Late August reed bed (mostly) ringing

After a few days break (for adverse weather) reed bed ringing resumed on Friday 16th, with Jerry in rb2. It was a misty morning. wet reeds and lots of tall reed stems fallen into the net lane. Setting the nets took much longer than usual and the first birds weren't caught until the sun started to burn off the mist. In the circumstances, the catch was a reasonable 28 + (3), made up of Blackbird 1, Robin (1), Cettis Warbler 2, Reed Warbler 13 + (1), Sedge Warbler (only) 2, Blackcap 3, Chiffchaff 6 + (1), and Great Tit 1. The Group's 1,000th bird (Reed Warbler) was ringed during the morning, only a couple of weeks later than in 2023.

Saturday 17th saw Andy at the jetty, with similar fallen reed stems to be cleared in the net lane. After some trimming the nets were set and his catch was 18 + (1), made up of Wren 2, Cettis Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 9, Sedge Warbler 2, Chifchaff 4, and Blue Tit (1).

Sunday 18th and Jerry was back in rb2 for a much drier start, but bgetting breezy (fortunately from the west so the nets were sheltered by the alder carr wood). His catch of 29 + (1) was very similar to 16th, made up of Cettis Warbler (1), Reed Warbler 17 (incl a late adult, Sedge Warbler 6, Chiffchaff 5, and Willow Warbler 1. Two additional lure players for Reed Bunting and Tree Pipit failed to attract.

Weather fronts crossing the country became more regular which disrupted ringing activity, particularly at the jetty where there is little shelter from the westerly wind. With overnight rain forecast for Mon/Tues, Jerry opted for a late start on Tuesday 20th. The rain cleared the Lake at 09.00, with the sun breaking through at 10.00. Catching was slow and totalled just 6 + (1) in four (very breezy) hours, made up of Wren 1, Reed Warbler 3 + (1), Chiffchaff 1, and Treecreeper 1.

Another mid morning start Wednesday 21st, with Jerry in rb2 and Andy taking over from mid afternoon. Although it was dry, there was a blow from the west, with the alder wood doing a reasonable job of providing shelter for the net. It was a useful catch with a good variety of 19 birds - comprising Wren 2, Cettis Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 7, Sedge Warbler 1, Blackcap 1, Chiffchaff 6, and Blue Tit 1.

Peter and Alan J thought that the forecast for Thursday 22nd might be calm enough for another roost attempt at the jetty. In the event is was very breezy (again) so they delayed opening the nets until the half hour before dusk when it had calmed a bit. A flock of some 500+ Sand Martin were present, but resulted in just 7 being caught. While still breezy (before the nets were set) a flock of some 100 mixed Long-tailed Tits and Chiffchaff passed through (in ratio 70/30).

Both the jetty (Carlton) and rb2 (Jerry) were operated on Monday 26th (alongside CES12), and overnight rain had brought several reed stems into the net lane. Carlton set 2 nets (06.30 - 10.30) with tapes, while Jerry had 4 nets (08.00 - 13.00) without tapes. The use of tape lures are not used in rb2 when a CES session is happening in the garden. In past years when this happened, some birds moved between the two sites, which adversely influenced the CES catch. Despite the use of tapes, and different net lengths, there were similar catches at the 2 sites - jetty 22 + (20), and rb2 - 20 + (6). The combined species mixture was Wren 1 + (1), Cettis Warbler 3 + (1), Reed Warbler 18 + (3), Sedge Warbler 8 + (1), Chiffchaff 9, Goldcrest 2, Blue Tit (2), and Treecreeper 1.

On Wednesday 28th, Andy fitted in another useful visit to the jetty before the afternoon rain arrived. His catch of 18 + (3) was made up of Wren (1), Reed Warbler 7 + (2), Sedge Warbler 2, Chiffchaff 7, and Willow Warbler 2.

On Thursday 29th, was back in rb2 for a quiet catch of 13 + (2), with species mix Wren 2, Cettis Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 8 + (2), Sedge Warbler 1, and Treecreeper 1. At the same time, Peter had an earlier start for our first tape session (now that CES visits were completed) in the scrub, and a much more successful catch of 27 + (4). The species variety was Wren 2, Dunnock 2, Robin 1, Blackbird 1, Reed Warbler 1, Blackcap 5 + (1), Garden Warbler 1, Chiffchaff 6, Willow Warbler 2, Goldcrest 6 + (1), and Bullfinch (2). The day total was 40 + (6).

August ended with a jetty roost on Friday 30th (Peter and Alan J) and a morning in rb2 on Saturday 31st (Jerry). The roost produced a reasonable 32 birds, as weather conditions for catching were an improvement from earlier in the month. The mix was Sand Martin 20, Swallow 10, Reed Warbler 1, and Chiffchaff 1. For once this year, the weather was decent with the breeze dropping at dusk, the improved catch backing up Peter/Alan's thoughts that the poorer year this year is reflective of the unsettled weather rather than a lack of numbers with regards to the Hirundines. Catching in rb2 was very slow, with just 6 + (1) - most of the Reed Warbler appearing to have left on their journeys south. The mix was Blackbird 1, Reed Warbler 3, Sedge Warbler 1, Chiffchaff 1, and Blue Tit (1). A total of 428 birds were ringed in August, bringing the Group's YTD to 1272.