A small team of ringers met at 6am yesterday for a mist netting session at the Colyford Common end of the Seaton Wetlands, our first session since September. Ringing had been suspended largely due to concerns over HPAI (Bird Flu), however we have now resumed, implementing the BTO guidelines on the sanitising of equipment.
We were faced with an unexpected challenge on our arrival, when we were met by a herd of cows grazing in the field where we were planning to set two of our nets. Luckily we managed to herd them into an adjoining field without too much difficulty.
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| Pre-ringing herding practice required! |
It was a successful session, catching 33 birds of 15 species in 6 nets. One of the first birds of the day was a Common Whitethroat.
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| Male Common Whitethroat |
We caught 3 male Reed Warblers, all of which appeared to be breeding on the site. One of them seems to have had a bit of a close call at some stage, having lost a number of tail feathers which it's now re-growing.
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| Reed Warbler |
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| Reed Warbler tail, growing 3 new feathers |
Three of the birds caught had been previously ringed. A male Chaffinch had been ringed on 4.6.18, having been hatched the previous year. The bird is now almost 6 years old, where the average age for a Chaffinch is 3 years, so it's doing quite well. However, it has a long way to go to beat the oldest know Chaffinch which was 13 years & 11 months old.
Ringed | Re-trapped | |
Blackbird | 1 | 1 (ringed 3.11.20) |
Blue Tit | 2 | |
Cetti’s Warbler | 1 | |
Chaffinch | 1 | 1 (ringed 4.6.18) |
Chiffchaff | 3 | |
Common Whitethroat | 1 | |
Dunnock | 4 | |
Greenfinch | 5 | |
House Sparrow | 1 | |
Long-tailed Tit | 2 | |
Reed Warbler | 3 | |
Robin | 1 | |
Sedge Warbler | 1 | |
Song Thrush | 2 | 1 (ringed 19.5.21) |
Wren | 2 | |
30 | 3 |
