A trio of Woodpeckers

08/09/17

Another day, and another trio of Woodpeckers!

As well as our 6^th Three-toed of the trip (a 2^nd juvenile), also caught today were 2 ‘northern’ Great Spotted Woodpeckers. As with the majority of the woodpeckers caught this trip, they were again found in the ‘Woodland’ net, among the birch scrub. This was yet another new species for the trip, and made a total of 8 Woodpeckers caught this trip. A very good total!

The most numerous species of the day proved to be Common Redpoll, with 11 caught and ringed. This included a very long winged and heavy billed bird. Could this potentially be a holboellii?

Bluethroat numbers have dropped off now, with only small numbers being seen around the ringing site. This resulted in only 2 new birds, with a retrap from a few days ago.

A calm, cloudy morning proved good for numbers with the first 2 rounds producing almost all of the mornings catch, however once the sun came out, the wind picked up and the birds stopped moving.

Totals from today:

Species	Totals
Common Redpoll	11
Reed bunting	4
Willow Warbler	4+1
Meadow Pipit	3
Bluethroat	2 +1
White Wagtail	2
Great Spotted Woodpecker	2
Three-toed Woodpecker	1
	29+2

Last night saw a great display from the aurora borealis, with many of the team enjoying the lights until late in the evening:

Today marked our last morning ringing at Nyrud, with us starting the long drive north to Vardø

 along the Varangerfyord tomorrow morning, following a short session at our Vaggatem site.