gryllosblog   Gryllo's (aka Ian Lewis') blog. All things to do with travel, wildlife especially birds, history, architecture and anything else that interests me.

With rain throughout the night and drizzle at dawn, today was never going to be a great day for migrants. I had hoped that we would be able to catch many of the Goldfinches that have taken up residence in the maize field at Lytchett Bay but they largely seem to have moved on.

Paul, Shaun and I were joined by Sharon O’Reilly, another of the self-styled ‘Kevin’s Angels’, i.e. one of Kevin Sayer’s trainees. We caught a total of 46 birds including 27 Chiffchaffs, a late WIllow Warbler and regular fare such as Dunnocks, Robins and Chaffinches, all good practice for trainees.

Paul get-the-tape-on Moreton and Sharon

Willow Warbler (below) and Chiffchaff. Willows trapped recently have been more like Chiffchaffs in their plumage tones, but note how much further the primaries extend beyond the tertials in Willow Warbler, plus the more attenuated head.

 

You can tell the age of a Robin by the colour of the inside of the upper mandible. Who ever thought to look there in the first place!