Bird ringers who use mist nets in the UK are highly dependent on a suitable weather forecast. It can be too windy, too wet, too hot or too cold to safely trap birds. Consequently, a forecast drop in the wind strength for the first time in weeks saw me heading towards South Milton Ley for a dawn start. The Met Office were predicting a 20% chance of a brief shower in the morning. The reality was rather different, with light inconsequential rain from dawn for the next five hours. This gradually increased in strength until I was forced to furl the nets for 90 minutes in the middle of the morning.
A patch of blue sky to the west seemed to take an age to arrive. Despite this unplanned interruption 41 birds of 12 species were trapped including the first juvenile Chiffchaffs of the year. A male Cuckoo was hanging around the reedbed. Species processed included: 2 Blackbird, 2 Blackcap, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 7 Chiffchaff, 4 Dunnock, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 9 Reed Warbler, 5 Robin, 4 Sedge Warbler, 1 Swallow and 4 Wren.
The Early Worm 