Recoveries and winter ringing

A quick summary of the last month before four of the group head out to South Africa.

Windy weather has hampered much ringing but various other trapping methods as described in the last blog have been used successfully. The most interesting species was the capture of 3 Yellowhammers in a field adjacent to my garden near Llechryd.

In recent years they have been seen very occasionally a few miles away but with no arable farms anywhere near they were a real surprise. They came to a seeded area for catching with a whoosh net.

The land is probably too wet for a planted cover crop to work well but something to think about.

Chris has been visiting Mwnt regularly over the winter but until recently the usual wintering Linnet flock had been missing. A successful first catch of the year last week with a flock of about 50 seen and 42 new and 2 retraps from last year.

Charlie and Andy have managed some good training sessions. We now have 6 enthusiastic trainees. Many Siskins are visiting Charlie's garden at the moment. 123 caught on the 5th Feb kept Sion and Alison busy. The adult males are looking very smart now.

Reed Bunting ringing has been a success this winter with 78 new birds colour ringed. The part of the Teifi Marshes where we catch the Reed Buntings is also where we concentrate our efforts for migration monitoring. A commercial cut by a Thatcher in this area make it ideal for passage White Wagtails in April, Snipe and Jack Snipe are still around to be caught and Water Pipits occasionally venture into the new wet stubble too.
This year's cut is in progress this week.

Recent news from the BTO of a few recoveries and controls of various species

Dunlin ringed on Poppit Sands on 23-SEP-2016

Subsequently captured by Scan Ringing Group on 19-Jan 19 nr Beaumaris, Anglesey

848 days  136 km  (NNE)

Storm petrel ringed at Mwnt  on 17-JUL-2017
Subsequently captured on  06-AUG-2018 at Porth Iago, Llangwnnadl, Gwynedd.

385 days  78 km  (N)

Woodcock ringed at Boncath on 15-MAR-2018 

Found freshly dead (shot) on 13-APR-2018 at  Kresty, Mosalskiy district, Kaluga O., Russian Federation

29 days 2646 km  (E)

Sedge Warbler ringed at Teifi Marshes on 17-JUL-2018 

Subsequently captured on 16-AUG-2018 at Terres d'Oiseaux, Braud-et-Saint-Louis, Gironde, France

30 days  810 km (SSE)

Another Sedge Warbler ringed at Teifi Marshes on 12-MAY-2018 

Subsequently recaptured on 15-AUG-2018 (at Tour aux Moutons, Donges, Loire-Atlantique, France

95 days 559 km  (SSE)

A movement within the group from Chris to Andy

Siskin ringed on 27-APR-2016 at St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire

Subsequently recaptured at Bancyffordd, Llandysul on  06-JAN-2019 

984 days Distance: 27 km (ESE)

Siskin ringed on 12-MAR-2017 at Gleadthorpe Grange, Warsop, Notts by Birklands Ringing Group  subsequently recaptured by Charlie on 25-JAN-2019 at his Llanfynydd site, Carmarthenshire

684 days 248 km  (SW)

Trapping at Mallard Pond.....and beyond

Reed Buntings - - the study species...

He wandered in ...for Millet
(a different Water Rail to this one photo'd by Dyfed near Kingfisher Pond earlier this week)

Not in the large Potter Trap baited with cat food....

...but in the middle trap of this compartmental trap with three independent doors and catching boxes.

We did catch 5 Reed Buntings this morning, 3 new and 2 retraps, thus no concern of birds being trap shy on the trap's first outing !

We have to balance general feeding of the area to keep the Reed Buntings at Mallard Pond, providing opportunities for our following of  Reed Bunting photographers who are invaluable for recording colour-ringed birds. This was one of several sent to us recently by Colin Dalton of an old male ringed in 2013, regularly seen around Mallard

We also like to catch with a mist net when possible or with even more precise baiting of the traps when conditions dictate.
The general feeder for Millet postioned towards the far end of the 18m net ride

Karen having a closer look at feather wear on the Water Rail.

We returned to Mallard this morning with Andrew - 3 more new Reed Buntings colour-ringed.

Third Wheel have supplied us with our latest traps including the interesting 3 compartmental trap shown above.

See their website for further details if interested in various traps.
Wendy has also positioned a Whoosh Net below one of her hedgerows, a new venture using the same trap and methods as Chris uses at Mwnt for  his Linnet RAS study.