Woughton Orchard Demonstration

 On Saturday 9th May Northants Ringing Group members, led by Kenny Cramer, gave a demonstration at Woughton Orchard.

The group normally participates in the Orchard Apple Day in the autumn, when thrushes are more abundant, feeding on the windfalls but this year a Spring Fair was also held.

The narrative below, and the pictures, have been supplied by Kenny Cramer.

Despite the rubbish forecast earlier in the week, we were treated to a gloriously warm and sunny day, with the only slight complaint being the moderate breeze which kept the nets moving a bit. (We ringers are never satisfied!!!)

We arrived at the luxurious time of 10:30am and got busy setting nets, or at least, the only nets I actually remembered to bring which were the two for The Beast. While Jasper dutifully drove back to the house to get the rest of the nets, I took the team on a short tour of the site, and we were treated to a brief glimpse of the family of very small fox cubs that have been lurking around the bottom one of the net rides. We then set about erecting the canopy net and no sooner had we left it, it started catching birds. By this time Jasper got back with the rest of the nets and the next hour was a blur of setting up and extraction. After this small set back, we sat down with our first handful of birds, a good hour before the event was due to open to the public. Before long the punters started to trickle through, and the birds pretty much did the same.

Group members relax between net rounds.

 By the end we had amassed a total of 35 birds of 11 species, with just 6 retraps from previous years. Unsurprisingly tits dominated the day, but in amongst them was a long-tailed tit originally ringed in 2022, making it at least 4 years old. Greenfinches were also present in good numbers with 6 birds receiving rings, the first we have encountered here since 2022, and 3 of which were this year's youngsters - the first we have seen. A magpie was a feisty addition to the day (sadly before we had any spectators to show its beautiful iridescent plumage to), and having only had one previous blackcap in the orchard, it was nice to add three more to the total.

Star birds of the day were a garden warbler and a lesser whitethroat, both new species for the site. We should probably also give an honourable mention to the parakeets for NOT going in the nets!

 

Lesser Whitethroat.

Overall, it was a rather nice, relaxing afternoon without too many birds, or too many people, and the people we did encounter seemed genuinely engaged and fascinated by the process.

 

Engaging with some of the younger visitors.

Species caught (figures in brackets denote Retraps – birds ringed previously).

Great Tit 5 Blackcap 3 Blue Tit 8 (3) Magpie 1 Greenfinch 6 Long-tailed Tit (2)
Lesser Whitethroat 1 Dunnock (1) Garden Warbler 1 Blackbird 1