A Teifi RG 1st.....is also our 100th

Last night out on a late season lamp for Woodcock - we caught 5 Meadow Pipits, that in itself a record and brought the total of Meadow Pipits ringed by the group up to 100.

 More surprising was that the first Pipit we caught -  a retrap ringed on Christmas Eve last year. We have never thought of these hilltop birds as anything other passage birds. Perhaps it is on return passage, as these hill tops are bleak.....
Below last night's GPS track, 5km walked and 336m ascended !!

 Elevation increases towards the bottom of the map. We did record one Woodcock and a few Golden Plover. The previous evening  over the hilltop on our Frenni site, no Woodcock but c40-50 Golden Plover seen, some with black underparts moulting through, and this bright well marked Fieldfare caught.

Back in the gardens, and we have caught 30 Siskin retraps from winter 2012/2013.....interesting. Even more so, the four Lesser Redpoll retraps in Wendy's garden that were part of what we thought was Lesser Redpoll passage  mid - November, when 23 were ringed on the Teifi Marsh, 1.8 kms away.

Hopefully some more spring migrants soon, though my destination Long Point BO in Canada in mid - April, looked bleak c14 days ago...

This is the Tip of the 30km spit that goes south into Lake Erie, still surrounded by ice!!
(Photo via Beverley McLeod)