Saturday May 16 - Morton Bagot

 Saturday is GMS moth morning, but as I surveyed my empty trap following a chilly night I reflected that it was a good job Tony had tipped me off that they would be ringing at Morton Bagot this morning. 

I arrived at 05:45 to find no ringers on site. Shortly afterwards Leigh and John arrived, Tony having apparently opted for Spernal STW with an eye on trying to catch "the other" male Cuckoo. Meanwhile at Morton Bagot a Cuckoo cuckoo'd in the distance.

John and Leigh set up their nets while I headed for the flash field which turned out to be empty of waders apart Lapwing, although the Cetti's and Sedge Warblers were singing by way of compensation.

Back at the nets two more ringers had arrived and warblers began to fall into their hands. First up was a female Blackcap which was aged as a "four". Leigh did explain how they'd reached this conclusion but I'm afraid I rather lost the thread when it came to understanding what that meant.

Female Blackcap

When I had arrived, a Grasshopper Warbler had been reeling near where the nets are usually placed. It wasn't long before it was caught, and turned out to be a frequent visitor, having been caught four or five times since 2024 when they first ringed it.

Grasshopper Warbler

Another good one to turn up was a female Garden Warbler, its brood patch proving it was in the process of incubating eggs. It was quickly processed and released.

Garden Warbler

An awful lot of sitting, or in my case standing, around is part and parcel of ringing studies. But while we were doing so, three Lesser Whitethroats were observed chasing each other around in the bushes and I managed a record shot.

Lesser Whitethroat

The ringers did catch a female Common Whitethroat, but on my way back to my car a nice male posed for me at the dragonfly ponds.

Common Whitethroat

To finish up this warbler related post, I can mention that yesterday I took part in the BTO's Birds in Green Spaces project by walking around Arrow Valley Lake. Highlights there were a singing Willow Warbler and no fewer than five singing Reed Warblers.

Reed Warbler

I was watching the excellent programme Iolo's River Valleys earlier this week, where the presenter stated he didn't really do warblers. He complained that they were all dowdy and not worth looking at. Needless to say, although I will admit they are generally somewhat similar, I disagree with his sentiment. I love looking at warblers and look forward to their arrival every year.

I also love waders. Could fate send some my way please.