A good session for the time of year. Typical May sessions at Oxwich see us capture between forty and eighty birds, as most resident species are on territory, and the number of breeding warblers in the reedbed is low.
A cold start, with a light frost on the stiles and ringing poles. There was very little wind all morning, which made for good conditions for ringing. We put up a total of 1,060 feet of net through scrub and reedbed habitats.
The catch broke down as follows:
|
Species
Name |
Ringed
|
Recaptured
|
Total
|
|
Blue Tit
|
|
3
|
3
|
|
Bullfinch
|
2
|
|
2
|
|
Chaffinch
|
4
|
|
4
|
|
Dunnock
|
|
4
|
4
|
|
Goldfinch
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Grasshopper Warbler
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Great Spotted Woodpecker
|
|
5
|
5
|
|
Great Tit
|
3
|
5
|
8
|
|
Greenfinch
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
|
Magpie
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
Reed Bunting
|
1
|
4
|
5
|
|
Reed Warbler
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
|
Robin
|
|
2
|
2
|
|
Sedge Warbler
|
7
|
2
|
9
|
|
Siskin
|
19
|
18
|
37
|
|
Whitethroat
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
|
Willow Warbler
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
Wren
|
|
2
|
2
|
|
Grand
Total |
43
|
54
|
97
|
The highlights were:
- A magpie, the first since 2016. The bird was a recapture. It had been ringed in October 2013, so was in its sixth calendar year. It was a female with a thickened / engorged brood patch.
- Two grasshopper warblers. One of these had been initially captured on the marsh in April, and has now developed a cloacal protrusion, suggesting it will breed / is breeding.
- A reed warbler ringed in September 2014, so in its fifth calendar year, and with four trips to sub-Saharan Africa behind it.
- A good day total of 37 siskins. These included 20 recently-youngsters, 10 birds fledged in 2017, and seven birds fledged in 2016 or before.
- Several recaptured reed buntings. These included a bird ringed in 2014 and a second calendar year female with very dark plumage around the head – and therefore reminiscent of a male. Development of male plumage traits is often associated with old female birds, but this bird showed two ages of tail feathers and a moult limit in the tertials, both of which indicated it was in its second calendar year.
- Two bullfinches, the fourth and fifth of the year. Although captured annually at Oxwich in varying numbers (range 2 (2016) – 19 (2014)), the species is always popular due to its attractive plumage and passivity in the hand.
Thanks to the team of Kirsty Franklin, Stephen Vickers, Joanne Conway, Alex McCubbin, Edward O’Connor and Richard Dann.
Owain Gabb
13/05/2018
 |
| Grasshopper warbler |
 |
| Bullfinch (Richard Dann) |
 |
| Male and female bullfinches (Richard Dann) |
 |
| Magpie (ringed in 2013 and recaptured in May 2018) (Richard Dann) |
 |
| Female reed bunting showing male plumage characteristics (dark face and white collar) |
