At last some decent weather

Last Saturday (11th January) was almost calm by recent standards and with just two nets open 51 new birds and 32 retraps were caught at Mullock.
A good mixture included the usual mandatory blue tits but good numbers of new house sparrows and chaffinch (nearly all females) and a few blackbirds, robins, dunnocks and great tits but only a single greenfinch.  Sadly the lack of greenfinch is typical as their numbers have declined due to the trichomonosis  disease.
Of the retraps an blue tit first ringed as a juvenile in 2009 was a long lived record and as usual in the winter at feeding sites there were a number of retraps of birds from two or three years ago still together as a foraging group.
While we were ringing there was the noise of a pheasant shoot in the valley half a mile away and sadly a jay, ringed at Mullock in December 2009, was also shot.  Credit to the organiser for saving the ring and passing it on.

Skokholm - Accreditation as a Bird Observatory

The 44th BOC Annual General Meeting took place at Portland BO this weekend.

Richard Brown and Giselle Eagle the wardens, with Wendy James and myself representing the committee attended the meeting and the accreditation was awarded.
An enormous THANK YOU to all involved. Skokholm last held Bird Observatory status in 1976.

Richard Dobbins
On behalf of Skokholm Bird Observatory.