Pembrey Country Park Bird Ringing Friday 16th November 2018

Phew! well after watching the weather forecast all week this morning the weather was spot on for my first session at Pembrey Country Park.
It's always interesting and challenging the first time a new site is ringed, how many nets? how will the wind direction affect the nets and therefore the catch? what will we catch? are there enough rings?
all these questions were answered today.

I was joined by "A" grade permit holders, Heather and Cedwyn from the Gower Ringing Group and by Veronica who provides the "scribing" service (Veronica does the writing!)

I was on site for 06:15 and set the first couple of nets in the dark ready to catch any redwings leaving their night time roost, when the rest of the team arrived we put up another net near the feeders.
It proved a decent first session with 44 birds of 12 species caught and ringed.

Mistle Thrush, there is a good population of these stunning thrushes in the park

Blue Tits dominated the catch as is usual when ringing near bird feeders with 19 ringed, the rest of the catch was made up of:
Great Tit 9, Chaffinch 3, Blackcap 1, Blackbird 2,Coal Tit 2,Dunnock 2,Redwing 2,          G. S.Woodpecker 1, Jay 1, Mistle Thrush 1, and Robin1.

Feisty jay

Robin

The Blackcap was the most interesting as it should be on its way to, if not already in, Africa for the winter, however more and more Blackcaps are over wintering in the UK so this one may make the Park its winter home.

Hopefully time and weather will allow a regular timetable of ringing at Pembrey Country Park with many more birds ringed, this will provide the base line information for monitoring the range of species and their population in the Park.

Male Chaffinch (library photo)

Chaffinch wing-ageing the bird

We also saw two different Sparrowhawks, and judging by the hole in Heathers net one may have visited the catching area.

Winter is a good time to visit Pembrey with its different habitats of pine forest, mixed deciduous woods, open grassland and of course the beach and dunes.