Wildlife Wednesday Bird Ringing

This morning, at our Wildlife Wednesday bird ringing demo, Richard, our ringer, caught a sparrowhawk in the mist net.

Richard with the sparrowhawk

It was a male bird, so much smaller than a female sparrowhawk.  He was in the middle of molting his feathers so we saw the difference between the new, brighter feathers and the older, dull ones.  After he was measured, weighed and ringed he was then set free again.  He was a beautiful bird with sharp talons and beak, and fierce eyes.

The bird ringing sessions have been successful, attracting lots of visitors who get to see the birds close up, and learn about birds and ringing.  One of the things that we have found out during the bird ringing sessions is that there are 24 different robins feeding in the woodlands behind the stable block!  Without carrying out the ringing sessions, we would never have guessed that there were so many robins around there.  We hope to carry on the sessions in the next school holidays.