A lump of Coal (Tits)

Having taken the day off to enroll on my pre-PGCE Chemistry course at Edge Hill, I decided to take advantage and spend the afternoon at Crosby Hall with the father. Using the same 9m and 15m net formation as the previous Saturday, we topped up the feeders and went to sit in the late winter sun. We heard Buzzard, saw Jays and listened to the Nuthatches staking their territories.

The first net round brought a bumper eleven Coal Tits with a mixture of Blue and Great Tits, with a couple of Robins and Dunnocks. With Chaffinches and Goldfinches so abundant, it was a suprise that we didn't catch more.

Later on in the afternoon, after a steady flow of titmice, interupted by a few Long-tailed Tits and a Goldcrest, we decided to call it an afternoon. Late on the Chaffinches made an appearance, along with a Treecreeper, more interestingly was the control of the only Coal Tit ringed at The Woodhams on 1st February of this year.


Totals:

Coal Tit: 13 (1)
Blue Tit: 18 (7)
Great Tit: 5 (4)
Robin: 2
Dunnock: 2
Chaffinch: 2
Long-tailed Tit: 1 (1)
Treecreeper: 1
Goldcrest: 1

45 Ringed. 12 Retraps. 1 Control.

Bird of the Day - Coal Tit

Exploratory Session at Little Crosby

The best way to start a weekend off is with a short two-and-a-half hour session in Little Crosby, or so I have heard, so that's how it went down this morning. Arriving on site at 10am, myself and the significantly better-half, Tineke, put up a 15m and a 9m at the feeding station. I established the feeding station about two months ago, feeding up regularly, but with the prospect of upcoming ringing demonstrations to visitors to CHET (Crosby Hall Educational Trust), I thought it best to give it a trial run and see what is about.

Before we had even got the second net up, we were already catching, the birds obviously quite eager to feed, two Coal Tits to start things off. Once the nets were up we went to watch the sheep for fifteen minutes before checking the nets. It was relatively steady then with 10-12 birds each net round, mainly consisting of Blue Tits and Great Tits, with a Robin, a few Coal Tits and the odd Long-tailed Tit thrown in for good measure.


By 12:00 there were a few spots of rain and the wind increased, so we decided to call it a morning and went to take the nets down, in the process, inadvertantly flushing a Treecreeper into the net. Bird of the day would have to be the Nuthatch though, also on the last net round.


Totals:

Blue Tit: 14
Great Tit: 14
Coal Tit: 4
Long-tailed Tit: 2
Treecreeper: 1
Robin: 1
Nuthatch: 1

Ringed: 37