We’ve just completed a year of bird ringing at Le Chateau des Marais with 99 ringing days between 16 October 2020 and 15 October 2021. I’ll be creating a separate page for this constant effort site. Yesterday finished on a high with a handsome pair of Siskin, Carduelis spinus. A flock flew across our main ride yesterday and these two went into the nets. The main photo shows the male with his dark cap. The female also has lovely plumage , pale on the underside with dark streaking. After ringing, they were released together.
There are plenty of flocks of these lovely finches moving through the island this month. They can be identified in flight as individuals in the flock continually leapfrog each other so the front flyers are always changing. They are attracted to Alder and have been seen in several different locations, showing particularly well at Le Grand Pré.
The flocks come in from northern Europe. They can be seen in the UK throughout the year but many will migrate further south to Spain and North Africa.
Natural history of the Bailiwick of Guernsey 