Hi Dan,
  Yes , it was quite extraordinary, they were the only 2 Goldfinches caught all morning. I should have done the Lottery !

HI John,

What a remarkable morning!  I’m guessing your second goldfinch will not be African ringed, but it was always such a thrill to find a ready-ringed bird in the nets, and wait to find out where it came from.  Two foreign ringed birds in a day!  Will make routine retraps doubly mundane!

On 15th April a few birds were caught and ringed, which included Willow Warblers, a Chiifchaff and four Blackcaps. The surprise came when just two Goldfinches were caught within an hour of each other, and they were ringed on the right legs (I ring on the left leg). The first one was bearing a French ring and so will have to wait to learn where it was ringed. ( A previous French ringed bird several years ago, a Chiffchaff, had been ringed in Senegal ! ).The other Goldfinch was my first control of a bird from Southern Ireland and had been ringed in Wicklow in June 2020. Never had two international recoveries on the same day ever before.