New Faces, New Species

Today I made the journey up to Barry Mill near Dundee to meet up with some of the members of The Tay Ringing Group for one of their social gatherings. This was my first time meeting the group and it was great to finally met many of the ringers I have been emailing for a while.

The morning was spent chatting away, getting to know new people and of course some light ringing. There was a nice mix of species during the morning including: Dunnock, Coal Tit, Robin, House Sparrow, Great Tit and of course plenty of Blue Tits!

Coal Tit

A personal highlight of the morning was getting to ring my first Woodpigeon, a species I have been wanting to get my hands on for while. So many times I have seen them bounce out of nets or avoid them at the last second...not today!

At last a Woody!

Another highlight was witnessing a huge skein of Pink-footed Geese flying over the site, the biggest flock I have seen this winter by far!

Pinkies!

I want to say a big thank you to The Tay Ringing Group for being so welcoming and especially to David Douglas for inviting me along.