We- myself and Rich- were up early this morning after clearing a couple of rides in the garden yesterday. The nets were unfurled just after dawn, and it didn't take long before a mixed bag-well- bags, of garden bird was being processed. Rich's main aim was just to see where the best places to put the nets were, and both nets proved successful at first, with one near a bush full of feeders, and another guarding the approaches at the corner of the studio. The Sun soon began to glare, and in the slight breeze the nets began to shimmer as light spattered along their length, and we began to catch fewer and fewer birds.
Even this quick couple of hours revealed interesting data however- two of the Great Tits pulled from the net were birds previously ringed. The first one was one that we caught last summer when Gary, Lou and Ian came round, but it was the second bird that was more impressive. In December 2012 Rich and Helen visited and we put some nets up in the garden for the first time. One of the first birds caught and processed was Y811959- a young male Great Tit, and it was this bird we caught this morning, three and a half years later. It's always amazing to recover birds that have been ringed in far off places- proof of incredible endeavour that belies the fragile form- but it's just as satisfying to find out that my own garden's birds have flourished and continue to thrive in the long term, not just for a short stint- Stint! Temminck's Stint, of course!
