22nd March 2010 - Spring is Here with the First Chiff

Another successful morning at Chesworth with two new species for the year and two new species ringed at the farm from just 27 new birds of 11 species! Eddie and I started early and were rewarded with an adult Jay (below) as almost the first bird, apart from a very near miss of a Barn Owl.
Note the extensive blue plumage on the primaries, secondaries and even the back of the head.This was followed by the first Chiffchaff for the year (below) and a second later on.
But the star of the morning was an immature female Yellowhammer (below) that was only the second ever caught only five days after the first at another site!
Another new Reed Bunting today made a total of 39 new, one control and one old retrap caught at the roost in the tiny 60ft x 60ft pond reedbed this winter since 9th November 2009 - obviously an important staging post for the local populations.
Birds ringed:
Dunnock - 1
Blue Tit - 3
Chaffinch - 4
Reed Bunting - 1
Goldfinch - 4
Great Tit - 5
Yellowhammer - 1
Chiffchaff - 2
Greenfinch - 4
House Sparrow - 1
Jay - 1