A hot and sunny day at Walsey today.  It was a really quiet morning ringing, unfortunately the NW wind was a bit stronger than forecast. I put up the most sheltered nets but just didn’t have much luck today catching any big numbers with only 4 birds caught – 1 Blackcap, 1 Wren, 1 Greenfinch and 1 Dunnock in a few hours of trying all morning. All were juveniles apart from the Dunnock. This is how it goes sometimes and the sun/wind certainly doesn’t help and makes the net more obvious to the birds so they’re more likely to actively avoid the net. I shut up the nets by lunchtime and focussed on some habitat management (keeping the paths and net rides clear of vegetation), everything grows very quickly at Walsey at this time of year!

When I was putting up one of the nets this morning a Spoonbill flew right overhead before landing on Snipe’s Marsh where it stayed and fed for quite a while. There was also a Great White Egret, 2 Little Egret and a Grey Heron later in the day on Snipes Marsh. Not many places where you can have such great views of these 4 species all together!

There was a Green Sandpiper on Snipe’s Marsh this morning and again in the afternoon, the low rainfall has meant the water levels on Snipe’s Marsh are a bit low, but leaving some nice exposed muddy edges for the birds. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was coming to the feeder this morning. The Bee Wolfs were busy bringing in prey all day to their little nest holes just outside the bunker.

Spoonbill at Walsey