Early August visits to the reed beds.

Quickly following on from the final RAS visits, Jerry started "taping" for Acro passage in rb2 on Friday 2nd August. The catch was 17 + (10) was lower than expected, as an early start was delayed by having to make a long diversion to avoid the cattle blocking that were blocking a gateway. The mix was made up of Wren 3, Robin (1), Cettis Warbler (1), Chiffchaff 2 + (3), Willow Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 5 + (2), Sedge Warbler 6, Blue Tit (2), and Treecreeper (1).

In the evening, Peter and Alan tried another roost at the jetty. The roost flock was now over 3,000 - the biggest yet, but it became too windy, much more than the forecast of 5mph. The Hobby caused the usual disturbance, and just 3 birds were caught - Sand Martin 2, and Chiffchaff 1.

Jerry was back in rb2 on Sunday 4th for a similar session to Friday - had to detour past the cattle on the way in (and way out), and catch of 26 + (1). The numbers of Reed Warbler were an increase over the previous visit, with several new adults, and some very smart (near completion of their post-juvenile moult) Willow Warbler. The mix was Reed Warbler 16 + (1), Sedge Warbler 4, Chiffchaff 2, and Willow Warbler 4. A male Sparrowhawk (presumably responding to the audio lures) just flying past the end of the net.

Another session in rb2 for Jerry on Tuesday 6th, and although the overnight rain had long passed through (so no drips at the ringing table), the reeds were still very wet and the birds were slow to start moving about. The boards were also wet and a tad slippy, so care needed to walk along them (maybe why few of the group are keen to here when the weather is inclement. The catch of 32 + (2) was made up of Dunnock 1, Cettis Warbler 1, Sedge Warbler 7, Reed Warbler 8 + (1), Garden Warbler 1, Chiffchaff 11, Willow Warbler 1, Great Tit 1, and Reed Bunting 1. The last two visits had few recaptures, suggesting the "acros" are mainly moving through, rather than hanging around to build up fat levels (only a couple of Sedge with Fat score 30 have been caught so far).

Andy was at the jetty on Wednesday 7th, but a couple of early showers probably reduced the catch to just 10 + (1), with a Whitethoat (from Caeau Ty Mawr?) the highlight. The other species were Reed Warbler 4 +(1), Sedge Warbler 1, Chiffchaff 2, Blue Tit 1, and Reed Bunting 1.

On Friday 9th, Jerry's catch in rb2 was slower than his two recent visits, but still a reasonable 23 + (5), made up of Wren 1, Robin (1), Reed Warbler 8 + (1), Sedge Warbler 3, and Chiffchaff 11 + (3).

On Monday 12th, jetty roost sessions were resumed by Peter and Alan, but the evening's catch was just a single Chiffchaff. The flock was again very large, and it looked very promising until the crucial moments, when the flock just didn't come in to the site to roost.