Hi all,
Reports of an impressive fall of migrants at Portland Bill during the week gave us some hope of an influx of new birds and perhaps something a little bit more unusual. As the day unfolded, it started to look like we might have somewhat of a "vanilla" session but things started to improve as the early morning mist began to lift.
27 birds of 7 species were processed, 17 of which were newly ringed. Reed warblers made up the bulk of the catch with 14 birds handled including 9 new individuals and a retrap of a bird originally ringed as an adult in 2016, making it at least 6 years old. Not a bad age but still some way from the longevity record of almost 13 years! Also notable was a control of a bird ringed elsewhere in the UK.
Other warblers included 4 blackcap, 2 sedge warblers and 2 chiffchaffs. A brief hail shower threatened to curtail the proceedings but it moved through and we soldiered on regardless.
We saved the best for last with the final bird of the day ironically turning out to be our first cuckoo of the year. This stunning male was even more impressive as he turned out to be a retrap, and not just any retrap.... This was DT04157, which was the first ever cuckoo we ringed at Linford back in May 2017. He was an adult bird then, having been hatched at least two years prior, making him at least 6 years old. The current longevity record for cuckoo is just under 7 years so let's keep everything crossed that he makes it back to Linford again next year!
Also seen around the reserve were approx 12 swift, 2 snipe, a yellow wagtail, and a hobby.
