A Greenfinch that was caught in my garden in Hala, Lancaster on 9th November 2008 had been ringed at Spurn Point, Humberside nineteen days earlier.
Spurn Point is a well known staging post for birds migrating across the North Sea from Scandanavia and it is tempting to think that this bird might be one of the small proportion of wintering Greenfinch that come from Norway. To put it in perspective, over 1.5 million Greenfinch have been ringed in Britain but only 141 have made it here from other countries - so its a small, but tantalising, possibility that this is the case.
However, unless it goes back to Norway and is caught there this year (or later) there is no way of knowing for sure. Who knows? The birds in your garden might also be visitors from outside the area!
Paul Cammack
No comments:
Post a Comment