5th June 2015
Staff: DWE, JMY, MBR, EKP, TMJ, Alex Penn.
Weather: Sunny with a bit of wind.
Projects: Great Reed Warbler, Skylark, Crows.
Firstly, Alex Penn joined the team today as a Ringing Assistant, so welcome to him.
Skylark
Hay harvest was due to start this morning on the fields at Sörby where we have skylark plots. It ended up being delayed, however, so JMY spent some time observing the fields prior to the cut, to see how much skylark activity there was. The harvester machine rolled in at about 15.30, and EKP & JMY watched to see how the skylarks reacted, and how quickly predators such as gulls, crows and marsh harriers moved in as the ground became exposed.
Interesting to note that at least 3 separate skylarks were displaying within half an hour of the harvest machines departing- possibly trying to re-establish territories? The harvest will be completed in the coming days.
Crows
A frustrating time, particularly for DWE, as wet and windy weather has prevented us from accessing the crows’ nests in order to check activity and ring chicks. The bad weather abated today so he went out with EKP and found, as he expected, that some of the chicks had already fledged. They continue to visit remaining nests however, to check for signs of success or failure.
Great reed warbler
TMJ & MBR visited Sörbysjön, finding 2 new nests and a new male, and Rysjön, where a further 3 new nests were located.
JMY