Ringing Report 4 July 2025

The weather was still and humid, it quickly warmed up. Again, this session was with six nets for the early morning.

The predominant birds were Great Tits and Blue Tits. The numbers of young Great Tits being caught is much higher than all other years when birds have been ringed on this site. This, in spite of there being more failures with the nest boxes and only two young fledging on the Island. Has the death of most of the Ivy and Elder had a detrimental effect on the Island Great Tits? The prolonged floods have certainly taken away a major food plant and a refuge for the insects on which this species depends. Elsewhere seems to have fared better.

We were able to see a Kingfisher on the river and a Sparrowhawk being mobbed by a group of Swallows. On the Island there was an abundance of butterflies, particularly Comma, Red Admiral and Peacock. Numerous small blue damselflies were seen as were Brown Hawkers.