5th April 2015

Although the weather has improved it has thrown another spanner in the works in the form of fog. I went to Crawford yesterday morning and it was grey to say the least. Summer visitors are still thin on the ground but I have been keeping the nyger feeders going there in the hope of a few Redpolls joining the Goldfinches so it was the best option for ringing some birds. I put a couple of nets up as the fog wasn't too thick and more importantly wasn't condensing on the vegetation so wouldn't be a problem on the nets; however the generally grey conditions still made them that bit more visible. A few Goldfinches and a couple of Lesser Redpolls came to the feeders but they all managed to avoid the nets. After a couple of hours and with the fog only lifting slowly I packed up having ringed just 3 birds - 2 Yellowhammers and 1 Dunnock.

A foggy view over the farmland at Crawford yesterday morning.

Male and female Yellowhammers. When you see a pair like this it is hard to believe that some can be difficult to sex.

Male and female Yellowhammers.

The sun came out in the afternoon so I went to have a look at a Nuthatch nest that my son had found the day before. The tree the birds are nesting in is close to a path so they are accustomed to people passing by and I thought that may give me a chance to get some photographs. I wasn't disappointed and the female returned to work on the nest with us standing about 12 metres away.

The birds have picked a natural cavity and at first glance didn't appear to have narrowed the entrance with mud as they usually do.

When the bird went inside I could see she had plastered it up with mud on the inside and had only left a small hole which she really had to squeeze through to get into the nest chamber. The birds wing stretched out over her back as she forced her way in.

Taking a peek while she adds a bit more mud to the already tight entrance to the nesting chamber. There is quite a wall of mud in there.

The bird then squeezed its way out shutting its eyes in the process.

Made it.