Army Ornithological SocietyGibraltar Ringer 8
A totally mixed day today with some great catches and a disaster. As seen by the opening photo, we managed to net an Ortolan Bunting. These are hardly ever seen on Gibraltar and if they turn up any year, it is only in ones or twos. A great bird but I spent ages ensuring that, as a first year bird, I hadn't confused it with Cretzschmar's or Little or a host of others. Satisfied, it was ringed, biometrics taken and quickly photographed. According to Mark, it was a 'Twitter bird'. This apparently means that I have to be indoctrinated into 'social media' before he leaves on Saturday. I can't wait.
The Ortolan unfortunately knocked a very nice Whitethroat into second place. As the first of the trip, it again had to be looked at carefully but was a welcome addition to our list. A total of 63 birds ringed today and would have been more if a feral cat had not got into the nets. Shades of early Ascension days and just as distressing to see the damage that they can do. Suffice to say that a trap is out and the wardens warned.
Last point - has anyone seen John Hughes? Meant to be visiting us but we have no contact information.
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