Another weekend at home and so another opportunity to set the net in the garden. It's been so mild and sunny that it really looks as though spring is springing. I'd been putting out apples all week and hoped that this may attract a few thrushes or something else - sure enough, I have noticed a lovely male Blackcap in the garden all week - would I be able to catch him?
Saturday morning was a little disappointing, with only three birds caught in total. However, one of these was a lovely male Goldcrest, aged as a 2nd year bird by the shape of the tail feathers and as a male by the presence of orange colouration in the crown feathers. I have these diminutive birds in the garden all year round and I strongly suspect that they nest in a tall fir tree in the garden - they've been singing away all week.
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| Male Goldcrest |
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| Male Blackcap |
Sunday morning (net still up as I write this) is slightly more productive - after a stand-off for most of the morning, Mr Blackcap finally met his match and flew into the net - a small price for a week's worth of apples! This bird was aged as an adult due to the broad and rounded shape of the tail feathers and the absence of any moult limit in the wings. The black crown clearly identifies the bird as male.
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| Male Greenfinch |
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| Female Greenfinch |
A late flurry of action resulted in a lovely pair of Greenfinches, a male bird which I couldn't conclusively age (no moult limit and an inconclusively-shaped tail) and a 2nd year female.
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