First ringing session 2016

Post date: Jan 26, 2016 7:53:57 PM

I finally managed to go out ringing this year, on what proved to be a beautiful morning, at Salreu Marshlands, Estarreja, Portugal. The sky was mostly clear, temperature rose to c.20ºC, and there was virtually no wind.

Using only three 15m nets, Tim and I caught 23 Reed Buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus), surprisingly all belonging to the nominate subspecies, 18 Chiffchaffs (Phylloscopus collybita), 4 Blue Tits (Parus caeruleus; one of which was a retrap), 3 Cetti's Warblers (Cettia cetti; also including one retrap), and a Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica cyanecula).

The Bluethroat

A punk Chiffchaff (all are like this at this time of the year, as they are feeding on the flowers of Willows Salix sp, and get sticky feathers around the bill due to the nectar and pollen)

A flock of c.25 Swallows (Hirundo rustica) turned up early in the morning and fed over the rice fields, where there were hundreds of White Wagtails (Motacilla alba) and tens of Water Pipits (Anthus spinoletta), overlooked by a Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis). Later on, my first Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) of the year appeared, soaring for a while in the distance, and a white-morph Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata) flew over our heads when we were busy processing the last Reed Buntings.

So, all in all, a pretty nice day and a good start of the ornithological fieldwork of 2016!

JMN