The ringing this morning of three new Bearded Tits makes 101 for the year, only one to go to equal last years record.
We consider that all of these are this years birds partly because 99% of our adult birds are already ringed (This year we have caught 70 adults and only one was un-ringed). Also using moult and eye colour we can allocate most birds to early or late broods. Of the three caught this morning two had almost completed their moult and had pale eyes. Our data suggests that they fledged probably around mid August. It has been a good year for late broods and there are probably quite a few birds yet to ring.
Besides the Bearded Tits we also caught the third Cetti's Warbler of the autumn. Cetti's are an increasing winter visitors to Leighton Moss. They have yet to breed although one of the birds caught this autumn was first ringed in September 2009.At least two other birds were singing this morning elsewhere on the Moss
John
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