New species for Linacre.

Four hours of ringing at Linacre this morning resulted in a total of 61 birds of 11 species. On any day this would have been more than satisfactory. However, with one of those species being Meadow Pipit ( a new species for Linacre and ringing tick for me), I was a very happy person indeed.

The morning started well when one of the first birds out of the net was a juvenile Chiffchaff. This was quickly followed by several Blue and Great Tits, a Robin, a Nuthatch and a Wren. Other birds including a Blackbird, a couple of juvenile Goldfinch, a Chaffinch and a Coal Tit soon followed. The highlight of the morning, however, was the arrival of not one ...not two.... but SIX Meadow Pipits. All the birds were identified as juveniles and, as mentioned before, were a new species for Linacre and a ringing tick for me! Unfortunately, no photos, as guess what, I'd left my camera at home! Thanks a lot to Dave, for putting the nets in the correct place.

Other birds noted during the morning were: Sparrowhawk x 1, Kestrel x 1 (very near the nest box, that they've never used), Common Buzzard x 2, House Martin x 2, Swallow x 2 and Great-spotted Woodpecker.

As the weather was really warm and sunny there were several insects about including a 7 spot Ladybird, 2 Red Admirals, 2 Small Tortoiseshells, 1 Small Copper, 1 Meadow Brown and a Comma, my first of the year.

Comma

All in all an excellent start to the weekend.