Throughout the whole of January I haven't been able to get out with Steve, as he has been very busy with work and as I have been busy at university with various reports and exams.. This morning, along with Rachel, Ian and Zac, we had a session over at Caernarfon netting Arthur's large feeders in his garden. The purpose of this visit was to do some valuable training with myself and Ian; as well as to let Zac have his first ringing 'lesson' with Steve as he has started to train to ring birds with us..To see Zac's account of his first bird ringing 'lesson', visit:- http://zacswildlifeblog.blogspot.com/
We set 3 other nets in other different habitats behind the farmhouse, just to add a bit of variety to the session as it would be mostly dominated by tits.. Once we were all organised and our ringing station set up, it was time for our first net-round of the morning. At least 40 birds present, mostly Blue and Great tits, so it was good to brush up on ageing tits..
Throughout the morning we caught just under 150 birds, mainly tits but with the odd Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Coal tit. I suppose the best birds have to be 10+ Bullfinch and a Great-Spotted Woodpecker..
If that wasn't enough to tire me out, a game of badminton shortly after once getting back into Bangor sure did...There won't be any ringing news until next weekend when it is our last SCAN weekend this winter, although there is a chance of cannon-netting Wigeon and Shelduck in Bangor Harbour at the start of this week so I will keep you updated on this..
Other news that brightened up my day was a most welcome chat with Steve.. Once the spring is upon us and and I have found some open-nest pulli, I shall be applying for my pullus endorsement with Steve, ready for the 2012 season.. Stage 1 complete.. I can't wait!
Many thanks to Steve and Rachel for a great session this morning and to Arthur and his wife for supplying us with coffee, tea and biscuits throughout the morning, even though it was -8..
Little Egret photo from BTO Website 
After having my worst train journey imaginable, I finally reached Newton-Le-Willows after 3 and half hours worth of travelling. This route normally takes me 1 and a half hours but with a 30 minute delay at Bangor, one of the carriages out of order for some stupid reason, 100+ people crammed into 1 carriage, people and luggage packed tightly, a delay at Llandudno Junction and an argument with the the guard on the train as I was astonished at the ridiculously poor service they had provided - it was a relief to get off the train, albeit a few hours late!
Throughout the morning, Bramblings were calling all around us, perching in the nearby scrub at the back of the garden, but only 2 brave individuals ventured onto the ground, which managed to evade capture.
Throughout the morning we were greeted with 2 surprises. First was a Mealy Redpoll that flew in with a flock of Lesser Redpoll and ended up in our mist net. This species was only the 5th record for Kane's ringing group! A much larger bird in the hand than seen in the field, with alot more white, bulkier appearance and an overall clean look to the bird. Also a new species to see in the hand.. The second surprise was a control Lesser Redpoll, which was ringed by Kane last winter at his Shakerley feeding station. For more informaton, see 
Our first session here resulted in a Great-spotted Woodpecker just missing our net, but this time he flew straight in and livened up the morning even more. This bird was a juvenile male {euring age code 5}. 
So far this year, I have not managed to get out birding, which is due to other, more important commitments. Finishing my last exam last Thursday was a relief and so with all projects, reports and exams completed - my weekend soon became rather busy.
Birchwood Pool was virtually deprived of gulls, however when nearing Pumphouse Pool, the lake was completely covered with roosting gulls. Surely we would pick something scarce out here? Dissapointingly, all we could find were the 5 common species of gulls and not a single Yellow-Legged or Caspian Gull.. Several metal-ringed Black-Headed and Herring gulls were in evidence but impossible to read at that distance.
A quick stop at Shotwick Fields to check on the large swan flock that was in residence here, revealed at least 50 Bewick's and 30 Whooper swans. A larger flock resided at the far end of the field, but these were too distant to confirm their I.D.
A grand total of 3724 new birds including 100 pulli. A satisfying total of 415 re-traps and recoveries. The overall total stands at 4139 birds caught during 2010. Hopefully we will try and beat this total this year - wait and see..
A massive thanks to Steve and Rachel for training me throughout the whole of 2010 and here's to a hugely successful years worth of ringing. Not forgetting our wader and seabird totals - which probably brings our overall total for 2010 to around the 6,000 birds mark!! If I receive any more ringing totals from Steve, I shall post them as soon as I can. Absolutely fantastic!!
In total, 49 birds were caught consisting of 35 Common gull and 14 Black-headed gulls.
When we were ringing in Ireland, we needed to obtain an Irish ringing permit, as well as obtaining permission from the local police -'garda', just incase there were any reports of 4 guys catching gulls down in the harbour; as well as the harbour master.
A great trip was had by all, including the gulls. The Irish music, warming atmosphere and many a pint of Guiness made the trip all worthwhile. Except our flight home, which is what we can only say as being 'eventful'.
Catching and Ringing Tufted Duck and Coot on Thursday was great stuff, but to catch as many birds as we did on Friday was truely magical! Early on Friday morning, myself and Kane met up with Steve Christmas where we were to net a new ringing site. Kane and Steve had been contacted by another ringer in the area to inform them about the large numbers of Lesser Redpoll that had been regularly frequenting Michael and Mary's garden.. This morning turned out to be a great success. With only a short drive to the site, we set up a 30ft net in the garden and waited in the comfort of a warm lounge, drinking mugs of coffee and tea whilst watching Redpolls descend to the feeders.. I couldn't have thought of a better way to end 2010's ringing - Superb stuff.
Throughout the morning we managed to catch a total of 84 birds including 37 Lesser Redpoll.
The Collard Dove that was caught during the morning was more than welcome. I always feel that getting the opportunity to ring and process a new species is good preparation for when I recieve my C Permit.
Many thanks to Michael and Mary for letting us ring in their garden and for their cups of tea and coffee and to Steve and Kane for letting me help out during the morning.
Over the past few years, I have realised that birding has become one of life's essentials and without birds, my life wouldn't be the same as to what it is now. Yearlisting has also been a favourite challenge in recent years and in 2008 I had a go and set myself a target to see 240 species of birds in the UK. In 2009, the previous years total was broken, only by a few birds.. Never in a million years did I think that I could smash that record but after travelling hundreds of miles by any available transport, walking miles upon miles all across the UK, I am pleased to say that this year has been my best birding year ever! On December 31st 2010, I totalled up my yearlist, resulting in 271 species seen in 2010 without being able to drive. This list doesn't mean anything in real life, it's just a personal interest that I have.. However, now that 2011 has arrived, yearlisting and twitching has been binned and ringing has taken priority..
White-tailed Eagle - {Digiscoped with Nikon Coolpix P5100 Digital Camera on the Isle of Mull
After finishing university for the christmas break, I was hopeful to earn myself some cash, working at my local farmshop for a week or so, but unfortunately this wasn't to be the case. The week or so running upto christmas day, I was extremely ill having caught the flu and a severe ear infection, shortly followd by a cough and a cold - I was house-bound for what seemed to be a long period of time. I have never been so ill in my life!
During the christmas break, there was no way I was going out birding as the thought of getting ill again in this weather was not an option.. Although, glancing out one morning onto our small berry bush, a new species for the garden sat gorging themselves on the berries.. A total of 5 Redwings.. 
Other birding at the end of 2010 consisted of short trip to RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh in search of the Lapland Bunting which had been in residence for a week with a large mixed flock of finches, but to no avail. Although 40 Bramblings and 2 Ringtail Hen Harriers was well worth venturing out for.. The out marsh looked like a barren landscape, covered in snow and ice.