June 2nd
A rather wet and windy start but conditions gradually dissipated towards reasonable ringing conditions. The weather did not deter two families from the UK joining us to help with the bird ringing and moth trapping. Principally young enthusiasts Poppy aged 11yrs from near Southampton, a very keen birder and young naturalist who according to Dad Clive is an avid follower of the ABO blog. Also Eva aged 8 from the London borough of Sutton, doing her Brownie Wildlife badge this week whilst visiting Alderney with her family, Eva and little sister Heidi aged 5 were keen to visit the Observatory having seen us on Countryfile last month. The young ladies impressed with their knowledge and attentive behaviour seeing various bird species ringed and also helping safely release Hawk moths and Tiger Moths from the moth trap. Well done girls !!!
The wind got up towards lunch time bringing our session to a close having ringed 17 new birds including a Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Swallows, 5 Reed Warblers, 1 Whitethroat and 1 Song Thrush. See ringing total pages for full list.
For some time this morning a pair of Peregrines patrolled in close proximity to one another over Essex castle and Longis.
