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	2	2	4
Swallow	1	0	1
Dunnock	0	3	3
Robin	0	2	2
Blackbird	0	1	1
Cetti’s Warbler	1	1	2
Blackcap	9	0	9
Chiffchaff	2	0	2
Goldcrest	1	0	1
Long-tailed Tit	1	0	1
Blue Tit	6	12	18
Great Tit	3	22	25
Chaffinch	8	9	17
Greenfinch	8	8	16
Goldfinch	30	13	43
Siskin	5	1	6
Reed Bunting	1	3	4
Total:	78	77	155

 

The highlights have been obtaining good evidence that siskin is breeding locally for the second successive year (based on capture of birds with brood patches and cloacal protrusions), catching our first swallow of the year during an evening session, and trapping good numbers of goldfinch, taking the newly ringed total for the species at Oxwich in 2015 to well over 100.

Captures of migrants have been relatively limited to date: the swallow, a few blackcaps, chiffchaffs and a willow warbler.  Despite the return to the reed bed of sedge warbler by 15 April, reed warbler by 18 April and grasshopper warbler by 11 April, none have been trapped to date.

Many thanks to Heather Coats, Cedwyn Davies, Keith Vaughton, Charlie Sargent, Wayne Morris, Lyndon Jeffrey, Darren Hicks, Phil Mead and Valerie Wilson for company and assistance over the three sessions.

 

Some photos, all of which were taken by Keith (and include a treecreeper from an earlier visit) are below.