Yesterday saw the first mist netting session at Linacre since April with 3 members, including me, from Sorby Breck Ringing Group. To say it was quiet would be an understatement, with just 10 birds of 5 species ringed, but at least this consisted of 3 species of warbler, including a "year tick" .
The first bird out of the nets was the "year tick" - a
Garden Warbler! Not only was this my first record of this species this year, but it was also a juvenile bird, proving breeding at Linacre. The next couple of birds were
Chaffinch (re-trapped adult) and
Nuthatch (new, juvenile bird), and then, about half an hour later, we caught a couple of
Blackcaps (both adults, 1 new and 1 a re-trap) and a new juvenile
Chiffchaff. The last four birds of the morning were a
Blue Tit (new juvenile),
Chaffinch (new juvenile), and 2 more
Blackcaps ( new, adult birds).
After the ringing, we spent some time clearing some of the vegetation from the net rides, and managed to record a few insects, including
Red-tailed,
White-tailed and
Tree Bumblebees, a
Small Skipper, a
Bloodvein moth and a
Large Red Damselfly, my first record of this species at Linacre. The damselfly, a female, was found resting on the
Yellow Flag Irises in a very small pond on the ringing site.
Bloodvein
Large Red Damselfly
Other birds seen around the ringing site included a singing male Whitethroat (first Linacre record of 2016), 3 Swifts, 2 Swallows, and a Mistle Thrush mobbing a hunting Kestrel.
