Bank holiday birding
Ringing at Knepp On Sunday I got up early, at 4:45, to go to Knepp estate for some ringing. After getting a lift with James McCulloch we arrived and walked to the site which was mainly scrub. The mist nets had already been set up and we could see lots and lots of birds in one of the nets. On the first net round we had a grasshopper warbler, a lifer for me which I wasn't expecting! Although I didn't get to ring it, it was amazing to see such a elusive bird so close up and be able to have a look at it in the hand. Grasshopper Warbler We also caught two linnet, lots of whitethroat and lesser whitethroat. On the next net round a big flock of blue, great and long-tailed tit flew into one of the nets and after a lot of extracting we started to ring them all. Quite a few willow warblers and chiffchaffs were also caught. On one of the last net rounds it was nice to be able to ring a sedge warbler, my first of the year. Sedge Warbler Later on in the morning a grou...