Llangorse Ringing Group: Late August - Acro taping & rb2 roosts continue; CES 11 & 12; garden taping starts and recent recoveries

With the dry weather continuing, we were able to make almost daily ringing visits, though rb2 had to be closed down earlier than normal (see below).

Andy got the second half of August off with an early morning visit to the jetty, and after weeks of no rain, his morning was interrupted by a shower needing an early closure of the nets. His catch was only 15 + (1), with the best a retrap Reed Bunting - ringed by George in the garden in October 2016, making it a new longevity record for the Group. Surprisingly it had not been caught in the intervening period. It would have been expected that if it had been breeding, or wintering, somewhere near the Lake, it would have had a good chance of turning up in a net - so still a lot to learn about this species' movements. In the evening Peter, Alan J and Andy tried another roost for a modest catch of 23. The next morning Jerry tried again and in what was the first time in over a month when the nets weren't in full sun, he was a bit disappointed with the catch of 24 (after another Grasshopper Warbler at first light, the early part of the session was mainly "Acros" while the latter part was mainly "Phyllosc"). The three sessions resulted in Sand Martin 6, Swallow 8, Chiffchaff 15, Willow Warbler 1, Grasshopper Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 11, Sedge Warbler 14, Blue Tit 2, and Reed Bunting (1).

After a break from rb2 of about 10 days (recent heatwave, followed by a few days of thunderstorms forecast), Jerry decided it was time for a visit on Thursday 18th, but he had a delayed start. Cows had found their way into the net lane, coming in through the alder carr/sedge bed to the north, before reaching the old harbour (now dry) and our board walk. A couple of them had ventured down the length of the net lane, breaking reed stems as they went (needing to be cleared before the nets could be put up), but with only limited damage to a pole/furler and cross member of the boardwalk - it could have been a lot worse. Although they did not venture into the reed bed, the extensive bog bean stands (at the harbour and along the boardwalk) had been completely trashed. In a short session he had a reasonable 24 + (2), made up of Dunnock 2, Chiffchaff 9 + (1), Reed Warbler 12 + (1), and Sedge Warbler 1.

On Friday 19th it was another early start at the Jetty for Jeremy, and a catch of 18 + (1) (catching reduced with early sun on the nets) including another two Grasshopper Warblers. Rachael and Jerry had a later start for CES 11 and a varied catch of 22 + (8) - about average number for recent catches of CES 11. The day mix was Wren 1 + (2), Robin 2, Song Thrush 2 + (1), Blackbird 1, Chiffchaff 2 + (1), Blackcap 4, Garden Warbler 1, Grasshopper Warbler 2, Reed Warbler 12, Sedge Warbler 3, Blue Tit 1 + (1), Long-tailed Tit 1 + (1), Treecreeper (1), Nuthatch 1, Bullfinch 6 + (2) - mainly juveniles but also the part leucistic female from last year, and Reed Bunting 1.

Jerry checked rb2 for the cows on 21st, and they had been back in. Although the sedge bed (north of our ringing area) is already heavily grazed, due to the dry weather there is still better feeding there than in the fields. Reluctantly he decided that it was no longer realistic to safely net rb2 so the site was closed down approx two weeks earlier than usual.

Also on Sunday 21st, Andy was at the jetty, and it was a slow start, but it soon picked up and the calm/overcast conditions boosted numbers until he ended on a very respectable 34 + (4). The mix was Wren 1, Chiffchaff 12 + (1) , Cettis Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 15 + (3), Sedge Warbler 3, Blue Tit 1, and Long-tailed Tit 1. On 22nd, Peter and Alan J (with help from Andy and Carlton) tried another roost for 22 + (2). The following morning Jerry tried an early morning, but delayed putting up the nets until it had started to get light (to allow the bats to disperse to their roost). He had a decent catch of 39 + (2), which included a late Grasshopper Warbler (a full 90 mins after the tape had been changed, and the nets raised, for Chiffchaff). It looks like it was departing the sedge bed beyond the hide, and looking for another patch of sedge when caught. The species mix for the "overnight" was - Wren 2, Blackbird 1, Sand Martin 12, Swallow 2, Chiffchaff 9 + (3), Willow Warbler 3, Cettis Warbler 1, Grasshopper Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 22, Sedge Warbler 8, and Blue Tit (1).

On Friday 26th, there was a long (10 hour) session at the jetty, with Jeremy doing the early stint for 27 + (4), and Jerry arriving mid morning for 24 + (2). Conditions were good, mainly decent cloud cover, calm or a light breeze, and only one light shower in the early afternoon. Species details were Wren 1, Grasshopper Warbler 1 (our 7th, making this our equal 2nd best year), Cettis Warbler (1), Chiffchaff 15 + (2), Willow Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 24 + (5), Sedge Warbler 4, Blackcap 1, Bullfinch 1, and Reed Bunting 1.

Our 2nd best year for the number of Grasshopper Warbler caught

Cettis Warbler have had a successful breeding season at the jetty (and in rb2)

Andy did the final CES (visit 12) of the year on Saturday 27th. He had a well above average catch (for the final CES session), of 29 + (11), with a fairly regular species composition (for the end of the breeding season) - Great-spotted Woodpecker 1, Wren 1, Dunnock 1, Blackbird 1 + (2), Chiffchaff 15 + (2), Blackcap 3 + (3), Goldcrest 5, Long-tailed Tit (2), and Bullfinch 2 + (2).

As the CES visits had been completed, Jerry tried a taping session on the next morning, and had a very similar catch (although he had the benefit of playing tape lures, he only used four of the seven CES nets). His catch of 34 + (6) was made up of Dunnock (1), Robin 2, Redstart (1), Chiffchaff 12, Blackcap 15 (a decent day catch for us, after two autumns of poor numbers), Reed Warbler 2 + (1), Blue Tit 1 + (1), Long-tailed Tit (1), and Bullfinch 2 + (1).

Jerry was back in the garden on Tuesday 30th, and after a promising start, the catching went quiet from about 8am, when a breeze started to pick up. Because of this he ended on just 23 + (2), comprising mainly Chiffchaff/Blackcap and the best bird was a Spotted Flycatcher. In the evening, Peter tried a roost but the north-easterly breeze (appeared to be stronger than forecast) was blowing the nets and only five birds were caught. The following morning Jerry tried tapes, and although the catching started promisingly, the breeze returned at 7.30 and few more birds were caught. He ended on 15, and the species mix over the two days (three visits) was Kingfisher 1, Sand Martin 1, Blackbird (1), Robin 2, Chiffchaff 13, Willow Warbler 2, Blackcap 6, Cettis Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 7 + (1), Sedge Warbler 5, Spotted Flycatcher 1, Blue Tit 1, and Long-tailed Tit 3.

August ended with a respectable 791 ringed (just outside our top 10 August catches), making our YTD 1862.

Canada Goose 5233924 was ringed on 25 June 2017, and was freshly taken by a predator at Llangorse on 9 August 2022 - 1871 days.