I joined Heather Coats this morning for a short introductory ringing session with Phil Mead the Group’s new trainee. A six metre and a nine metre net were set in a dog-leg near the feeders which we hoped would draw some of the siskins we could hear in the nearby Scots Pines.
Male Siskin
The session concluded with a total of fourteen birds of which six were Siskins. The final bird of the morning was an adult Great Tit with an elongated upper mandible. The deformity hadn’t had any adverse affect on the bird’s ability to feed as it had survived at least two winters.
Great Tit
The total for the morning was Blackbird 1, Blue Tit 2, Coal Tit 1, Chaffinch 1, Great Tit 1, Greenfinch 1, Robin 1 and Siskin 6.