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
Although the morning was reasonably successful in terms of numbers, the catch is likely to have been considerably reduced as a result of a westerly wind, which strengthened over the morning. We put 180 feet of net in the reedbed, … Read More
The weather was very good for ringing for much of the morning, with a light (barely discernible) wind, broken cloud and hot, sunny intervals. We put up the usual 180 feet of net in the reedbed, 160 feet of net in … Read More
Today Heather and I did CES 9 at WWT Llanelli. The CES season so far this year has been an improvement in terms of birds numbers with the corresponding CES visits last year. However migrant numbers have not been as … Read More
Ideal ringing conditions at the marsh this morning: a warm day with very little wind and overcast conditions. We put 180 feet of net in the reedbed and a further 160 feet of net in willow and bramble scrub. The results … Read More
Excellent conditions for ringing on the marsh this morning, with overhead cloud and no wind until persistent light rain stopped play around 11:00. A total of 83 birds of 17 species were captured. The breakdown of newly ringed and recaptured … Read More
The weather forecast had not given cause for optimism, but in the event there were light winds and we lost only 45 minutes to a prolonged heavy shower. This, and strong sunlight late morning resulted in a reduction in the … Read More
A very light south-westerly wind and warm, cloudy conditions were ideal for ringing. Three different online weather forecasts had made differing assessments of the chance of rain over the morning, but thankfully none materialised. The catch was excellent. A total … Read More
Another bright, warm morning with a light southerly breeze. We only erected 140 feet of net, as were aware of the potential to be swamped by juvenile birds (particularly tits). In summary, a steady session: it was the first time I … Read More
A moderate northerly breeze gradually dropped over the morning, which was otherwise bright and increasingly warm. The catch was again dominated by juvenile birds. The total of 86 was made up as follows: Species New Re-trapped Total Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 3 … Read More
A beautiful warm morning at Oxwich, with a light south-westerly breeze and clear skies. Nets were open between 06:00 and 11:30, during which time we trapped 88 birds. The breakdown by species is shown in the table below: Species New Re-trapped … Read More
Yesterday the weather was unexpectedly better than anticipated. We had the odd gust of wind and it remained overcast for most of the morning. We had 39 birds in all, the best catch this year, made up mainly of juvenile … Read More
A steady session in calm, overcast conditions that were ideal for ringing. The wind was very light for the few hours after dawn, but then gradually strengthened from the south-west. We erected 160 feet of net among scrub on the … Read More
We thought we might have mixed fortunes with the weather this morning, the forecasters were all different so we really were not sure what to expect. Because we have other commitments with other CES and RAS in the week we … Read More
A late change in the weather forecast allowed us to fit a session in this morning at Oxwich. The rain held off until around 11:45, and an early moderate north-westerly breeze gradually lessened. The number of birds captured (45) was fairly typical of … Read More
Oxwich Marsh A beautiful day at Oxwich. Virtually windless for the first few hours, bright, sunny and warm. While the weather conditions were very pleasant, they were not ideal for ringing however, as the nets became more visible in the … Read More
It was CES 2 yesterday and we usually compare the results from each CES with the corresponding one from the previous year. This naturally gives us a quick indication of what is happening or not happening as the case may … Read More
In a previous blog I talked about our Constant Effort Site (CES) at WWT Llanelli. A RAS is another programme initiated by the BTO and it means Retrapping Adults for Survival. Its aim is to catch or re-sight at least … Read More