The Quest for Crests

This morning I met up with Chris and after yesterdays success we decided to go off in search of yet more crests, this time to the Wildgrounds at Gosport. Chris had seen a few there the other day, and as it was windy, setting nets amongst the dense holly seemed like a good plan. At the first site we had at least two Firecrests hanging around the net, but they just would not go in. I think they could see it moving in the wind. Our second site was set back in denser holly and quickly caught one Firecrest. This bird was much duller than those of the previous day, and the crown was principally coloured yellow, suggesting it to be a female. We continued to another couple of sites but did not see any other birds; however we know that there were at least three birds present so will try again. So currently seven Firecrests and counting, I wonder how many more are in the local area.

Firecrest - The Wildgrounds, Gosport

Firecrest - The Wildgrounds, Gosport

On returning home I was pleased to see that an unringed Marsh Tit was on the feeders in the garden. This is the first Marsh Tit I have seen in the garden for a couple of years, and the first unringed bird in the garden for three years at least. I know of one pair successfully breeding in the local area, but I suspect this territory is a bit too far from my garden, so hopefully this bird from a more local one.