March was another difficult month to plan ringing with winds often higher than forecast.
It is early though for our main migration monitoring on the Teifi Marshes although migrants are starting to arrive with Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Willow Warblers singing. A small number of Pied Wagtails are around at dusk but no White Wagtails yet. Sites are prepared ready for when weather allows.
Preparation work has also been carried out at Cors Caron ready for CES.
Jane and Arfon have been doing some targeted ringing there, pre-CES season, for the new Willow Tit RAS.
The oldest bird re-encountered so far was ringed in April 2021.
Winter lamping has now finished after a successful season.
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| Golden Plover, one of the last birds ringed this season |
Chris has started the Linnet RAS on the coast near Moylegrove.. An excellent start to the season with 148 captures of which 26 were from previous years.
Dippers already have young and Ellyn ringed the first chick of the year last week.
News from the BTO of a Starling ringed in 2019 found freshly dead in Russia, the furthest passerine movement for the group. Kaluga is between Moscow and the Belarus border.
Starling LL86262 Bancyffordd, Carms 29/10/2019
Found freshly dead 26/03/2026 Mahahovo, Borovsk district, Kaluga O. Russian Federation
2340 days 2699km E
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| Starling from Carmarthenshire to Russia |
Also news of a Reed Warbler re-encountered in Portugal
Reed Warbler BKB3692
Ringed 09/07/2025 Teifi Marshes, Ceredigion
Re-encountered 23/08/2025 Caminha, Viano de Castelo, Portugal 45 days 1176km SSW
23rd March, a White Stork was near Ferwig. First seen on the 19th near Penparc. Thanks to Mark Waldron's photos of the ring, a yellow inscribed darvic CV03, an internet seach found it to be from the Cove Valley, Devon reintroduction scheme. A male bird released last year. It was seen in Northamptonshire in August and South Pembs in September
.JPG) |
| White Stork - Mark Waldron |
Curlew - colour ring white on black J0 with orange on the other leg was still present on the 1st April. It was first ringed on the reserve in 2022 with colour rings added in 2025
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| Curlew J0 - Diane Williams |
The Black-tailed Godwit that was ringed last year on the marshes wasn't colour ringed but its BTO metal ring can be read. It was still present on the 1st April and changing into breeding plumage.
The Reed Bunting RAS on the Teifi Marshes runs from 1st April and Hannah and Liz have been busy resighting the rings. Over the winter, in the out of RAS period, there have been 69 sightings of 40 individuals.
(Wendy J and Rich D)
