CES 5 ....before we wander

We managed a very successful CES 5 despite some forecasts of less than helpful weather. 79 of 18  species were captured, including our first Long-tailed Tit party of the season...9 new and 4 retraps.
Highlights included new adult Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Tit and this moulting adult male Redstart.

Redstarts breed nearby and we catch the occasional wanderer. Lesser Whitethroats breed on the site in small numbers, and this was our 4th Willow Tit, although the first adult. Willow Tits are rarely recorded around the Teifi, we know they breed around 5 miles away at Ffynone wood, a site connected via a tributary of the Teifi.

Nice to think our CES Willow Tit was from a closer breeding site. Two new adult Reed Warblers added interest with another three returning birds caught for the first time this year, two from 2013. Cettis, Garden Warbler and this juvenile Treecreeper were new species for our two trainees present, Andrew and Dai.

As well as ringing on the Teifi Marsh we are continuing to ring in our gardens and at Mwnt. At Mwnt we are continuing our Linnet study as well as ringing some other species including Stonechats.

Juvenile Stonechat on the left and adult (age 5) male on the right.

This week at Mwnt we also ringed a few House Sparrows wandering to feed from the nearby farm. Juveniles of many species are now on the garden feeders including Goldfinch, Siskins, and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Last month, Wendy was surprised to catch this Redstart in the garden.

It turns out that the nest must be very close as the fledglings were on the washing line this week !

No ringing planned in the coming week as two of us are going to Skokholm again and others are off on holidays.
Pictures Andrew, Charlie and Wendy