Wednesday 5 March 2014

After a poor end to 2013 and a very poor start to 2014 with strong winds and heavy rain, I have not done any ringing apart from 4 Guillemot at the GSPCA this year, Iam looking forward to get some nets up this weekend at Jerbourg with the winds from the south to south-east force 2-3. Iam  sure Colette my partner will have the flags out and a bottle of wine open, As she has come close to kicking me out with me being home at the weekends or getting home before 10am, With the late spring of last year when it finaly arrived most migrants whent straight over the top us because of clear nights ringing was nearly at a stand still with not meny birds grounded and with Colette being taken ill we did not do much sea-bird ringing but it seemed like the autunm migration would be good when i move down to the Claire mare reed beds and started catching a good number of Sedge and reed warbler,with the best of the reed birds being 3 aquatic warblers then the weather turned bad when i moved back up to Jerbourg from about September till the end of the year I think i managed about 6 days of ringing.  The totals for 2013 are as follows,  Shags 2  Marsh Harrier 2  Kestrels  2  Common Sandpiper  1  Herring Gull  1    Barn Owl   3  Sand Martins  3  Swallows  170   Meadow pipit  1   Wren  19   Hedge Accentor  31 Robins  13  Whinchat  2  Blackbirds  26  Song thursh  12   Redwings  13  Grasshopper Warbler  1    Sedge   Warbler  190  Siskin  1  Aquatic  Warbler  3  Reed Warbler  115   Whitethoat  2  Blackcap  20  Chiffchaff   40   Willow Warbler  43   Goldcrest   3   Firecrest   6    Pied Flycatcher  1   Long tailed tit  4  Blue tit  6   Magpie  5   Crows  4  Chaffinch  3   Greenfinch 14  Goldfinch   7   Linnets  16  Great tit  13  Short toet treecreeper  2