Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
Blue Tit come out on top this month, with Chiffchaff being knocked down to 5th place - they've held strong from March!. We have to go back to June 2019 with 364 birds to beat this months total of 260 birds ringed, a comparison with these totals and 2023 with 258 birds, reveals a drop in the Linnet abundance with 156 in 2019 and 108 in 2023 respectively. Both years (2019 and 2023) 16 Blue tits were ringed, this year appears to have been good for their young output and therefore contributing to this years increase in birds ringed. It's been a good month ringing here, with interesting highlights including Marsh Tit and Mistle Thrush (shown above) a malting female, both species infrequently occurring at Landguard.
We also ringed our first Ringed Plover chick after a spell of no success in the past few years as well as a juvenile Black Redstart - a nice treat showing they have indeed bred locally and maybe our bird singing on the Fort was not in vain!.