Although the latest session was scheduled for 3rd or 4th November, the forecast weather was so bad that we brought it forward to Sunday 2nd. We met at the Discovery Hut at 630, and although the session was meant to take place at Colyford Common, as the forecast still wasn't ideal, we set nets near the Hut so we'd have shelter if needed. As it turned out, it was a lovely morning!
We set six nets, four in the reed bed & two near the feeders. We caught a total of 67 birds of 13 species. Due to the fact that we've ringed regularly in the area recently, 18 of the birds were retraps, having been ringed at previous sessions on the site.
 |
| The Team ringing in the Discovery Hut |
 |
| View from the Hut of the reed beds where the nets are set .....note the blue sky! |
Goldcrests, along with Firecrests, are the UK's smallest birds. They're also quite tricky to age. The shape of the tail and the colour of the edge of the central alula feather are two features to check. However, there is a lot of individual variation, which often makes it difficult to assign a definite age. It was therefore great to retrap a Goldcrest that had been ringed on 15/11/24, allowing us to say that it was definitely an adult. The tail is relatively rounded, and the central alula feather has quite a green edge, both features expected of an adult.
 |
| A Goldcrest. The orange coloured crown stripe shows it to be a male (it would be yellow in a female) |
 |
| The rounded tail of the adult Goldcrest (age code 4) |
 |
| Alula of adult Goldcrest |
We also caught our third ever Firecrest, the differences between this male & the male Goldcrest shown above are obvious....it has a much more striking face pattern, with the bold white stripe over the eye, and the bold black eye-stripe.
 |
| Male Firecrest |
Another rarely caught bird at the Wetlands is the Magpie.....and we caught the Groups fifth during the session. It was rather feisty! Using a number of features, the bird was given an age code of 3 (ie hatched this year). One of the features used was the amount of black on the second primary feather. In an adult the white area would extend further towards the tip.
 |
| Robin ringing the Magpie |
 |
| The magpie's wing |
 |
| The Magpie about to be released. |
After a session on 25/9/25 a photo was posted showing the pattern found on the crown feathers of a male Reed Bunting (https://axeestuaryringinggroup.blogspot.com/2025/10/mist-netting-25th-sept.htm). The pattern found on a female Reed Bunting is shown below. The more pointed shape of the black centre means that as the feather wears over winter, the head will retain a more brown colour than in the male.
 |
| Pattern of crown feather on female Reed Bunting |
The weather was much better than predicted, and we were very pleased with the catch.
Ringed | Retrapped | |
Blackcap | 3 | |
Blue Tit | 5 | 5 |
Cetti’s Warbler | 1 | 2 |
Chaffinch | 1 | 1 |
Chiffchaff | 19 | |
Dunnock | 3 | 5 |
Firecrest | 1 | |
Goldcrest | 1 | 1 |
Great Tit | 1 | 1 |
Magpie | 1 | |
Reed Bunting | 13 | |
Robin | 1 | |
Wren | 2 | |
49 | 18 |
