Aquatic Warbler Sessions (Jetty visits 8-11)

The first Aquatic Warbler at Llangorse was caught by Jeremy on 16 Aug 1976 (before the Group was formed), and the lastest was caught by Jerry on 28 Aug 2009 (the Group's fifth). Despite trying each year since, none have ended up in our mist nets (in fact only 20 have been ringed in the UK - just three in Wales, since 2009). Mid/late August is the best chance of getting another, and with a full moon on 10th, several group members made the early morning trek to the jetty. The weather forecast wasn't very good for the start of the week (windy with heavy showers), but improved as the week went on. Jerry tried on Mon 11th, and had a modest catch of just 12 + (2), undoubtedly weather related, with the top panel billowing (lower panels sheltered by the reeds). Alan L and Ron had better conditions on Wed 13th - clear sky overnight, clouding over at dawn and only an occasional light shower, which made for a much improved catch of 39 + (3). Jeremy was there on Thurs 14th - dry with a light breeze, and caught 30 + (2). It had gone very quiet by 08.30 when he finished, but he was back on Fri 15th in good conditions (though a cold, misty start) for another catch of 31 + (1). So did we catch one? the answer is no, but here's a picture of one caught by ALO at the jetty on 20 Aug 2008.

The 2008 Aquatic Warbler

The species totals for the four sessions were - Wren 2, Wilwa 2, Chiff 4, Reewa 65 + (6), Sedwa 39, Blaca 2 and Bluti (2).