Settled weather for some time now, enabling the group to keep up to speed with our Constant Effort Site at WWT Penclacwydd, the long term Retrapping Adults for Survival Project on pied flycatcher at Cwm Clydach, and to continue to get the odd session in at Oxwich.
The session at Oxwich on Saturday 25 May was reasonably successful, with 99 birds captured. The breakdown was as follows:
|
Species
Name |
Ringed
|
Recapt
|
Total
|
|
Blackbird
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
|
Blackcap
|
2
|
|
2
|
|
Blue Tit
|
|
2
|
2
|
|
Cetti’s
Warbler |
|
2
|
2
|
|
Chaffinch
|
1
|
5
|
6
|
|
Chiffchaff
|
2
|
|
2
|
|
Dunnock
|
|
4
|
4
|
|
Goldfinch
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
|
Grasshopper
Warbler |
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Great
Spotted Woodpecker |
|
12
|
12
|
|
Great
Tit |
7
|
10
|
17
|
|
Greenfinch
|
6
|
1
|
7
|
|
Reed
Bunting |
|
2
|
2
|
|
Reed
Warbler |
3
|
3
|
6
|
|
Robin
|
5
|
4
|
9
|
|
Sedge
Warbler |
5
|
2
|
7
|
|
Siskin
|
|
5
|
5
|
|
Song
Thrush |
|
1
|
1
|
|
Whitethroat
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Willow
Warbler |
1
|
2
|
3
|
|
Grand
Total |
37
|
62
|
99
|
The highlights of the session were:
- A new and a recapture grasshopper warbler. We have caught four groppers this spring, which is fairly typical. The recapture was of a bird initially ringed approximately a month before, but now sporting a well-defined brood patch, indicating a breeding female.
- Twelve different adult great spotted woodpeckers. We would anticipate seeing the first juveniles in the next week or so.
- A good little run on greenfinches. We have had no clear evidence of trichomonosis since 2018, albeit have suspected a few birds (mainly chaffinches) were in the early stages of the disease. This lack of evidence in comparison with previous years is very welcome; long may it continue. Hopefully our greenfinch total will at least match last year’s, following several years of steady declines in numbers.
- Our first fledged great tits of the year.
- A reed bunting and a great tit from early 2014, so both in excess of 5 years old.
We have a very good team of people in the group at the moment. Numbers of people at Oxwich sessions are slightly down at present, as a few are pursuing their own projects / research (on dippers and pied flycatchers in the valleys and east Wales, on woodcock in the New Forest and on seabird ranging behaviour around island colonies off Ireland). This works well, as the numbers of birds at Oxwich in May is relatively low, and smaller groups result in people processing more birds. A return to full strength in July and August will coincide with the period when catches are highest.
Thanks to Heather Coats, Keith Vaughton, Val Wilson, Jo Conway, Alex McCubbin, Richard Dann, Amy Schwartz, Claudia Allen, Pedro Roberts and Colin Baker for company and assistance.
Owain Gabb
29/05/2019
 |
| Greenfinch (adult male) (Richard Dann) |
 |
| Approximately half of the Gower Ringing Group at Oxwich on 25 May 2019. L-R Richard Dann, Colin Baker, Pedro Roberts, Claudia Allen, Val Wilson, Amy Schwartz, Keith Vaughton, Heather Coats, Owain Gabb, Alex McCubbin and Jo Conway. (Richard Dann) |
