Halswell Quarry 30 Jan - Finally fitted in a session.

After a lengthy quiet period, mostly due to my absence on other missions, we had a session at the Quarry on Thursday. Although not a big catch, 19 birds was a reasonable number for this time of year.

House Sparrows dominated the total with 9 new and a couple of recaps, both banded in Oct 2018. Other species caught were 3 Chaffinch, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Dunnock and a Blackbird recapture.
We also had a look at a Welcome Swallow nest at a neighboring property which the previous evening had several large chicks in. Unfortunately by the time we got there they had fledged.

The Welcome Swallow nest the previous evening, probably several days too old to be successfully banded.

Photo by Rudd Kleinpastie.

When I got home after the session I had a phone call from Jacki who runs a bird rehab center from her home. She had a juvenile Pied Stilt that was due to be released and she would like it banded before release. After a trip across town the deed was done.

Jacki with the now banded Pied Stilt