A small group of members took part in a mist net session at the crop field. Nineteen birds were caught which included a good selection of juveniles. The juveniles of a number of species, such as this robin, blackbird and stonechat, are easily recognised by their spotty plumage.
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| Juvenile Robin |
Juvenile Blackbird 
Juvenile Stonechat
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| Juvenile House Sparrow |
This male house sparrow is not a juvenile but was aged as a 5 which is a bird that was hatched in the previous calendar year. We can see this in the median coverts, which are the band of white feathers running just under the ringer’s thumb in the photo below. The median coverts have a distinct dark black base to them in this individual which is characteristic of age 5. In an adult bird the median coverts would show only a small dark mark at their base.
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| Median coverts on male House Sparrow |
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| House Sparrow showing HIS ringer's grip. |
We also caught some migrants including this whitethroat which we aged as an adult (age 6) because the outer tail feathers are white rather than the buff colour of a bird hatched last year (age 5).
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat tail |
When we caught these two male reed warblers they were less concerned with being held by us than in seeing each other off – something that they continued to do in the reed beds after release.
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| Arguing Reed Warblers |
Robin Pearson
