A great piece of recent news was the securing of a Gower Society Grant for a fifth consecutive year. This will substantially cover our ringing costs at Oxwich over the next twelve months, and help us to maintain our levels … Read More
Due to the size of the ringing group we have been looking for another site that will give us a range of species that complements what we capture at Oxwich during winter and passage periods. The idea would be that … Read More
A short and unsuccessful session on 11 February, followed by a better session on 16 February. The combined total was as follows: Species Name Ringed Recaptured Total Blue Tit 13 47 60 Chaffinch 5 5 Coal Tit 1 1 Dunnock … Read More
A cold start to the day. We started by setting some nets for snipe (pre-dawn) before we turned our attention to the feeders. Species Name Ringed Recaptured Total Blackbird 1 1 2 Blue Tit 11 46 57 Chaffinch 19 4 … Read More
Poor weather has persisted during much of January to date, and we have only been able to get two sessions in. Conversely, when we have got out bird numbers have been good, as the total for what is often an … Read More
2018 was the sixth year of Gower Ringing Group activity at Oxwich Marsh. The site also hosted the Welsh Ringing Course (in September) for the fourth consecutive year. Species Totals A total of 3,899 birds of 53 species were processed … Read More
After a few weeks of enforced inactivity at Oxwich, due to long periods of bad weather, we mixed things up a bit this weekend. On Friday night Tony Cross was kind enough to join us for a dazzling session at … Read More
Cruzinha (Richard Dann) For the last 20 years, Heather Coats, who heads the Gower Ringing Group, has visited Cruzinha, the A Rocha field study centre on the Ria de Alvor in southern Portugal, to carry out bird ringing during autumn … Read More
The most unusual thing; a forecast that was worse than the weather on site – normally it always goes the other way! We expected a moderate north-westerly breeze, but the conditions were a lot calmer. It was sunny and relatively … Read More
A couple of limited net sessions this week resulted in a varied catch of 103. The break down was as follows: Species Name Ringed Recaptured Total Blackbird 1 1 Blue Tit 28 4 32 Cetti’s Warbler 5 5 Chaffinch 6 … Read More
At last, some perfect late autumn weather. Slightly overcast for much of the morning, with a very light wind, and becoming warm after a cool start. The catch of 98 was as follows: Species Name Ringed Recaptured Total Blackbird 1 … Read More
A period of unsettled weather in the first half of October culminated in Storm Callum, which raised water levels considerably on the marsh. Given the coastal location of the site, it proved very difficult to get sessions in. We were … Read More