A is for August, acros...but not Aquatics

August ringing is over with another 14 new acros in the Mallard nets today. Our final August totals for 2013 compared to previous years.

Mallard nets only            Sedge   Reed   Aquatic Warblers

August 2013                    274      178

August 2012                    106        66

August 2011                    323        58 

August 2010                    265        94        2(two)

A huge increase in Reed Warblers...breeders or  passage....BUT no Aquatics, remember no confirmed breeding of Reed Warblers  in either Ceredigon or Pembs until the mid/late 1970's !

A map of the reserve showing showing the Mallard net runs (extended since this map) in relation to the CES site. The huge area around Mallard is mainly phragmites. To the north the phragmites is a commercial cut and very healthy growth.

The Teifi Marsh site - which includes CES, full year totals are as follows compared to previous years

Teifi Marsh             Sedge    Reed   Aquatic Warblers

 2013 to date            481       275

 2012                       226       166

 2011                       620       289 

 2010                       612       437        2(two)

In both 2010 and 2013, large numbers of passage Sedge Warblers were ringed in early May. 

(May 2010 - 175 Sedge Warblers ringed mainly on two dates)

In 2010 we ringed 222 Reed Warblers on the CES site.....this year only 54.....

A shift in the breeding population to quality reed growth or ....?

A net plan of the CES site showing the Bass lagoon in front of Kingfisher hide and the net run spreading across to the river Teifi.

How we remember Mallard in the early morning....

Home in August......

A huge thanks to Wendy and Chris....all this data including today's (except 3 ringed tonight) is entered in IPMR..

66 for the last CES..

CES 2013 finished with 48 new birds, 17 retraps and a control.

Robin pictures don't often feature on the blog but D554*** was a special bird being our first Robin control. The BTO page about Robin recoveries is interesting with records of birds moving great distances including Cornwall to Highland and even one that made it from Sussex to Russia!
Some of the new birds included 13 Chiffchaffs,

 a Lesser Whitethroat

here showing the typical iris of a 1st year bird - dark olive-grey without a pale whitish crescent in the upper part that is seen in adults

and a juvenile moulting Great Spotted Woodpecker

Totals for the CES season and comparison with previous years once all the data is entered in IPMR

A few more acros....and a control !

Fat Sedge Warblers last night......
......with two over 13g and fat scores 3-5.

                                           (juvenile Sedge Warbler - Wendy)
This morning another eight new Sedge and eight new Reed Warblers....all the Sedge Warbler weights fairly low with only three just over 11g.
The highlight this morning, a control juvenile Sedge Warbler  weighing only 9.9g....
(with a Y608....ring number -  by our ring sequences an old ring !)

A few Blackcaps and Chiffs in the Mallard nets this morning too....
With CES tomorrow, what will the nets in the scrub hold for us....?

55 new acros, 3 Kingfishers and a nice recovery.

36 new Sedge and 19 new Reed Warblers...3 Kingfishers too...

The Mallard nets produced some numbers today !

Some migrating birds found us too, with 71 new birds out of 83 caught this morning also 22 new Sedge and 21 new Reed Warblers were also ringed during the week.

This table updates our August total compared to previous years

Mallard nets only            Sedge   Reed   Aquatic Warblers

August 2013 to date         190      110

August 2012                    106        66

August 2011                    323        58 

August 2010                    265        94        2(two)

A subject to look into though -

Our August total for Reed Warbler in the Mallard nets looks good but....

Our CES new Reed Warbler total with 1 session to go... 

2013 - only 35, compared with 2012 - 38,  2011 - 71,  2010 -165

Other highlights today included 3 Kingfishers (2 new) and this fine young male Sparrowhawk

(juvenile male Sparrowhawk - Tommy)
Sedge Warbler  D295194 was ringed on Skokholm on the 21st May 2013 at 0830.....controlled in a two panel net around the Mallard pond on the Teifi Marsh at 0550 22nd May 2013 - a bit of early morning ringing by Wendy following the 110 Sedge Warblers being ringed earlier in May.
A nice recovery as Wendy and I have an involvement in the re-establishment and accreditation of Skokholm as a Bird Observatory. A 60km movement in less than 24 hours from one Wildlife trust of South and West Wales reserve to another. See Skokholm blog

Teifi marsh waders

With numbers of waders increasing at various locations around the marsh and a very high tide just after dark it was perfect conditions to attempt to catch some to ring. Earlier in the week a Greenshank and a Snipe were ringed and last night a Curlew and a Snipe.

The mystery tail in the last blog belonged to the juvenile Snipe.
The Curlew was an adult in moult. In the wing a mixture of new, growing and old primaries can be seen.

When mist netting at dusk bats do sometimes find their way into the net. Usually on the Teifi these are Long-eared Bats but last night this Daubenten's Bat was caught and quickly released unharmed.

Whose tail is this?

This bird with a nicely marked tail was ringed on the Teifi marsh last night

Find out what it was in a blog later ..........

219 ringed for CES 11....

That was in 2010, today for CES 11 just 28 ringed and 7 retraps. The big difference was that today there was no fall of migrant Chiffs and Blackcaps.
Species highlights today were a juvenile Cetti's warbler and a juvenile Jay.

Between net rounds we were kept on our toes with a couple of calls from what sounded like a Golden Oriole. It wasn't seen or heard again and didn't find its way into a net!
A good record for the reserve was an immigrant butterfly, a  Clouded Yellow, seen flying around the slate waste near the ringing table for most of the morning.

News about some Sedge Warbler recoveries in the next blog.