A weekend of light to moderate northerly winds and open skies. Northerly weather in autumn is typically associated with low numbers of migrants in the marsh, and the weekend seemed to bear this out. The working theory as to why this happens is that the ideal conditions for movement result in an exodus, and there is little incentive for birds moving from further north to pitch down at Oxwich as opposed to carrying on their journey south.
The catch was as follows:
The highlights were:
- Excellent numbers of greenfinches and goldfinches ringed. These species, along with other residents, swelled our total considerably.
- Our best ever day catching grey wagtails. Birds had been noted moving during the calmer mornings over the previous week or so, and recent heavy rain had resulted in one of our net rides resembling a long, marshy pool. The wagtails were all caught in this area. Twenty or thirty were probably present over the course of the morning, with the birds occurring in small groups. All of the ten birds captured were first winters.
- A few (4) tree pipits. The numbers were slightly disappointing given the conditions, but assumedly a lot of birds may have been going through high. In previous Augusts, on days with light winds, parties of tree pipits have been obvious, and calling regular over the marsh. In 2020 we have only recorded ones and twos, and the overall catch has been modest. We don’t tend to catch the species beyond 10 September, and the peak in terms of movement is likely to have already passed.
- A whinchat. A first winter bird. A less than annual bird at Oxwich (our fifth since 2014), and a lovely species to study in the hand. A few stonechats were a nice accompaniment, including a female that had been ringed around a month previously and had gone a long way through its main moult in the meantime. Normally our stonechats seem to move through quite quickly. We have ringed 90 birds on the marsh over the past few years, and any recaptures tend to be days as opposed to weeks later.
Other wildlife included grass snakes and common lizards under our reptile mats, a fox moth caterpillar, and a flyover green sandpiper.
Photos are below.
Owain Gabb
01/09/2020







