Overview of Ringing in 2024

This article provides a summary of our activities in 2024.

During the year we continued to contribute important population data to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Constant Effort Site (CES) and Recapture of Adults for Survival (RAS) schemes. Inputs to these projects were led by Heather Coats, Wayne Morris and Richard Dann.

Training was delivered throughout the year, particularly at Oxwich Marsh, where the largest numbers of birds were captured and sessions were held weekly (as weather permitted) and more regularly during migratory periods. This was led by Owain Gabb, with support from the other group trainers, A and C permit holders. This training included the Welsh Ringing Course, which was held in early September. Two group members were recommended for permit upgrade following external assessment during the course, as were a number of visiting ringers. Large numbers of birds, in terms of the Group total, were also caught by Richard Dann in his coastal garden at Southgate.

Project progress, species totals (including notable species and aged birds) and group news are summarised below.

Project Updates

Cwm Clydach Pied Flycatcher RAS Project

Our long-running RAS project at Cwm Clydach in the Swansea Valley was registered in 1998, although ringing of pied flycatchers has taken place at the site since 1986. During this time we have provided data that has helped researchers at Cardiff University understand and track the decline of the species in lowland South Wales.

The season started well with 22 nests to the egg stage (17 in 2023 and 16 in 2022). However only 18 of these clutches hatched. Bad weather led to 10 dead broods, and only 29 young fledged. This lack of productivity made it difficult to catch adults. Only 14 were trapped, with 10 being re-traps and four new birds. Of the 10 re-traps seven were female and three male. Eight of these were first ringed in 2023, five being ringed as nestlings and three as adults. In addition, a recaptured adult male had been ringed (as an adult) in 2022 and an adult female had been ringed in 2021 as a nestling.

It is notable that no older birds were recaptured in 2024. These have been a feature of the RAS project in the past. Site fidelity in birds breeding for the first time continues.

Gwenffrwd Dinas Pied Flycatcher RAS Project

Once more, several Gower Ringing Group members contributed to the pied flycatcher RAS at RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas run by the Fledgemore Nest Recording Group.

The RAS was registered in 2021 although monitoring pied flycatchers across the reserve has been undertaken for decades. The reserve is large with several sub-sites containing over 650 nest boxes, and provides opportunities for group members to gain experience nest monitoring and ringing cavity-nesting species. In 2024, we were pleased to be joined by colleagues from Teifi Ringing Group, Jane Beck and Ellyn Baker.

In 2024, 208 nests were monitored with 110 pairs successfully producing a total of 550 fledglings. In addition, 230 adults were trapped of which 118 were retraps from previous seasons. This was the highest number of retraps since the Group took on the project. All retraps were site faithful to the reserve.

Dipper RAS Project

The dipper RAS covering water courses in Bridgend, Caerphilly, Neath-Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Taf continued. Over 50 locations were monitored. There was a marked reduction in number and success of nesting attempts in 2024, with only 17 nests producing fledged young.

The very wet February may have resulted in adults failing to get into good condition for the breeding season.

Southgate Jackdaw RAS project

The RAS project on jackdaws at Southgate. near Pennard, Gower, entered its third year. A total of 200 new birds were ringed, and 49 recaptured. The recaptures included seven birds which had previously been metal-ringed only.

There were 268 sightings of colour-ringed birds over the year. These were primarily from the site, but there were also sightings at Pennard Golf Club, Bishopston and West Cross. An excellent third year for the project with a considerable increase in the number of birds captured noted (the previous highest annual jackdaw total had been 82 in 2023).

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust CES

This was the 23rd year of the CES project at WWT Llanelli. Twelve visits were made between 1 May and 26 August, and a total of 306 birds of 20 species captured. Of these 214 were new birds and the remainder recaptures.

Of note was the recapture of a female willow tit in breeding condition; successful breeding was not confirmed, however, as no juveniles were caught. A total of four kingfishers included two adults and two juveniles. This is highest number captured during CES, and reflects the fact that a breeding pair is now established at WWT. In addition magpie was a new species for CES, with two captured, and an adult male blackcap in breeding condition was recaptured that was initially ringed in July 2019 as a juvenile.

Garden CES, Crynant (Dulais Valley)

The CES started in 2020 during the lockdown. This year 12 visits were made between 5 May and 29 August. The total of 304 birds of 18 species captured was a small increase on 2023 (280 birds of 16 species). Siskin was the most numerous species, with 164 captured (73 in 2023, 391 in 2022). The oldest recapture was a male siskin which had been ringed as an adult in 2020. Blue tit numbers at 34 were down from 80 in 2023, with few young birds caught.  Lesser redpoll numbers were also low with seven captured (this has been a good site for them in the past). Notable species for the site were a blackcap and a sparrowhawk (only the second of both species captured there).

Species Totals and Notable Captures

It was a very good year in terms of numbers of birds captured and the range of species processed. A total of 9,861 birds of 91 species were captured (as compared to 7,276 birds of 73 species in 2023, 9,319 birds of 82 species in 2022 and 9,455 birds of 91 species in 2021). The numbers captured reflect the very high level of effort put in; it was clear that for many species (such as tits) productivity was low and catch sizes at Oxwich were below par throughout the year.

Numbers of each species processed (i.e. newly-ringed and recaptured birds) in 2024 are presented in the table below.

Table 1. Unique Birds* Processed by Gower Ringing Group in 2024

* The totals exclude birds captured on subsequent occasions during the calendar year following initial ringing or their first recapture of the year.

New and Notable Species

The more novel species captured in Ringing Group terms during 2024 were:

• A black-faced bunting trapped at Oxwich Marsh on 26 October. 2024 saw an influx of the species to western Europe, with several reaching the UK. These included the Oxwich bird, a first winter male. This will be the first Welsh record if accepted by the British Birds Rarities Committee.
• A first winter male ring ouzel trapped and ringed on West Cliff, Southgate on 6 November. An unexpected late reward for a lot of effort targeting migrant thrushes, and a first for the group.
• A second calendar year male crossbill captured at Coed y Rhaiadr, Ystradfellte, Neath Port Talbot on 10 January. Another first for the group.
• A second waxwing for the 2023/24 winter, (again) trapped on West Cliff by Richard Dann. The first was on 28 November 2023, with this (second) bird trapped on 25 February 2024. There was an irruptive influx of the species into the UK during the winter, with these representing the first and second ringing records for the group.
• Some very nice waders, in the form of first winter little stint (captured at Weobley) and curlew sandpiper (Whiteford) on 7 September 2024 along with good numbers of ringed plover and a handful of dunlin and turnstone.
• A Siberian (tristis) chiffchaff trapped at Oxwich on 14 December.
• Several adult lesser black-backed gulls captured in Langland. These were the first free-flying adults to be captured on Group rings, albeit members do ring pulli on the roofs of Swansea buildings with gull aficionado Peter Rock, and there is one recent record of a rehabilitated bird ringed on release by Simon Allen of Gower Bird Hospital.
• A number of other species rehabilitated, ringed and released by Gower Bird Hospital, which included great black-backed gull, buzzard and kestrel.

Notable year totals were for the following:

• Firecrest. The total of 22 birds captured is the highest to date, beating our previous highest total of 20 (2022). Eight were captured in a Langland garden, five at West Cliff and nine at Oxwich Marsh. The first was an assumed returning or overwintering bird in Langland on 29 February. The first of the autumn were also in Langland (three on 24 September).  Monthly autumn totals were 4 in September, 13 in October and 4 in November. The last was on 26 November.
• Snipe. The 75 birds captured exceeded the previous highest total of 61 birds in 2019.
• Jackdaw. The 249 individuals processed by far exceeded the previous best year total of 110 birds (2023). These were all captured at West Cliff by Richard Dann and recruited into the colour-ringing RAS project.
• Yellow-browed warbler. Thirteen birds was the best autumn tally since 2016. Of these, 10 were trapped at Oxwich, two at West Cliff, and one in Langland. The peak day capture was six at Oxwich on 26 October.
• It was also a record year for reed warbler (321), Cetti’s warbler (78), ringed plover (55) and linnet (60), and our second best year for sedge warbler (327).

The totals for collared dove, magpie, starling, house sparrow and magpie are all significant in terms of Welsh ringing totals, with almost all of these captured by Richard Dann at Southgate.

Also of note were three nightjars caught at Oxwich and another at West Cliff in August. All were juveniles presumably using the marsh / coastal slopes for foraging prior to migration. The age of the birds suggests that the recently re-established population on the Gower commons bred successfully again in 2024.

Other species of local interest were whinchat, yellow wagtail and fieldfare caught on autumn passage and two willow tit captured at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Reserve at Penclacwydd.

Controls

Controls are birds ringed elsewhere and recovered by the Group (or refer to birds we have ringed that are subsequently caught elsewhere). In 2024 the more notable were:

• A woodcock ringed at Brynmoel Farm, Upper Killay in November 2018 and recovered (shot) at Pustyn, Luzhskiy, Leningrad Oblast, Russia on 30 April 2024. A reminder of the extensive migratory movements of this species. The distance between the two sites is 2,277 km.
• A yellow-browed warbler ringed at Oxwich that continued south-west and was caught at Nanjizal. Cornwall a few days later.
• A reed warbler ringed at Paul do Taipal, Coimbra, Portugal on 15 August 2022 and recovered at Oxwich in July 2024. The bird was a female with evidence a brood patch, but it was not clear whether it bred on the marsh. A second reed warbler exchange with continental Europe concerned a (late) young bird ringed on 23 September 2023 recaptured at Dompierre-Sur-Mer, Charente-Maritime, France in June 2024. We also exchanged reed warblers with Alderney Bird Observatory, the Carey Floodplain (Dorset) and Teifi Marshes in 2024.
• Siskins caught in Crynant, in the Dulais Valley and recovered by 2024 ringing course attendee Louis Driver in Wydon Dene, Hexham, Northumberland, and a second bird initially ringed in Peebles in the Scottish Borders and controlled at Crynant – so effectively a mirrored movement. Siskins ringed in Devon were also controlled by the Group at Crynant and Oxwich respectively.
• Blue tits ringed in a Gloucestershire nest box in 2019 and controlled in Langland in October 2024, and ringed in Crynant as a juvenile in August 2023 and recovered in Rowney Wood, Essex in February 2024. This latter is a considerable movement for a blue tit, with the distance between the two locations being 277 km.
• A record of a starling ringed on West Cliff, Southgate as a juvenile female (December 2021) and ring read in the field at Libanus, Brecon in December 2024.
• Pied flycatchers ringed at Halfway, Carmarthenshire and Cwm Clydach, Swansea in 2013 and 2016 and recaptured breeding (both females) in Caersws, Powys and Botton Mill, Wray, Lancashire respectively in May 2024.
• Also of some note were a greenfinch ringed in Somerset in July 2023 and recovered at Oxwich in August 2024, a sedge warbler ringed in the Nanjizal Valley in August 2022 and recaptured at Oxwich in August 2024, and a chiffchaff ringed in Staffordshire in September that had chosen to winter at the WWT reserve at Penclacwydd.

Locally interesting captures included a nightjar ringed at Llanwonno in June 2019 and recovered at nearby Ynyshir (both Rhondda Cynon Taf) in June 2024, and the appearance of swallows ringed at Marloes (Pembrokeshire) and Ty Coch Stables, Trimsaran (Carmarthenshire) among the birds captured during roost sessions at Oxwich. Jackdaws from the colour-ringing project were mainly noted locally to the ringing site, but ventured as far as West Cross (alive) and were reported dead at Oxwich and Felindre. There were also field sightings returned of colour-ringed dippers and rock pipits.

As always, however, while these movements are of interest, much of the data the Group records and submits to the BTO is less ‘sexy’ but more valuable and concerns timing of breeding, extent of moult, stage of growth of young and various biometric information.

Aged Birds

Some of our more notable older birds recaptured during the year (all from Oxwich) were:

• A goldfinch initially ringed in April 2017 and recaptured on 3 March 2024, some 7 years, 4 weeks later.
• A reed warbler ringed in June 2017 and recaptured on the early date (for the species) of 5 April 2024; six years and 46 weeks later
• A siskin recaptured 6 years, 29 weeks and 3 days after ringing
• A sedge warbler recaptured 6 years, 9 weeks and 6 days after ringing
• A blackbird recaptured 6 years and 2 weeks after ringing
• A dunnock captured 5 years 38 weeks and 6 days after ringing
• A robin recaptured 5 years 28 weeks and 2 days after ringing
• A snipe captured 6 years, 2 weeks and 3 days after initial ringing. Not a great age for a snipe, but the volume of snipe ringed now (374 at Oxwich – including 21 recaptures) suggests that the more we persist the more likely we are to recapture older birds.

Group News

Alice Connell and Jane Beck achieved C Permits (for mist netting) during the year, and an application for Ursula Scuderi is due for imminent submission. Well done to all for their effort and commitment. It is great to see them starting their own projects and helping develop the network of ringing sites across South and West Wales.

There was also a welcome increase in artistic creativity this year, with Colin Baker designing Gower Ringing Group bird bags, and Steve Lysyj making ringing lanyards (which have since been sent to ringers all over the UK).

Acknowledgements

Funding

We are extremely grateful to the Gower Society for providing a tenth year of grant funding for ringing at Oxwich in 2024. Without this support we would need to scale back our operations, including our training.

It was also hugely beneficial to receive a grant from the Welsh Ornithological Society (WOS) for the annual Ringing Course this year. Due to a number of unforeseen costs, the 2023 course made a loss. The grant helped us both break even, and keep the costs of the course relatively low, ensuring it was accessible to those who wanted to attend.

Finally on the grant funding front, Richard Dann would like to thank Gower Ornithological Society for funding colour rings for the ongoing jackdaw RAS project.

Access and Training

Thanks to Nick Edwards and Ed Tucker (of Natural Resources Wales), who manage Oxwich Marsh. NRW have been consistently supportive of our efforts since we began ringing in 2013, and we are very grateful for their continued backing. Ed’s assistance in cutting extra rides ahead of the ringing course and mowing the compound in which we have our ringing stations was a great help. In addition we are grateful to Dan Pritchard for access to the Weobley track.

Thanks also to Martin Hughes, Chris Jones of the Teifi Ringing Group, Tony Cross (mid Wales Ringing Group) and Chris Redfern (Natural History Society of Northumbria Ringing Group) for their help as independent trainers and assessors during the Ringing Course in September 2024, and to Ed O’Connor for his wader catching expertise.

Finally, thanks to Richard Dobbins, Wendy James and others from Teifi Ringing Group, as well as the Skokholm wardens (Richard Brown and Giselle Eagle) who hosted some of us on Skokholm in 2024. The experience gained ringing seabirds, using Heligoland traps and just generally ringing in a different environment was hugely helpful and very enjoyable, and everyone was very welcoming.

Group Contributions

Further thanks to members of the Gower Ringing Group who have contributed to the totals, managed data, attended sessions regularly over the course of the year or who contributed to the course we ran in the autumn, in particular: Heather Coats, Wayne Morris, Colin Baker, John Lloyd, Simon Allen (Gower Bird Hospital), Joanne Conway, Richard Dann, Alex McCubbin, Amy Schwartz, Dionne Jenkins, Lucy Rowley, Miguel Lurgi, Tom Wright, Becky Gibbs, Jasmine Davies, Ursula Scuderi, Alice Connell, Kayleigh Bargus, Megan Nicklin, Ciera Atkins, Jane Beck, Steve Lysyj, Liane du Rouys, Lucia Pendrazzi, Elliot Dee, Rhyanne O’Hara, Tate Lloyd and Fran King.

Heather Coats would also like to thank Andrew Hughes for his help at WWT Llanelli and the Cwm Clydach Volunteers for assisting with the RAS work.

Photos are below.

Owain Gabb

January 2025.

Little stint on release

More creativity from Steve Lysyj, with these wonderfully made lanyards.