As the weather at the weekend had been dominated by strong south-westerly winds, we had been unable to get a session in at Oxwich. With the weather settling down, however, we managed to get in a quick visit to the marsh before … Read More
Despite a gusty south-easterly wind, the net rides in the scrub were relatively sheltered, although the nets in the reedbed were moving a little too much to suggest we would catch much in there. In addition to 180 feet of net in the reeds … Read More
It’s that time of year again, the start of the CES (Constant Effort Site) season at the WWT National Wetland Centre in Llanelli. There are 9 WWT centres in the UK. The CES is just one of many programmes initiated … Read More
This blog today is in two parts. The first being the results of our session at Oxwich Marsh and the second being a training session of the groups trainees. Oxwich One could say that the ringing conditions this morning were … Read More
A strong easterly wind gradually dropped off over the morning. However, the residual gusts clearly limited the catch, as in 4.5 hours we failed to capture any reedbed (or other) warblers, and the only nets to return birds were those around … Read More
As there had been an influx of migrants over the previous few days, we decided to try and put out a bit more net than usual. In addition to 160 feet of net in scrub / around the feeder, we put … Read More
The Gower Ringing Group has steadily grown over the past couple of years, so despite the absence of a couple of our regular A/C Ringers and a couple more trainees, we still had the resources to cover two sites this morning. … Read More
A poor forecast for the weekend meant some last minute arrangements were made to try a Friday session. The wind was a light south-westerly, and overhead cloud resulted in conditions that were not far from ideal. As has been typical of recent … Read More
Variable weather in the first few hours of the morning probably resulted in a far more limited catch than might have been. We put up the usual (winter) 160 feet of net, but had to furl for some time while an … Read More
A light to moderate north-westerly wind and broken cloud at Oxwich this morning. After some early trouble with an inexplicably tangled net, a relatively relaxing session with a fairly steady rate of capture until we took the nets down just … Read More
The session after the biggest single-day catch for the Gower Ringing Group (168 birds from 3 nets), was always likely to be a slight anti-climax. However, it didn’t feel that way, as the number of birds per round gradually picked up (following a … Read More
Getting two weeks of ringing in a row has been difficult in 2014 to date due to the unsettled weather, but this week we managed it! A light south-westerly wind gradually increased over the morning, but despite this, and bright conditions making the nets … Read More
This morning saw the first ringing session at Oxwich Marsh for a month, following a sustained period of unsettled weather. The rides were (predictably) almost knee-deep in liquid sludge, while an early covering of ice on the surface, made the experience like walking … Read More
The second session of 2014 coincided with a relatively hard frost that froze the padlock to the gate of the site (which needed some warming up prior to working). The weather was otherwise pretty good for ringing, however, with a gentle south-westerly breeze … Read More
A belated start to the ringing year due to a long spell of unsettled weather. However, the weather on the morning of 11 January was good, with a very light north-westerly wind and clear skies. The latter probably influenced the … Read More
In 2013 ringing was undertaken at Oxwich Marsh for the first time since 2010. It was a good year, with over 800 new birds captured, and several re-traps of birds in excess of three years of age. Highlights included a … Read More
A break in the weather provided a window to get a final visit to Oxwich Marsh completed in 2013. Very light south-westerly winds meant the nets hardly moved in the first few hours of daylight, but the increasingly open skies made … Read More
Very light winds and overcast skies for the first couple of hours of the day resulted in a relatively high day-total for Oxwich. Eighty-nine birds of eleven species were processed. The catch was as follows: wren 1 (1), dunnock 3 (2), robin 2 … Read More