We have had a couple of attempts at doing some banding in the last few days but banded very few birds. We had a couple of Kingfisher nests under observation but unfortunately due to other commitments we were unable to get any of the chicks banded. One nest was in a willow tree and the hole entrance was too small to gain access. The other was in a bank, the chicks were there the day before we attempted to band them but they were gone when we went to band them.
This morning (Wednesday) we set nets up at a new site at the Quaifes Rd Wetland where there were a number of small finches feeding. Although conditions were ideal when we arrived by the time we had nets up the sun had come out for the first time in a week and the nets were very visible. We ended up catching only 3 birds - one each of Goldfinch, Silvereye and Blackbird. The Blackbird was in the process of moulting its primary feathers.
On Monday I spent the morning putting up nest boxes in the Halswell Quarry area with the hope of attracting Little Owls. Time will tell if we are successful.
