Sedge Warblers from Dorset..

News from the BTO about where our two recent Sedge Warbler controls were ringed, both in Dorset moving NW to the Teifi Marsh.

AJB1444 was ringed at Ballard Down in Dorset by Stour Ringing Group on the 9th August and caught  on the Teifi Marsh on the 13th August, 4 days later 248km NW.
AAB3332 was ringed At Abbotsbury Swannery on the 5th August and caught on the Teifi Marsh on the 8th August, 3 days later 214 km NW.

Although it would seem that these are heading in the wrong direction for migration to Africa this example of juvenile dispersal is well documented and the subject of much research. It is thought to be important in searching for future breeding grounds and for locating suitable pre-migration feeding areas.

We are still ringing a good number of Sedge Warblers on the Teifi Marsh as migration continues. 224 so far this month along with 93 Reed Warblers. Unfortunately wind has been slowing our mist netting down so in a brisk South Westerly on Sunday we took the spring traps along to one of our coastal sites to catch Rock Pipits. This gave one of our trainees the chance to learn about another species as well as becoming familiar with a different trapping technique.
We usually catch Rock Pipits a bit later in the autumn when numbers are boosted by migrants. This bird was a resident adult that was still undergoing post-breeding moult.

It is unusual for us to see Rock Pipits in moult so a plan for next year is to start earlier in the year to learn more about our resident population. The unmoulted brown secondaries can be seen in the photo.

Other activities since the last blog have included continuing Whoosh netting Linnets at Mwnt for our RAS project, ringing at three sites on the Teifi Marsh, Charlie is still busy at Fygyn Common and we did a Swallow roost catch one evening. We were again joined by Lucy, an 8 year old and her mother, Lucy continues to amaze us with her knowledge of birds.
The wrong tide height and other commitments have reduced the number of possible days for lamping waders on the beach this August. One short visit to Poppit beach was successful though with a Ringed Plover and 5 Dunlin ringed.

CES 11 was done last Friday. An average catch for the time of year of 78 birds but boosted by 19 Blue Tits! An increasing number of Blackcaps and an adult Garden Warbler and 2 juveniles was typical for mid August. We still haven't caught or heard any Cetti's Warblers since the cold spell this Spring. It will be interesting to see how numbers are looking in other parts of the country.