Chris and I went down to
Steve Dudley's garden with the aim of trapping and colour-ringing some House and
Tree Sparrows. Steve had counted a maximum of nine
Treeps in the garden at any one time, so it was a bit of a surprise to catch 13! Over the next few weeks, he counted another nine which had escaped the nets, making a total of at least 22 individuals.
The
House and
Tree Sparrows we caught were fitted with a standard
BTO metal ring on the right leg, and a red plastic ring on the left, as part of a research project into sparrows in the Fens. Hopefully we'll be able to do a return visit in the autumn when there are plenty of juveniles in the garden.
Other birds caught included
Song Thrush,
Reed Bunting,
Yellowhammer,
Chaffinch (at least one of which was a big, long-winged bird of continental origin) and
Dunnock. It was very interesting to see ringing in an entirely different habitat and very nice not to have to wear wellies/waterproof trousers/waxed jacket...
