BTO Part 3 - Blues, Greens, Blacks and Bumble Foot

My third and final BTO post is mostly about me holding and watching the wonderful Blue Tit.

This little fellow was a little aggresive when Andy was passing it on to me, as you can see he was a little pesky, but I don't blame it as I am slightly bigger than him!  

You know when you see a Blue Tit on your feeder or in a tree it looks like an everyday bird, however, this little fella is probably more amazing than seeing a Slender Billed Curlew when you're holding one in your very hand.

It felt like holding the world when I was holding the Blue Tit. He allowed me to see if it was young or old by looking at the alula feathers (greenish for a juvenile).

This Blackbird didn't really fancy his ring being chosen for him, so he picked his own.

This image is a little blurred but it shows how the bird gets ringed. A lovely Greenfinch this time.

My brother was laughing so much when he was holding the Greenfinch, which set me off laughing and then everyone else. But it is so amazing to lift your hand and let the bird fly away.

This poor little Chaffinch was unfortunately not allowed to be ringed because it had bumble foot, due to this if a ring was put on it would rub on the leg and make it sore. Brian has to clean his hands after touching the Chaffinch with bumble foot to stop the bacteria spreading to any other birds. This is also why you should clean your feeders regularly.

This is another blurred image, but it shows how the birds get weighed in little pots. This was the Blackbird getting weighed.

Over all my favourite bird of the day was the small but beautiful Gold Crest.

And that is the story of my brilliant day with Andy and Brian from the BTO.