Monday, January 19, 2015

Something to start with

A new year started some days ago, and I have to say that it has been a nice beggining for me, even I've been most of the time studying...

First of all, I want to emphasize something I've just realised: this is my post number 101!
So thanks to every reader I've got during this time, I hope you found and continue finding interesting things in this blog!

As I was saying, I've been in the field just a few days during last weeks, but I reckon I've got very nice times!

One of the firsts ringing days of the year I went to try to catch Bullfinches in the Pyrenees, but we finally failed. Nonetheless, we got some 'mountain stuff', like these two Goldcrests (Regulus regulus).


Also, two first-year Tits, a Coal Tit (Periparus ater) and Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus).

Coal Tit. EURING 5, with 3 OGCs.
Crested Tit. EURING 5, with 1 OGC.
Back to my local patches, I'm still working on Reed Bunting's (Emberiza schoeniclus) roosting. It seems like a nice winter for them in this area.


Last winter I was also ringing some Meadow Pipits (Anthus pratensis), and this year we decided to do it again. It was a nice surprise when we caught the firsts 3 of the winter, all of them retraps! Two from last year and one from November 2014. I think we don't have many information about winter fidelity in this species, so it was really nice! And even more interesting because last year I only ringed 8 birds... We'll keep on catching them!
First bird, from last winter!
Adult (EURING 6)
The other bird from January 2014
The best stuff came just a few days ago, when I joined a ringing morning in Abrera, with some good ringers and better friends. We trapped a very nice Redwing (Turdus iliacus), a species that, for some weird reasons, I had never got in hand!


As a nice 'first for me', it waas an adult (EURING 6). And a very bird bird indeed, but still a nominate iliacus. (No, we have never seen a coburni in Catalonia... yet)


As I was saying, I've started the year with a few but intense field journeys. One of the bests moments was this Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) singing in one of the lasts territories close to my place.


I kind of feel that this is gonna be a very very nice year. Let's see...

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