The change in wind direction and the arrival of many migrants over previous days was an optimistic sign for our ringing session at South Landing. We arrived on site at 05.30 am, having had a quick stop to admire the Hoopoe on the nearby bowling green, a beautiful sunny morning with barely any wind and plenty of birdsong greeted us.
We initially erected 7 nets, later adding another 2, the first net round delivered on the migrant front with 2 Lesser Whitethroats, one of which was a returning bird having been ringed as a juvenile at Flamborough last year. Also in the first round was a lovely Sedge Warbler, the first time we’ve caught one in spring at this site. Throughout the session we had a steady stream of Warblers, in fact 6 different species were caught, including a Garden Warbler and 7 Blackcaps.
It was rewarding to re-catch 5 Warblers previously ringed at Flamborough, its nice to know they have survived their migration and made it back to raise another generation. We had another special bird – a Reed Warbler, another first spring catch at this site.
Alongside our migrants we also caught some resident birds showing brood patches, evidence they are breeding locally, including Blackbirds, Dunnocks, a Coal Tit, Bullfinch and Song Thrush.
A lovely spring session lasting 6 hours in which we caught 35 birds of 17 species.