Ringing pliers christened with a ringing tick

Last week for Father's Day, my daughter/wife bought me a new pair of ringing pliers. Unfortunately, the three boxes I checked at Linacre contained only dead eggs and empty nests, so I didn't get chance to use them!

This morning I went out with my trainer to a farm in Sheffield and, despite a week of wind and rain, we managed to find a brood of Tree Sparrows and Swallows that were ready to ring. Both birds were great to ring, but especially the Swallows which were a ringing tick. How this little bird will make it to Africa in a few months time is anyone's guess!

Swallow pullus