The icing on the (birthday) cake

I toyed with the idea of cycling to our ringing site on Sunday morning in case we caught a Common Redpoll but bailed out and took the car when I saw the weather forecast. I was expecting the session to be over within an hour or two of starting, if it started at all, but in the end we managed 4 hours before the rain closed in. And we caught something a wee bit better than a Common Redpoll!:

Photos courtesy of Gavin Siriwardena

The ringing site is in a private garden so when the owner reported that the bird was back at the feeders this morning, and invited a group of the regular ringers round to see it, I saw an opportunity for a non-motorised birthday pressie! The p*ssing rain and howling northwesterly provided the perfect road test for another shiny new birthday pressie, so I kitted up and battled out into what I hope is the worst cycling weather I'll face this year.

Everything went to plan: after a drenching pedal and a tense half-hour wait (entertained by some cracking Brambling and a male Sparrowhawk that temporarily cleared the feeders - or permanently in the case of one Blue Tit), the redpoll flock started flooding in to the niger. Within minutes, the Arctic Redpoll reappeared, providing stunning views as it fed on the ground among a carpet of Lessers a few metres away!

Grip that one back, lads ;)

Percentage of target to date - 70%

Distance cycled - 135.4mls / 217.9km

Latest addition - Arctic Redpoll (108) 5 Mar