Down but not out

I came back from Spurn feeling really good but was brought crashing down to earth earlier this week when we burgled. Arranging repairs and working out what had been stolen put paid to any thoughts of birding or ringing for much of the time, however, it didn't stop me filling up the feeders in the garden which have been getting emptied on a daily basis by a good numbers of Goldfinches and a few Greenfinches.

The forecast was good for ringing today ahead of a wet and very windy day tomorrow. I decided to put a 18ft net up in the garden rather than venture further afield as it would also allow me to do a few things around the house. Catching was steady and resulted in one of the best totals for the garden if not the best with a final tally of 53 birds. Goldfinches dominated the catch as expected with 36 new birds and 1 retrap. All but 4 of the Goldfinches were juveniles with the majority still in full juvenile plumage as per the photo below.

Juvenile Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) 14/09/13

Ringing totals for 14/09/13 with retraps in brackets,
Goldfinch 36 (1)
Greenfinch 6
Blue Tit 4 (1)
Coal Tit 1
Great Tit 1
Dunnock 1
Goldcrest 1
Collared Dove 1
Total 51 (2)