The BBC had predicted strong winds for Saturday and rain for Sunday morning, so it was looking unlikely we would get a session in. Some time on Saturday, however, the forecast changed. The weather was now ideal – the only problem was that … Read More
Another overcast morning with very light winds provided ideal conditions for ringing. We put nets in the fen meadow, scrub and Natural Resources Wales compound: a total of 670 feet in total (albeit the latter nets typically only catch meadow pipits). … Read More
A still cloudy morning. In total we erected just over 600 feet of net. The wind didn’t really pick up, but bird numbers declined rapidly, and by 10:30 we started to take the nets down. The (modest) catch of 60 was made … Read More
On the way to Oxwich this morning there was a lot of fog about which made the journey slow. On arrival it had cleared. Most of the morning was overcast with a little sunshine for half an hour or so … Read More
Ideal conditions in the marsh: overcast, warm and virtually windless first thing. The wind began to pick up from the east a couple of hours after dawn, and we took the nets down at 11:30. Due to limited personnel (and … Read More
An excellent start to the day, with a mist over the marsh, no real breeze and overcast skies. While the mist rapidly dispersed, the wind did not pick up for a few hours. We had anticipated lower numbers of … Read More
It was still, cloudy and warm at dawn, which was ideal for ringing. A south-easterly wind rapidly picked up, however, and we were forced to take down a number of nets by 10:00. Despite this, the catch was very good, … Read More
A morning session on 9 September and an evening roost on 10th September. Both were completed in good, relatively still, conditions. The combined catch was as follows: Species New Re-trapped Total Sparrowhawk 0 1 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker 0 1 … Read More
A dull, overcast, windless but warm start to the day provided ideal conditions for catching birds. Unfortunately no-one told the birds to be in the marsh, and the overall result was similar to recent sessions in terms of numbers, albeit with local … Read More
A very bright and warm day. The wind picked up mid-morning, but had died off by the afternoon. As a result we were able to do both an early session in the scrub, reed bed and fen meadow, and to … Read More
Early mist over the marsh rapidly cleared, and from just after 07:00 the day was warm and sunny. The catch of 91 birds was made up as follows: Species New Re-trapped Total Tree Pipit 3 0 3 Wren 1 2 … Read More
A gentle westerly breeze, and a damp morning that rapidly became warm and sunny. Due to limited personnel, we only put up nets in two of our normal trapping areas; the reed bed and the ‘fen meadow.’ In total … Read More
A bright sunny morning. Net rounds were excellent until the north-westerly wind picked up at about 09:30, after which it was very slow going. In addition to 520 feet of net in reedbed edge / young willow scrub (160 feet), reedbed … Read More
Despite blustery conditions all day, the wind was forecast to die down in the evening. We had been waiting for an opportunity for some time to try and catch some (barn) swallows at Oxwich, as it was clear that birds … Read More
A bright start to the day, and few birds in the first few nets rounds didn’t bode well, especially as the wind was forecast to pick up from the west late morning. However, by around 08:00 it clouded over, and … Read More
The weather forecast had been touch and go all week, but in the event it was warm and sunny at Oxwich with a westerly breeze that gradually strengthened over the morning. Although the wind may have influenced the size of … Read More
The weather at Oxwich was bright and warm with a light westerly breeze. We put up a total of 560 feet of net in a range of habitats: reed bed, willow and bramble scrub and a new area we are calling ‘fen … Read More
Heather and I once again did the CES at WWT Llanelli. It was a reasonably good day with a nice mixture of birds and the best session we have had for migrants. The session was hampered by a really heavy … Read More