28th and 29th June 2010 - Monday Morning, Nests and My Last Day

Another successful session by Eddie and I at Chesworth Farm on Monday morning produced 101 birds of which 58 were new. Highlights of the new birds included a breeding female Yellowhammer (above), a juvenile Whitethroat (below), a juvenile Treecreeper (only the fourth for the site), two adult Song Thrush and two adult and two juvenile Blackcap.
Retraps produced a large number of juvenile Great Tits that were ringed on the previous session, but also an adult male Blackbird that was originally ringed on 20th October 2007 as an adult.

Afterwards I went to Horsham Park again and managed to get another of the juvenile Canada Geese, leaving just one more to get and then returning home set the potter traps and managed to catch just one bird, but only the second ever Collared Dove (below). Hopefully this one will live a bit longer than the previous one!
Then on Tuesday, 29th, my last day of working for Horsham District Council, a slightly earlier start saw Jake and I venture out for my first Goldcrest nest that I had spotted on Sunday (poor shot of the nest with chicks just visible above). This was not for the faint-hearted and definitely not to try at home as the nest was about 20ft up and suspended from the end of a Douglas Fir limb at Warnham LNR. The nest held six chicks, but only four were ringable with the other two too small, but I am glad my day long ladder training course came in handy (below)!
Wes also ringed two nests today at the Capel Reserve being four Blackbird chicks and a nest of Willow Warbler which was unusually small having just two chicks and an unhatched egg.

I am now moving to a new job as Head Ranger of Leith Hill and Holmwood Common with the National Trust just into Surrey, so not too far away and although I plan to continue my ringing at the Horsham sites, the scale will be less and maybe some new ringing possibilities will be found at my new work place. Wish me luck!

Birds ringed: (retraps in brackets)
Robin - 2 (2)
Blackcap - 4 (1)
Whitethroat - 1
Blue Tit - 10 (3)
Great Tit - 9 (15)
Dunnock - 3 (2)
Yellowhammer - 1
Chaffinch - 5
Goldfinch - 1
Chiffchaff - 3 (1)
Treecreeper - 1
Willow Warbler - 2 nestlings
Golcrest - 4 nestlings
Song Thrush - 2 (1)
Canada Goose - 1
Collared Dove - 1
Blackbird - 2 + 4 nestlings (2)
Great Spotted Woodpecker - (3)
Reed Warbler - (5)
Greenfinch - 5
House Sparrow - 7 (7)