August can be an odd month at Oxwich. The site is very coastal, and numbers of birds vary massively between sessions.
We rapidly realised Saturday 25 August was going to be a quiet one. The nets through the reed bed and nearby fen were catching a few warblers each round, but it was apparent that the place wasn’t moving with birds. A north-westerly breeze wasn’t helping matters; it is the worst direction for the marsh, and by mid-morning the gusts were causing the nets to billow.
As we had a fairly experienced and very competent team of eight, we therefore decided to open some extra nets in nearby sheltered scrub to try and increase totals for the trainees.
We were partially successful, as the totals below indicate:
|
Species Name
|
Ringed
|
Recaptured
|
Total
|
|
Blackbird
|
5
|
1
|
6
|
|
Blackcap
|
11
|
|
11
|
|
Blue Tit
|
14
|
4
|
18
|
|
Chaffinch
|
4
|
1
|
5
|
|
Dunnock
|
3
|
5
|
8
|
|
Great
Spotted Woodpecker |
1
|
2
|
3
|
|
Great
Tit |
2
|
13
|
15
|
|
Greenfinch
|
8
|
1
|
9
|
|
Reed
Bunting |
|
3
|
3
|
|
Reed
Warbler |
14
|
7
|
21
|
|
Robin
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
|
Sedge
Warbler |
4
|
5
|
9
|
|
Siskin
|
6
|
1
|
7
|
|
Song
Thrush |
1
|
|
1
|
|
Tree
Pipit |
2
|
|
2
|
|
Whinchat
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
Whitethroat
|
3
|
|
3
|
|
Willow
Warbler |
2
|
|
2
|
|
Wren
|
6
|
1
|
7
|
|
Grand Total
|
89
|
45
|
134
|
The highlights of the catch were:
- Five new blackbirds, all of which were recently-fledged youngsters, possibly from a third brood.
- A decent little haul of blackcaps. Many of the young birds were approaching the end of their post juvenile moult, and could therefore be sexed based on cap colour.
- Our 29th newly ringed great spotted woodpecker of the year. Some young birds are now moulting nape feathers, so can be sexed on the basis of whether the replacement feathers are red or black.
- Six new recently-fledged siskins; almost certainly a third brood.
- Two tree pipits. The birds were captured in a ‘pipit triangle’ using a tape lure. It has been a poor August for them at Oxwich, primarily as a run of poor weather in the key period has stopped us getting out. We are beyond the time of peak passage, and have about another ten days of catching left, albeit we may get a couple of stragglers. The current total of seven compares poorly to 2017 (19) and particularly to 2016 (37).
- A whinchat. The first at the marsh since September 2015. Two birds in 2015 suggested they might be annual or near annual in occurrence; failing to catch another for three years indicated this initial assessment was optimistic! The bird was sexed as a young male based on tail and wing characteristics.
Thanks to everyone who made it along: Heather Coats, Wayne Morris, Val Wilson, Joanne Conway, Alex McCubbin, Richard Dann and Martin Thomas.
Photos are below.
Owain Gabb
26/08/2018
 |
| Whinchat (Alex McCubbin) |
 |
| Greenfinch (Alex McCubbin): one of a number of young bird captured during the session |
