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.....