Stepping up in numbers

Post date: Jun 17, 2014 6:39:33 PM

Today's ringing session was the fifth of the CES, during which I had the company and help of Pablo Salmon and Arne Hegemann, who finished their own fieldwork. A Bittern was booming very early in the morning (nets were set at 4:30, just after sunrise!), and during a short visit to the tower I spotted a Kingfisher and a Great White Egret, both rather uncommon, but regular in this area.

The number of birds caught (31 captures and 6 retraps of 13 species) finally increased, mostly due to the presence of juveniles of various species (11 Great Tits, 1 Robin, 9 Chiffchaffs, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Reed Bunting). There were also three new species: in addition to the Robin (Erithacus rubecula), we trapped a nice male Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca), and retrapped a Song Thrush (Turdus philomelus) ringed earlier this year during a ringing session for the Ornithology Course.

Sylvia curruca

So overall it was a pretty nice, rather warm morning, working with birds in the company of friends; and discussions about last night's Portugal-Germany spiced the event! Next session will be in one week, but exact date has not been decided yet, as it depends on weather and logistics.

Good birding!

Júlio