CES 7 and RAS (jetty & RB2)

On the evening of Wed 6 July, Alan L had another roost session at the jetty.  Although the tape (again) failed to attract any Sand Martin, he did get a few Starling (and others escaped from the nets, before he could get to them).  His total was 7 + (2).  

The following morning, Jerry had a slightly more productive session than last time (with calmer conditions, and only an occasional light shower) and ended on 13 + (6).  The totals were made up of 

Robin 1, 

Redstart 1, 

Willow Warbler 2, 

Chiffchaff 1, 

Sedge Warbler 1, 

Reed Warbler 9 + (6), 

Blue Tit (2), 

Starling 3, 

Reed Bunting 2.

Carlton was doing CES 7 at the same time - the weather for the morning did not bode well, as there were occasional showers on the drive down to the lake and it was "spitting" a bit when he arrived. All the nets were put up at six am, but were not opened for a short while due to a heavy, but luckily, short shower.  Although brief spells of light rain persisted throughout the morning they were not enough to affect the catch.  

The majority of the morning was mostly uneventful, and catching was slow, with only about half the final total being produced in the first 5 hrs. However the appearance of Jerry at 11 am, fresh from the Jetty, coincided with an increase in activity, and the final hour proved to be quite busy.  It made me wonder if the birds were actually waiting for the boss to arrive!

At 07:30 an unringed 3J J Robin was retrieved for the netting of the fruit cage, and although it could be added to the day's general total, it could not (at that stage), be included in the CES total. But 2 hrs later it ended up as a retrap in GN2, so its details were recorded on the retrap sheet* (noted as same day), and was added to the CES total.  The final catch was 27 + (5), consisting of - 

Chiffchaff 11 + (1), 

Willow Warbler 5, 

Wren 2, 

Treecreeper 2 + (1), 

Reed Warbler 1,  

Robin 2 (*sdr not included), 

Blackcap 2 + (1), 

Dunnock 1 + (1), 

Song Thrush 1, 

Cettis Warbler (1).  

The catch (second highest of this year's CES) had decent numbers of juvenile "willow/chiffs", suggesting they have had a better breeding season than some other species.

On Friday morning, Jerry was in rb2 for a catch of 24 + (13). The "ditch 
net" was put up for the first time this year, and accounted for about 
one quarter of the total.  At about 8 o clock, he went back to the hut 
to see if Merlin was ready for his breakfast, and on returning to the 
boardwalk, a Mallard was waiting.  So another trip to the hut for a G 
ring, the first Mallard we have ringed for 10 years.  The species mix 
was Mallard 1, Wren 1, Dunnock (2), Redstart 1, Willow Warbler 1 + (1), 
Chiffchaff 2, Blackcap (1), Reed Warbler 9 + (5), Treecreeper 2, 
Long-tailed Tit 3 + (2) and Reed Bunting 4 + (2). 

No more additions for our RAS - as all Reed Warbler recaptures had 
either been recently ringed, or were ringed as juveniles in 2015.