Back to the reed bed...

With at least once daily visits to the Teifi Marsh we knew when to start our Spring migration ringing after seeing the first White Wagtails coming to roost and hearing the first Sedge Warblers so on Monday evening our nets were back up around Mallard pond.
The first White Wagtails of spring were ringed that night. Over 100 came to roost in the reedbed. A total of 35 have been ringed this week.

The following morning (Tuesday) there were a lot of Sedge Warblers singing and 8 were ringed

Wednesday morning was very different. The morning dawned with a hard frost and once it warmed up just 2 Sedge Warblers were ringed and the dawn chorus was quieter as the migrants had moved on. Importantly though, between the Mallard nets and those over on Pentood Marsh, 5 retrap Cetti's were caught. The oldest was ringed in 2012. They seem to have had a good breeding season and winter as at least 6 dominant territorial singing males can be heard on a circuit of the marsh.

This is a control Cetti's Warbler from Hampshire that we caught 2 years ago

The reedbeds are looking good ready for the return of our breeding Sedge and Reed Warblers. Reed Buntings are singing from their territories

We haven't just been in the reed bed. On Thursday we had another visit to Mwnt to catch Linnets in a Whoosh net. A successful day with 30 Linnets ringed and 2 retraps.

We were ready with the springtraps too to catch Wheatear but despite a few hundred being recorded on the islands the day before not one was at Mwnt.

Bluethroat at the Bill

The highlight of a terrific trip to Portland Bird Observatory  was this fine young male White-spotted Bluethroat

Caught and ringed on the Saturday of our long weekend of ringing and birding.

This was our 5th Group visit to Portland Bird Obs. We arrived on the Bill via a Hoopoe and quickly got into some afternoon, mainly Phyllosc, ringing.

When the rains came on Friday, we left the Obs and went up the Fleet a few miles for a delightful Pallas's Warbler, rainproofs required but excellent views with patience.

As the rain cleared we returned via Ferrybridge and saw both Little and Sandwich Terns, and a surprise to find a distant Great Northern Diver.

With the weather improved there was a chance to open the nets for a while. A few birds to end the day including one of two Firecrest that we caught 

and a male Redstart.

The weather was much better on Saturday and we ringed 76 birds.

We managed to find time, taking turns for the four of us to catch up with the male Subalpine Warbler in scrub along the cliffs.

Now a summary of the weekends ringing....

Blackcaps were the most numerous species caught with 92 ringed. This one had obviously been recently feeding on Citrus trees on its migration.

Willow Warblers came second with 69 which is more than we ring in most years around the Teifi. Chiffchaffs were the third with 38 ringed. Other species included 7 Redstart, 7 Goldfinch, 7 Linnet, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, the first of the Spring, and 2 Robins.

Two Short-eared Owls  in off the sea......a great finale for our weekend of Spring migration.

Many thanks to Martin Cade and Peter Morgan for the warm welcome as always.
(Richard, Chris, Wendy and Andrew)

Action....ringing for the TV

A lovely sunny morning down by the River Teifi...

An excellent backdrop for some filming of the Teifi Ringing Group in action !

The filming was for Garddio a mwy, (Gardening and more) a new series being produced for S4C.

The film production crew were visiting the reserve to film the annual Spring migration of our famous Water Buffalo.....and  a piece about birds and our research.
The birds did not disappoint with....

this fine male ....and surprisingly unringed Cetti's Warbler. We have an established population and ringed 25 new Cetti's on the site last year.
Another highlight for the camera - an unringed female Reed Bunting. Last year was a poor breeding season but nice to add a new female to our RAS project and be able to add another colour-ringed bird to the c200 already ringed in the past two years.

Finches, Finches and movements.....of Finches

Linnets today, and our best ever day total by far..
Back in 2011 we caught nine at Mwnt during April in two-shelf nets....today thirteen!

Foel y Mwnt in the background.

After weeks of seeding and recces we used a Whoosh net. Chris demonstrated the effectiveness of this capture method to members of the group unfamiliar with Whoosh nets.

Postioning the trap at Mwnt today.

Back to the gardens and Wendy has caught the first Lesser Redpolls of the year including this control. The group has caught less than 100 Redpolls

Our catches our roughly divided into spring passage birds being caught at Wendy's and mine in Spring, and Autumn passage through the Teifi Marshes.

Siskins....
We now have 1500 Siskin captures and the control below is one of the longer movements.
D696822 an adult male, was ringed in Northumberland in March 2014, and contolled in Boncath, Pembs in March 2016. I guess this year late returning north, and not our first control between the two sites.

Greenfinch TT2953 is an intra county control. Ringed in November 2015 in the farmland of mid-Pembs, and captured across the Preseli Hills in Boncath this March.....

The Goldfinch, D608887 was ringed in Charlie Sargents garden in mid Carmarthenshire during March 2014. Caught in Boncath in March 2016, and perhaps a passage bird or just a local wanderer..

2 Siskins have also moved between our gardens and Charlies.

Finally.....not a Finch !!

Sand Martin....D350951  - yes the only bird we caught on the 28th March - last month.
This Sand Martin was ringed, presumably on passage, at Icklesham on 10th September 2013
All maps and photos ...Wendy
 An interesting morning ahead, we have a production company filming us ringing tomorrow !!

A first for March...!

Following regular recces of the Teifi Marsh we decided last night to put up the first couple of nets of the Spring at the Mallard pond site - our favourite site for hirundines and more famously White Wagtails - an Icelandic recovery !
About 100 hirundines feeding above the pond and around the marsh, and only a few Wagtails came to roost.
We did catch one bird ....

D350951, a control Sand Martin and our first ever in March.
We did catch a French ringed Sand Martin in early April 2011, but we haven't had the details of this bird yet... maybe one for Lee Barber to help find ?

This afternoon Wendy and I joined Chris to take some homemade boardwalk pieces to the Pentood net rides, and re-positioned some old boardwalk at the Mallard site to assist access at a new 60' net ride.

Details of another Sedge Warbler movement. Ringed on 25th July 2015.  24 days later controlled in southwest France on 18th August 2015. This is not our first Sedge Warbler recovery from this site, La Maziere, Villeton, and interesting that was an adult female though unlikely one of our breeding birds as not ringed earlier in the breeding season.

 Sedge Warbler at Dungeness today....maybe a March Sedge for us tomorrow...
....though we have only caught 76 in April, compared with over 1000 in May.

Chiffs are first...but news of a Dunlin to Spain

A short session on marsh on Sunday morning produced two new Chiffchaff - a start to Spring...

At night we are still lamping our hillside study sites. Our target species, the Woodcock, become very difficult though the numbers are good. We see up to 15 or more in a night and catch one. Now the Woodcock are migrating they are often in groups making the catching of an individual difficult.

We are still catching Redwing and Fieldfare whilst lamping and Meadow Pipits are now moving and being caught too.

Siskins - another control this week..to go with controls of Greenfinch and Goldfinch.
We now have our second Siskin that has been controlled by Charlie Sargeant 39km ESE in Carmarthenshire. One of these has been recaptured back at our original ringing site.
Several of our Goldfinches are recaptures from previous Spring passages.

Dunlin BT48695 becomes our second Dunlin control....The first was from the Teifi to Newport !!
This Dunlin was controlled in southern Spain.....

Parque Natural Marismas del Odiel is the second most significant wetland reserve in Andulucia. A third of Europe's Spoonbill population lives there.
Dunlin BT48695 was a juvenile when ringed at Newport on 27th August 2014. The adults leave the breeding grounds earlier thus we catch the young in August on their passage south, most likely on route to North or North-west Africa. When controlled a year later, the 14th August 2015, the bird was likely to be returning from spending it's first summer near the wintering ground. In their first summer Dunlin generally do not return to their breeding grounds. This Dunlin would be of a race breeding to the west of their range and not a UK wintering bird from the East.

Spring is nearly here....

Just to update the year so far....
On Saturday 27th February Wendy and I opened a net on the marsh to get the season started..
Two retrap Wrens the reward...Hmm
A couple of lamping sessions this week, Fieldfare, Snipe, Meadow Pipit and a couple of new Woodcock ringed - some jumpy tail flashing Woodcock too.

Garden ringing is our main activity during the variable weather winter season with Siskins a priority, and breeding season RAS for the species. January and February has produced 73 new Siskin, 19 retraps and one control.

This regular ringing produces some nice local movements such as  D678636.
Ringed in Boncath 18th February 2014, controlled in St. Dogmaels the following day the 19th.
Retrapped in Boncath 24th February 2016. (2 years later)
An interesting bird for us, as not caught during the breeding season. Perhaps just a winterer or passage....

This Rook in a 6m net was a surprise, and a new bird for the group. I never imagined looking at emarginations on Rooks !!

Marsh Tits are still garden birds for Wendy and I though not numerous.

 This distinctive Blackbird appeared in Karen's Potter trap.

Dai out-did us all with a month long experience in New Zealand. Here a colour-ringed Shore Plover, one of New Zealand's endemics.

A Wheatear just along the coast near Aberystwyth yesterday - time for spring traps at our coastal migration headland at Mwnt.....