We put our normal Saturday visit back a day due to the likelihood of excellent conditions for ringing on the Sunday. This proved a good decision, with a very large catch (216 birds). On the Monday we tried our second … Read More
A blustery Saturday, followed by a calm, cloudy Sunday. The Saturday was the main session due to people’s availability. We erected 500 feet of net in scrub (200 feet) and along a dry bund through reedbed with patches of … Read More
Another unsettled period of weather drew to a close yesterday. However three days of heavy rain left its mark in the marsh, with water levels in the rides higher than at any time during the preceding winter. Despite this, … Read More
An extra session to make the most of the settled weather (until today anyway) proved a good decision. Although the catch was modest, probably reflecting the fact that birds have no current reason to stop off at the site when … Read More
A predominantly bright day, with a gradually strengthening westerly wind. In addition to 560 feet of standard nets in a mixture of scrub, reed bed and ruderal (with scattered scrub) habitats, we also put a series of two-shelf nets along … Read More
Friday and Saturday were both calm and mainly sunny at Oxwich. On the Friday we put up 240 feet of net and on the Saturday 620 feet. However the catches were similar in number (104 and 107), suggesting that the … Read More
July was a frustrating month. We lost more days to wind and rain than we might expect in any month outside December to February inclusive, and this at a time when the marsh has been alive with juvenile birds. … Read More
This morning was a cold start, it was more like Autumn than Summer. Our 7 nets were up and ready by 05.45am. Our first round was mainly Wrens and Robins as in previous weeks. This years breeding season seems to … Read More
There were perfect conditions this morning, albeit slightly cooler than previous mornings. With 49 birds, a lot being juveniles the day turned out to be one of the best we have experienced for a while, more like the days from … Read More
Due to a poor (windy) forecast for the weekend, it was decided to try ringing on Friday. This is not ideal, as due to work commitments only a few are typically able to attend and as such, it is only … Read More
Colour-ringing of four of the Gower chough chicks at two locations in 2015 was undertaken by members of the Cardiff Bay Ringing Group. Following liaison with local ringers (members of the Gower RG) and bird watchers / naturalists to determine … Read More
The final session of the month was completed on 26 June. The westerly wind gradually strengthened over the morning, but the weather remained dry and was relatively overcast for much of the time. We initially put nets in the scrub … Read More
CES6, half way through the season. Today it was generally over cast with light wind which did start to pocket the nets a little in the last hour of the session. The total birds caught was 22 across 12 species, … Read More
A fine bright morning which rapidly became warm and sunny. The lack of significant breeze was a positive, in that the nets were fairly still for much of the time, but the brightness made them more visible. Despite the fact … Read More
This morning the skies were clear and bright with a light wind and the day quickly became very warm. We caught 23 birds, 8 of which were re-traps. However is was good to have juvenile Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock and Long … Read More
A light north-westerly breeze and open skies at dawn, with intermittent cloud during the morning. Not bad conditions for ringing at all, so we attempted to get a good amount of net up – 860 feet in total. The catch … Read More
Light winds and mainly overcast sky’s were ideal conditions. However, in the first 3 hrs only 7 birds had been caught which is usually the best part of the morning. Having said that the air was filled with bird song … Read More
The highlight of the week was news that our grant application to the Gower Society had been successful. We had been hopeful that the Society would be willing to help support ringing effort on the marsh, as they support various … Read More