Recent Recoveries Reports

Our inbox was recently graced with an email with the subject “BTO - Finding Recovery Report”. Always a joy to behold! This particular batch of recoveries came from birds we controlled in autumn and winter 2010.

Winter at Cosmeston Lakes saw the usual arrival of several dozen Canada geese attracted by the open water and promise of bread, bread and more bread. The glint of a ring among all those unringed legs was all too obvious and we soon became acquainted with 5254368. This particularly bird was originally ringed as an adult in the Chew Valley in 2008, 41km away and 910 days before its appearance at Cosmeston.

This was the first Canada goose to be caught on one of our sites, although several of the Cardiff Ringers are well versed in the catching of Canada geese having taken part in the Llangorse. But we are still yet to ring any on our own rings, but give us time as plans are afoot….

Rather fittingly for the time of year, the other two recoveries were from migrants that had called in to Cardiff Bay on their way South for the winter. The first year Whitethroat known as L052810 was originally ringed at Kilpasion Marsh in Pembrokeshire by our esteemed colleagues from the Pembrokeshire Ringing Group. 26 days later having travelled 126km and put on 2.6 grams we wished him luck on the rest of his journey.

The North Lancashire Ringing Group should be proud of L444850, a first year Sedge Warbler, who was somewhat quicker than Whitey above having covered the 325km from where he was ringed in Leighton Moss in just 14 days. But to be fair he had only put on a gram by the time we saw him.

To Air is Human

We have been somewhat slack with our posts recently, mainly as the Cardiff ringers have been catching a lot of air of late. Air is currently on migration through much of the country and is easily told from the more common resident air by the moult limit along the breeze….

CBWR and World Sparrow Day

Of all our sites we are most unashamedly proud of  the Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve; the site where many of us were taught our trade, experienced “big mornings” where warblers just kept on coming, and learnt the affects of repeated early mornings and late nights on the human psyche; it’s not pretty but there again nor are we.

Sunday saw 2011’s inaugural visit to the CBWR – a chance to ensure the nets still fit and for the supervising members of the Cardiff Ringer’s to chew the cud over the running of the site in the coming season and scoff several bacon sandwiches. Considering it was the middle of March we had a good session with over 30 birds caught including several migrant and resident warblers, with a new Mute Swan (only the second to be ringed there) being the biggest bird of the day.

An image of something appropriate may or may not be inserted here.

As Sunday was World Sparrow Day the group’s two newest gazetted A permits decided a fitting celebration of such a day would be to spend the afternoon pitting their wits against the humble House Sparrow in one of its strong holds – an urban Cardiff garden.

And possibly here if we can find more than one. 

Nets were unfurled to no avail. It turns out that House Sparrow are harder to out wit than envisaged, or their collective wit is more than that of two particular A permits, who despite their efforts failed to catch anything that afternoon.

Merthyr Mawr

March is not a month associated with plentiful numbers of the South Walian ringers' quarry. Rich, Mike and Adam decided, however, to ignore the probability of failure and make a brave attempt on the dunes of Merthyr Mawr on a bright Saturday morning. On ascending the towering dunes, an array of nets were erected, including a double dog-leg through an area of promising-looking scrub. By promising, we mean not totally hopeless.

Amazingly, the Gods of Ringing smiled kindly on us that day. The three of us were worked hard by the inundation of not five, but six birds over the course of only two or three hours! We barely had time to drink coffee, eat unhealthy snacks and lie around in the sun. Lucky that the flock of goldfinches avoided the nets, or we might have struggled to keep up.

Dunnock, robin and great tit all found their way into the nets. Two dunnocks of different age were caught at the same time, allowing us to compare them in the hand. The eye colour was noticeably duller in the yearling, even though this is a more reliable character in the Autumn (see pics).

There was quite a difference in the greater coverts betwen the two, but according to the ringing bible (Lars Svensson's Little Green Book), this doesn't really tell you anything. Still, here is a picture of dunnocks with different looking greater coverts:

The GCs are clearly different between the birds, which probably tells you nothing about their age or sex (Little Green Book, pg. 104)

Before releasing the dunnocks, Rich briefly contemplated following the example of Paul the alien, but decided that this might bring displeasure from the Gods of Ringing. Looking back, he was probably right.

Great Traditions

For the younger, newer, sprightlier members of the fraternity that is the Cardiff Ringers, it is somewhat comforting to know that they are part of a legacy founded by Masters Yoda Bull and Qui Gon Morgan in 1990.

2010 saw the 20^th year since these Jedi Knights of the pliers established the Bull and Morgan Ringing Partnership, during which time 49705 birds have been ringed. Three months into the 21^st year we have probably (by our estimates at least and despite what the blog may testify) passed the 50000 mark. Either that or we are about 295 short.

To mark the 20^th anniversary of the Partnership that has brought so much to so many, we’ve decided, three months after the event, to post the totals of this hallowed group.

Ladies, gentlemen and trainees may we present the work of the Bull and Morgan Ringing Partnership 1990 to 2010 (cue round of applause):

	Total
Mute Swan	83
Mallard	17
Tufted Duck	12
Sparrowhawk	38
Buzzard	1
Kestrel	1
Water Rail	36
Spotted Crake	1
Moorhen	17
Coot	14
Lapwing	3
Snipe	6
Lesser Black-backed Gull	5
Woodpigeon	20
Collared Dove	83
Cuckoo	3
Little Owl	1
Tawny Owl	5
Long-eared Owl	9
Nightjar	2
Swift	2
Kingfisher	71
Wryneck	2
Green Woodpecker	13
Great Spotted Woodpecker	83
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	1
Sand Martin	213
Swallow	538
House Martin	8
Tree Pipit	8
Meadow Pipit	24
Yellow Wagtail	35
Grey Wagtail	7
Pied/White Wagtail	25
Dipper	3
Wren	830
Dunnock	982
Robin	1533
Nightingale	2
Redstart	49
Whinchat	4
Stonechat	4
Wheatear	3
Blackbird	1685
Fieldfare	5
Song Thrush	587
Redwing	142
Mistle Thrush	9
Cetti's Warbler	319
Grasshopper Warbler	17
Aquatic Warbler	8
Sedge Warbler	10521
Marsh Warbler	1
Reed Warbler	6306
Lesser Whitethroat	123
Whitethroat	382
Garden Warbler	160
Blackcap	1232
Yellow-browed Warbler	1
Wood Warbler	6
Chiffchaff	2016
Willow Warbler	1337
Goldcrest	377
Firecrest	1
Spotted Flycatcher	23
Pied Flycatcher	189
Bearded Tit	350
Long-tailed Tit	688
Marsh Tit	10
Willow Tit	19
Coal Tit	602
Blue Tit	6239
Great Tit	2732
Nuthatch	116
Treecreeper	81
Jay	41
Magpie	83
Jackdaw	191
Rook	28
Carrion Crow	19
Starling	660
House Sparrow	1152
Tree Sparrow	5
Chaffinch	1313
Brambling	6
Greenfinch	2627
Goldfinch	316
Siskin	1100
Linnet	86
Lesser Redpoll	56
Bullfinch	565
Yellowhammer	5
Reed Bunting	371
Grand Total!	49705

For those with a bent for more detail then, for your eyes only, a year by year account of the species totals will follow shortly.