Not very ‘birdy’ but who doesn’t like a splash of colour as we enter a cold snap of weather. At several locations within our census area there are currently patches of these striking Butter Waxcaps, oh and a fabulous adult male Hen Harrier.
Photo(JH).
Our first day of under 20mph winds and no rain in over 6 weeks saw an exciting variety of migrants taking advantage of the favourable conditions.
7 Woodcocks and a Long eared Owl kicked off the day preceding over 130 birds ringed the pick of which were 4 Common/Mealy Redpolls, a rarity across the Channel Islands there have only been 2 previous records. A Richards Pipit on Longis Common topped of an excellent morning in the field.
Photo (JH) one of the Mealy Redpolls.
It was interesting to see a bat briefly at Braye Harbour late afternoon yesterday as the light fell away.
Many bats should be hibernating by now so this may be the last sighting locally this year, the weather has been so poor recently it’s not a complete surprise to see one out grabbing snacks to help it last through until March.
A first winter male Brambling was amongst the ringing this morning