.