The finch that came back three winters running
Same ring number, same hedge, three Decembers apart. The small thrill of a recapture.
Mist nets at first light, tiny numbered rings, and the quiet record-keeping of which birds pass through and when.
Weighing a bird in a cloth bag
Grams matter. How a few tenths tell you whether it's ready to cross the sea or needs to feed up first.
Why dawn is the only honest hour
Nets up before light, down by mid-morning. What the first two hours catch that the rest of the day never will.