The Teifi Autumn - scarce migrants and re-encounters

Blackcaps show the greatest increase of all Warblers passing through the Teifi scrub in the Autumn.

This adult male may be a site faithful migrant using the Teifi as a stopover refuelling site?
Ringed on 13th September 2015 and re encountered 3 years to the day.
From 1st Sept we have caught 107 new Blackcaps though the weather has prevented several ringing sessions.

We don't see a large number of Willow Warblers pass through in Autumn but we do see an increase in Chiffchaffs, 42 so far this September.

We continue to catch both Reed and Sedge Warblers into the month, we hope to catch some late passage birds this week, some of the Reed Warblers may have fledged only recently.
15 Reed and 11 Sedge Warblers ringed so far this month.

We usually find our Sedge Warblers show the largest weight and fat gain of the Warblers, our highest fat so far though, a juvenile with a fat score of 6.

We will continue at our  Teifi Marsh ringing sites through the Autumn....

Wryneck, Bluethroat, Common Rosefinch, Siberian Chiffchaff, 3 Yellow-browed Warblers, Whinchat and 15 Firecrests have all been caught in Autumn on the Teifi Marsh since 2011

One of Charlie's Siskins ringed last July went to the Isle of Arran, controlled in May 2018

 The Arran Natural History Society report says;-

"The Siskin is a common and abundant breeding bird and passage migrant on Arran during the spring and summer months but it is mostly absent during the autumn and winter.

Returning birds start to reappear at feeders from the beginning of March onwards and local birds may start to breed from the middle of this month.

The majority of birds arrive during April although some may still continue to arrive as late as May. During this period Siskins which are migrating to breeding grounds further north add to the number of birds on Arran.

Birds start to move away from Arran during late summer once the breeding season has ended."

Although the RAS period is over for our Teifi Reed Buntings we intend to monitor the activity at our Mallard site where some birds may roost and we are trying to develop a feeding station to encourage them. We have colour-ringed c200 now.

We will try and increase our effort monitoring Pipits on the estuary too. We have ringed both passage and local Rock Pipits, this bird caught last December - we ringed in Oct 2010 !!

With a tail as below and other interesting differences to local birds, where are the migrants from..?
This was one of several birds showing "littorallis"  features.

Andrew and Alison (independently) are off to ring in Gibraltar in the coming weeks and Charlie having just returned from an amazing ringing trip to Mongolia is writing a post as I write.....