We were ringing birds at Druridge this morning. It was the same day as the North-East Skinny Dip at the Country Park and we had the dippers 'on call' as we put our nets up and they went into to the sea - It must have been cold as the calls were all high-pitched!
On a day dominated by tits, we were very surprised to catch this in one of our mist nets.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMWIR_nd7jaWmvLmI_wKOebGlu2fbBoy4tc6OQUiF3dCUTzC4qGdpcLzfjfmoTW4kjjbW1nr1Gz4xCDg_IA0wOUwdgo6Fu3dna-CipLEXRqW9eYEyw54Q3Y4EoJY1IJ2Mlm0zacyELII8/s640/20180923-20180923-IMG_8305.jpg) |
Adult female barn owl |
Janet and I were extracting a robin when we heard a bird, which sounded like a woodpigeon, crashing through the bushes behind us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a bird hit the net a bit further along from where we stood, expecting it to be a woodpigeon, I was very surprised to see a barn owl in the net! It was quickly extracted and taken back to the car to be ringed.
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Sasha the trainee with the barn owl |
It was an adult (probably in it's third calendar year) and a female - you can tell this from the dark spots on the breast and flanks (this one is very spotty - they are variable). We've caught a few long-eared owls in mist nets at Druridge but never a barn owl.
Between 0630 and midday, we caught 33 birds, mostly tits, including a blue tit which we ringed as juvenile in September 2014, canny for a blue tit. We also controlled (caught a bird that had been ringed elsewhere) a robin and a blue tit. The blue tit will probably be local, but it will be interesting to see where the robin has come from.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3386OlCZMIOFvP_jlHZHOclubcJFMVq8W6UajRBgRIh6FsgRti2kyP4LBnQybQoDUhBbNlQhc-6YEcDQgKngqr6M0P40am6cFDPF9TPIfQMdx9JzU00_LUzw92eSPlayfGwqvY4vKopCQ/s640/20180923-20180923-IMG_8311.jpg) |
Controlled Robin |
We also caught our first goldcrest of the autumn, chiffchaff, whitethroat, blackcap, dunnock, and reed bunting.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIu_s3HKkEv_sJYsTyeQpnCEtn69QZ29g0H3yLeVZRXREoNhyphenhyphenUgFV1s_-3ONm_rghox7AklnsDQEY8CM8m3m06LzwmKlMdBAPpN8NY6VmmbsPiQy8-gKeoQEy2jwfPJijSq0fh8vrHXmJV/s640/20180923-20180923-IMG_8285.jpg) |
Common Whitethroat |
Between about 8 and 10 am there was steady stream of skylarks headed south but only single figures of meadow pipits. This kestrel was feeding nearby but I only managed to get 'arse-on' shots of it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxfJ5RkOS0YZ4qk1uJ13XBd_Dl3FKFA74UOHRC9lBfiHSNbJrYoS-BSjvDSDCbb063l0SngUVE4Qa7n5x2N8KH-k7uyTOou5w0rJ0DByL0djAe02GLppUKD9Ma9iPKV8aEn63YS3dd0qg/s640/20180923-20180923-_U8A0314.jpg) |
Kestrel - arse-on |
I went back down to the patch in the evening, prompted by some seawatching reports from elsewhere in the county. I arrived at 6pm and stayed until just before 7, leaving in time to catch The Archers on Radio 4. Seawatching totals from 1800-1850 were (all north)
Manx Shearwater 41
Pomarine Skua 1 adult
Velvet scoter 1 drake
Sooty Shearwater 3
Red-breasted Merganser 5 (south)
Sandwich tern 3
Wigeon 3
Gannet 200+
Shag 1
Cormorant 3
Guillemot 3
and 7 red-throated diver on the sea
By the time I left there were upwards of 3000 gulls on the beach between Druridge and Chibburn Mouth, mostly common and black-headed.
Just waiting for some easterlies now...
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