Ever Hopeful!

It is a while since the blog has started with - It was a cold  but beautifully sunny morning when the bird ringers arrived to put up the nets.  There were blue skies overhead and frost underfoot.

A thin covering of ice was seen over some of the ponds and raindrops had frozen on the pond leaves.

Even though the breeze was blowing across the lake from the moor, the brilliant autumn colours were still reflected in the lake.

The results from the day's ringing were a little strange in that there were no Siskin, Blackbird or Reed Bunting processed. (However one Reed Bunting did feed on the feeders outside the kitchen window!  Sure it was waving its wing at us and smiling!!)  Bullfinches, Greenfinches and Goldcrests were newly ringed.  In total 123 birds came through the ringing room.

Some nets were placed in the area that had been pollarded and coppiced yesterday, in the hope that Redwings would visit.   We waited patiently for the first Redwing to arrive in the ringing room.  Some of the nets were taken down, then one or two more and finally the last net round was carried out.  There were some nets missing.  These were the Redwing nets, left up just to give them a last chance to make an appearance, unfortunately to no avail.  Not a bird in the nets when they were finally taken down.  We will just have to try again on the next ringing day.

Thank you to everyone who helped today.

And finally it is a while since the blog ended with- It was cold and the frost was beginning to come down as moonlight lit the way down the access road as the bird ringers headed for home.