More Chicks

Chicks come in all shapes and sizes.  The Willow Warbler chicks ringed yesterday weigh less than 10g.  At the other end of the scale are the Buzzards who will weigh about 800g when they are ready to fledge. 

A Buzzard was seen soaring and calling over the reserve in recent days, we wonder if it is 'our' Buzzard that was ringed earlier in the year. 

 As has already been mentioned on the blog, Kestrel numbers are declining, so it was good to see these young chicks looking healthy and well fed. 

The training area is good for waders and this Oystercatcher was caught and ringed. Already it has its black and white markings and its long red beak, which it uses to hunt for invertebrates in the mud.

Our bird ringers face midges, nettles, brambles and steep hills in order to ring chicks.  The data collected by our ringers and those across the country is vital and will be sent to the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) who are then able to report on the breeding success or failure of bird populations.