Tuesday 19 December 2017

Wilstone - 17th December 2017


Weather:  calm ,cold and overcast
Nets: 280’
JT and JSJ


New
Retrap
Total
Blue Tit

1
1
Cettis Warbler

2
2
Goldcrest
1
2
3
Great Tit
2

2
Reed Bunting

1
1
Redwing
2

2




Total
5
6
11


A good deal colder than advertised but no breeze, at least to start with. This enabled us to get all three nets up at net ride one. Redwings were roosting in the bushes at the end so we disturbed them putting the nets up and only managed to catch two, the total for the morning unfortunately. Apart from two Great Tits and three Goldcrests, we also retrapped a Wilstone Reed Bunting from earlier in the year
which evidently has visited Marsworth where it has acquired the colour rings, red over red on its right leg.
We also retrapped two female Cettis Warblers ringed at Wilstone, one from the 8th of October and caught several times since. The other was first ringed in November 2013, since then she has been caught a further 5 times in the intervening years but only during the winter periods. Has she been at Wilstone all the time only visiting the netting areas during the winter to forage?
If so, she has been on her own all through the breeding seasons as no male has held a territory at Wilstone since 2011. Or is she a true winter visitor using the reed bed as a locality to survive the winter?  Is this wintering site fidelity? She needs to be recorded during the Summer to answer this, I think.

Johne


Capture dates for female Cetti's Warbler:
November 2013
March 2014
September 2014
October 2014
January 2015
January 2016
December 2017

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