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Showing posts from August, 2015

Bird Ringing

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Yesterday I went bird ringing at North River in Horsham. It was the last session for this year and it turned out to be a good one! We caught lots of Wrens and Blackcaps as well as a few feisty Blue Tits. My highlight was catching a young Kingfisher which I was really excited about as it is my favourite bird. It was a surprise as we didn't even hear them calling! Here is some photos: Me and Kingfisher As well as that on the last round we caught a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Me and Great Spotted Woodpecker Thanks for reading!

Ringing

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Yesterday I went bird ringing at North River (Horsham). We got there at about 8:30 and it was very sunny. I was able to ring my first bird which was a..... Great Tit!  As I have been a few times now I am getting used to handling the birds (although it still feels a bit strange.) The second bird I was able to ring was a chiffchaff, I found that one a bit harder as they are very small although it didn't move around like the Great Tit! We also caught quite a few blackcaps as well as a Robin and a few retraps. My highlight was a Green Woodpecker that was caught that I was able to hold. It looked very hard to ring as it wouldn't keep still. Not great photos as they were taken on my mum's phone!  Other species I saw whilst there was 2 Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, lots of House Martins, Feral Pigeon and Robin.

Warnham Nature Reserve

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Yesterday I went to Warnham Nature Reserve As it was sunny and warm there were many insects and butterflies around such as Common Blues, Skippers, Meadow Browns and Peacocks. Here are a couple of photos I took of the common blue although one of them looked a bit battered: Common Blue Underwing Common Blue A Cricket also made an appearance as it posed to have its photo taken. Cricket The feeders were quiet, with only 6 species appearing- Robin, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch and Wood Pigeon. Although in the hide that looks over the lake it was a bit busier with 9 species turning up. There was a pair of Mute Swans, Mallard as usual, Tufted Duck as well as 4 Grey Heron (2 were fishing) and Coot. There was also a Little Grebe and a Great Crested Grebe. In the distant reeds I could see a Reed Warbler flitting around. My highlight were a juvenile and male Kingfisher that kept flying around the lake, landing on a perch and then diving for fish. The juvenile

A Wildlife-filled weekend

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This weekend I went to Chesworth Farm and I also went bird ringing at Leith Hill. Just before you start to read what I have been up to this weekend I would like to ask a quick favour. The other day I found out about the BBC Wildlife Blogger Awards.This is for people that have blogged about their passion about wildlife. This is the first awards I have entered as my blog is relatively new. If you would like to choose me simply follow these instructions from the BBC Wildlife website:   You can nominate your favourite blog in categories one to seven by emailing the name of the blog, the name of the blogger (if you know it) and the category name and number to us at  wildlifemagazine@immediate.co.uk  using the subject line ‘ BBC Wildlife Blogger Awards nomination’. The categories I would be entered into is  Best young blogger (Local Patch Reporter) or  Best wildlife photography blogger (Local Patch Reporter).     On Saturday I visited Chesworth Farm in Horsham mainly to photograph

Bird Ringing

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Today I went bird ringing at North River (in Horsham.)  Arriving at 8:30 we were lucky with the weather as the last few weekends have been horrible.  although it was a bit cold when we got there. We caught quite a few retraps such as Dunnocks and Treecreeper, with these I could practice handling the birds themselves using the ringer's grip and photo grip. Me and Treecreeper Other birds that were caught were Songthrush, Wren and Blackbird. Me and Blackbird I can't wait to learn even more about bird ringing! Whilst there I saw an adult and calling juvenile Buzzard, heard the call of the Stock dove, heard and saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker and saw a Sparrowhawk being mobbed by House Martins!