This morning I joined fellow ringer Terry Elborne at his ringing site on Canford Heath, a large block of heathland on the northern outskirts of Poole. Terry has been ringing here for the last few weeks and has been feeding the site. This clearly has been most productive, as we ringed 39 birds, mainly finches and tits.
A cold and misty dawn....
... a mist that persisted in the valley where we were ringing.
Ali rings a Great Tit whilst Terry does the paperwork.
Long-tailed Tit, perhaps the cutest bird in Britain.
The breeding plumage of the male Reed Bunting is obtained through abrasion not moult. A few brown-tipped feathers remain around the eyes and the lores which should abrade to black very soon.
We caught six Coal Tits this morning.
Greenfinch numbers have dropped recently due to Trichomonosis, a parasite disease, however numbers may have started to recover, there are still plenty on Canford Heath.
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