First Ringing Day of the Year

Saturday, January 20th 2018

Eight trainee bird ringers took part in the first ringing day of January today at Foxglove Covert. Fourteen mist nets were put out just after 9.00 this morning at the start of a very successful day with over 200 birds being processed. As always, the activity attracted the attention of a number of visitors to the Field Centre who came to have a closer look at the birds and the ringing process.

While the day seemed to be dominated by large numbers of Titmice there were some scarcer species with Treecreeper, Reed Bunting, Wren, Robins and a Siskin among those in smaller numbers. What was noticable was the age of the birds; there was a 10 year-old Chaffinch, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Coal Tits all at 8 years old, and altogether 12 birds that were over 5 years old.

The female Great Spotted Woodpecker attracted a lot of attention from visiting families, many getting close to the birds, but this was one that people were happy to just watch from a distance!

The last birds were checked at around 4.00 this afternoon at the end of a very successful day. Many of the birds were ones that had been caught and ringed previously, but this does give us the chance to look at how the birds are faring and how long some of them can live.

(0) Comments:

There are no comments for this blog post yet. Why not start the discussion? - use the form below:

Back to Top

Help Support Foxglove

Friends of Foxglove

The Friends of Foxglove Covert is for those individuals, families and organisations who would like to support the reserve through an annual membership subscription. Friends receive a regular newsletter and invitations to attend our various activities and social events.

More Details

Upcoming Events

Reserve Access: Open

Wednesday 4th June 2025 |

Access is currently as normal and the reserve and field centre are open as usual.

June Wellbeing Wander

Friday 20th June 2025 | 2pm-3pm

Join us on a nature-based wellbeing walk around the reserve.

Having a sense of place and connectedness, being grounded is important for our general wellbeing and mental health. This is an invitation to pause and explore what being in nature can offer you.

Enjoy an afternoon of wellbeing starting with some mind awareness followed by a gentle walk where you get to listen, smell and watch what is around you and connect with any feelings which arise.

Bookings close 19th June.

For more information and to book your place, visit Foxglove Covert's Eventbrite page: foxglovecovertlnr.eventbrite.com

VIEW ALL EVENTS