Day 14 - Frosts in August and a possible digiscoping prize

The day started with the opening team performing a familiar ritual some three months early by scraping windscreens before setting off for a day at the office. According to our new friends parked up in their motor home by the church the temperature had hit 0 degrees at 23.00 last night and the weather at 04.00 this morning was cold and sunny.

Accordingly not much was moving until a little later and so there was a slow start to the morning's ringing. 

Birding event of the day was a lengthy viewing of a young Gyr Falcon. It came in over Smelly Gully slow and low like a Lancaster bomber hired for a village fete fly-by before heading out to the small island that the gulls favour at high tide. After sitting obligingly for us for a while it headed over to play with some hooded crows and so we were treated to an exciting, if inept, hunting display before it tired and headed over to the promentary to sit before moving on. Using some Heath-Robinson technology Shaun managed to capture this shot through the scope. If Birdwatching magazine or BBC Wildlife would like to contact us to negotiate the rights to the image please contact Brewood Ringers in the first instance and quote GYR - if you're thinking less than five figures don't even bother:

We also experienced some intense media coverage today as Tormod arrived with both a print and a radio journalist. The birds were obliging by jumping into the nets after a lull for a tour of the long line and opening the wader nets after high tide also helped to provide plenty of photo opportunities for them. On that front we picked up more Ringed Plover than usual including a really nice example of an adult male. Thanks should also go to Jane for being interviewed at a time when the rest of the ringing team found it essential to go and stand ankle deep by the sewage outlet or perform bag counts.

With the wader nets doing slow but steady business the other nets were furled and sleep was sought whilst Stuart ran his own RAS for the afternoon fuelled only by a cheese sandwich and flask of tea (that he sadly overlooked until closing time).

It turned out to be a long ringing day today and various bodies are currently sleeping whilst George curries the last of the cod and crab - tomorrow we can have something else! We are due a change of wind direction tomorrow to a south easterly so sound systems are being primed for all sorts - though the playlist is currently under wraps.

Shaun sums up the mood in a picturesque fashion

Due to the slightly strange working pattern the detailed summary is still being compiled so will be posted later or as soon as possible tomorrow but the quick summary is c.144 new birds with Bluethroats tailing off but Willow Warblers and Redpoll still showing strongly.