A little bit of this...

It has been a very busy weekend here in Liverpool to say the least! With Charlie away on a BTO Nest Recording course, Steve celebrating his wedding anniversary and Tineke in work, it was left to me to head out to do a bit of mist-netting this morning. I've had my eye on a bit of overgrown 'wasteland' for quite a while now and I popped down for a brief session this morning. It proved quite fruitful, with juveniles of Dunnock, Greenfinch and Long-tailed Tit all fledged and being caught.

Juvenile Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

Juvenile Dunnock (Prunella modularis)

Yesterday evening I had managed to get out to Rimrose to check out the remaining nest boxes, only one was occupied in the Fulwood sector, a further eight Blue Tit pulli ringed.

A Scouse Ringer ringing, for a change!

L.T.Tit -   4
Blue Tit -   8
Blackcap -   (1)
Whitethroat -   2
Chaffinch -  1
Goldfinch -   2
Dunnock -   2
Robin -   1
Greenfinch -   7
Song Thrush -   2

TOTAL:   37   (1)

The ringing totals for the weekend stood at a modest thirty-seven birds, however the whole weekend was spent surveying nests and getting little jobs done at our different sites. Some of those nests were of small species, such as tits and Tree Sparrows but some were for larger species like these Kestrels:

Kestrel pulli (Falco tinnuculus)

The Kestrel were too small to ring, they will probably be ready in a week or so, depending on the weather and subsequent food availability.

Mid-afternoon I joined Chris Bridge at Gorse Hill Nature Reserve near Ormskirk as he was halfway through checking the nest boxes on site. Lots of the boxes were occupied and birds were ringed including Coal, Blue and Great Tit, with many boxes to return to as the adults were on eggs or the young were too small. Chris has recently joined our group and these were his first birds on 'our' rings, so welcome Chris and long may it continue.

Chris getting started