Oxwich Marsh 18 June 2016: fledgling warblers

with No Comments
A light to moderate northerly breeze and clear skies did not present the best conditions for ringing, and due to various pressing commitments, including getting the Constant Effort visit completed at WWT Llanelli, we had limited personnel available. As such, we put up less net than usual, limiting ourselves to 400 feet in the reed bed and a sixty foot net in the scrub near the feeders.

Species
New
Recaptured
Total
Great Spotted Woodpecker
2
2
4
Wren
1
1
2
Dunnock
3
1
4
Robin
1
0
1
Blackbird
1
1
2
Sedge Warbler
3
3
6
Reed Warbler
0
1
1
Whitethroat
1
2
3
Goldcrest
1
0
1
Blue Tit
3
2
5
Great Tit
3
4
7
Chaffinch
5
6
11
Greenfinch
10
0
10
Goldfinch
14
3
17
Siskin
1
2
3
Reed Bunting
3
1
4
Total:
52
29
81

Sedge warbler (juvenile)

The features of the catch were the first young sedge warbler of the year, a 1J (a bird not capable of having dispersed far from the nest site) with all its primary feathers in pin and a partially grown tail, along with the first young whitethroats, reed buntings and a fledgling goldcrest. We have not previously caught a young sedge warbler before the start of July, while fledgling whitethroat was first captured on 27 June in 2015 and fledgling reed buntings on 14 June in 2014 and 20 June in 2015.

Goldcrest (juvenile)

As we only sample at Oxwich on a weekly basis (due to CES and RAS commitments preventing more regular visits at this time of year), comparisons between years need to be cautious, but there is some pleasing symmetry emerging over time in terms of fledging dates.

Thanks to Val Wilson and Emma Cole for company and assistance on Saturday.

Further photos are below.

Owain Gabb
20/06/2016

Whitethroat (juvenile) 

Sedge warbler (juvenile)
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments