Warblers in April

The group is out and ringing on a regular basis now that spring is here. It is even quite warm at times! The SRG really specialises in warblers, therefore April is an exciting time, as our warblers have been arriving from foreign climes. Here is Josh ringing at the point on a very cool day, hence the many layers:

Using the BTO's Demography Online standard report Initial Ringing Year function, it is easy to identify our own birds ringed in previous years, which have returned to us.

So at the end of April we had 3 Blackcaps returned and 45 new birds ringed, Chiffchaff  22 returned 33  new, Garden Warbler 13 returned 4 new, Lesser Whitethroat 2 returned 3 new, Reed Warbler 13 returned 10 new, Sedge Warbler 11 returned 33 new, Whitethroat 11 returned 17 new and lastly Willow Warbler 11 returned and 7 new. These will form the basis of our breeding population, but of course more birds will arrive through spring.

 

Very site loyal a recently returned Reed Warbler

 

Ready to breed, note the bright eye of a mature Whitethroat

The oldest birds were ringed in 2020, and comprise 3 Sedge Warblers and a single Garden Warbler, so they clearly have a lot of miles on the clock, and this suggests that our Sedges are quite robust!

All Quiet on the Western Front

 

At first glance, Stanford Reservoir in early March at the Point, is quiet and tranquil, an ideal spot for a bit  of bird watching.

However, turn the corner on a Saturday morning and you will find a very different story, a veritable hive of activity:

 Kate working, Adam watching

 Stuart Keeping the fire going 

Mick and Dawn and a load of mud.

Yes, this is the mighty SRG enjoying a spot of scrub bashing, the maintenance work we carry out to maintain a good breeding environment for our warblers. This year, we have worked from the Railtrack out to the Point. 

We recently had a Blackcap BCD3425 ringed at Stanford in September 2024 which was retrapped on 10 February 2025 at the southern tip of Gibraltar, thanks to Mark Cutts and the team at Gibraltar Bird Observatory! So we know the warblers are coming, making their way north, but as yet not much evidence of their arrival; we are just waiting for the returning Chiffchaffs to start calling to know that we are in business. Watch this space for more ringing shenanigans!

Rejoice!

 

Be Glad, for the 2024 Annual Report is now available at no extra cost from: http://www.stanfordrg.org.uk/srgstats/2024-annrep.pdf  

Peter