Very large number of birds present for most of the day. Massive numbers early afternoon. Almost impossible to say how many of each species but a rough estimate would be :-
Swift - 1000 (min). Numbers fluctuating throughout the day but largest number early afternoon.
Swallow - 1500.
House Martin - 1000.
Sand Martin - 30+.
Ringing/Flick Netting totals were:- Swift 75, H Martin 76, Swallow 16 and Sand Martin 2. with 1 net!!
Several Raptors visiting on a regular basis. 4+ Sparrowhawk, 1 Peregrine, 1 Kestrel etc...
1 Yellow Wagtail, 4 Pied Wagtail, 2 M Pipits!, 10 B H Gull, 3 Oystercatcher, 1 un-identified "sandpiper" sized wader flew off beds at 10am.
Large numbers of birds on EBSW again today. Not as many as last saturday but still big numbers.
Birds present:-
400+ Swift
1000 Swallow
3-400 H Martin
Very few S Martin (20)
Very strong NE wind made flick netting very hard..
Ringing totals:- Swift 7, Swallow 39, H Martin 15.
Re-trapped a Male House Martin ringed here on 17th July 2011.
Other birds seen:- Several Sparrowhawks seen and they took at least 4 H Martins. Buzzard 1. 30+Crows. 10 B H Gull. Kingfisher 1. Mallard with 6 newly hatched chicks on a filter bed.
Would have been a lot better catch rate but for the strong wind. Great just to be amongst so many birds within a few feet, and watching the birds of prey coming through very regular trying to catch them!!
Quite a few birds on today in the rain. Mostly Swifts when we arrived but they seemed to drift away above the surrounding trees after an hour. H Martins and Swallows seemed to arrive in decent numbers after the Swifts left.
Birds present :-
300+ Swift
500+ Swallow
200 H Martin
20 Sand Martin.
1 Sparrowhawk. 6 B H Gull.
Catching the birds was rather difficult today as they didnt seem as low as usual. Very little wind perhaps let the flies rise higher up into the sky.
Ringing totals were:- Swift 16, Swallow 8, H Martin 3, Sand Martin 1.
