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
Heather Coats, Charlie Sargent, Phil Mead and Dan Rouse joined forces for the second Constant Effort Site (CES) session at WWT Llanelli today. We heard Long tailed tits calling in the trees and then caught ten of them, a mixture of … Read More
Another breezy morning, at least for the first few hours. Again, this seems likely to have limited the catch, which was dominated by re-captured birds with a few migrant warblers thrown in. A total of 45 (once a couple of … Read More
Constant Effort Site season commenced today when we crossed the Afon Llwchwr into Carmarthenshire for our first visit of 2015. I joined Heather Coats, Phil Mead, Dan Rouse and Andrew Hughes for a 05:30 rendezvous and the seven nets were … Read More
Over the course of the week the weather forecast had not remained consistent for more than a few hours, varying between perfect for ringing and borderline unsuitable on a regular basis. In the event the conditions were not great, with … Read More
We have completed three ringing sessions over the past week, with the main aim of capturing some migrant passerines. The weather, and results to date, have been mixed. Combined totals are as follows: Species New Re-trapped Total Great Spotted Woodpecker … Read More
I met with Heather Coats and Chris Newberry for a 06:00 start at Margam Park this morning. The rather cool conditions at the outset soon changed to sunny, cloudless skies. We erected a twelve and … Read More
A very pleasant morning at Oxwich. The skies were open and there was a barely discernible northerly breeze. We put nets in the scrub around the feeders (200 feet), in the fen meadow (180 feet) and in a new net ride … Read More
Light northerly winds and mild overnight temperatures lured us into a midweek session. Recent sessions have been typical of the time of year, with the better ones totalling over 100 birds, and those conducted in less optimal weather resulting in catches … Read More
Another quiet session at the marsh. The wind, a moderate south-westerly, probably didn’t help, but the scrub nets were fairly sheltered anyway. Thankfully the forecasted light rain showers held off. In total we trapped just short of 30 birds. … Read More
I joined Heather and trainee ringer Lyndon for a Valentine’s Day visit to ‘Margam Country Park’. This was to be Lyndon’s first experience of bird ringing and provided ‘DJ Songbird’ was playing the right tunes he would have a few … Read More
Following a few quiet sessions, today saw a return to form (in terms of numbers). The weather was good, with a light north westerly breeze and overcast skies. It was noticeable that there were flocks of chaffinches and goldfinches in the area. … Read More
With the ‘A-Team’ playing at Oxwich Marsh it was an opportunity for the reserves to pay a first visit of 2015 to ‘Margam Country Park’. I joined Chris Newberry (Kenfig Ringing Group) for an 07:00 sign-in at the gate before … Read More
The start of 2015 has been pretty woeful in terms of ringing at Oxwich. The weather has often been too windy to allow ringing, and when we have had opportunities, northerly winds and open skies have resulted in cold, bright … Read More
In 2014 we really increased the effort at Oxwich, following a year of reconnaissance in 2013. The increase in effort was only possible due to the commitment of the group, which also runs two Constant Effort Sites (at the Wildfowl … Read More