26/08 Thatcham Marsh LNR 2018 CES 2018.12

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR CES visit 2018.12
Session: 26-Aug-2018 05:40 to 10:20hrs

Headlines: We just managed to squeeze in today’s final visit of the season; CES 2018.12. Ringing conditions were quite good, overcast and calm, until about 09:15 when it began to spot with rain; just as forecast. At about 09:55 the rain began to intensify, so we took the nets down promptly at 10:00hrs. By the time we left the reed bed it was raining quite heavily, so we got a bit damp. Five Sedge Warblers is unexpected; perhaps from local late broods or more likely on passage from elsewhere. 21 is below the visit 12 average of 32; range 1995-71, 2006-11. The total for the twelve visits is 352 and  is below the average of 468 for the 26 years we have been CES-ing; Range 1995-769, 2013-337. 

Weather: Overcast, calm, cool, spotting with rain from 09:15hrsrained from 09:55hrs

Present: JL, JHW, IW, VG

Nets: 198metres in one standard reed bed ride up from 10:10 to 10:00hrs

Lure (none): 

Capture (New/Recapture) 21(17/04) CES visit 2018.12	Matching Visit: 27-Aug-2017 32(24/08) visit 2017.12
Species New Rtp Juv Adult BLUTI 1 1 CETWA 1 1 CHIFF 1 1 GREFI 1 1 REEBU 1 1 REEWA 5 5 ROBIN 1 1 2 SEDWA 5 5 WHITE 1 1 WREN 2 1 2 1	Species New Rtp Juv Adult BLACA 3 3 BLUTI 1 2 2 1 CETWA 3 3 2 4 CHIFF 1 1 DUNNO 1 1 GARWA 1 1 REEBU 1 1 REEWA 6 6 ROBIN 1 1 SEDWA 1 1 WHITE 1 1 WREN 1 6 7

Recaptures: (04) recent except

Chiffchaff ringed 18-Aug-2016,
Wren ringed 20-Dec-2016

Some end of season Charts

Since 2012 totals seem to have levelled, unfortunately at the lower end of the range.

The diversity of species is reasonably constant from 1998, about the time that work to stop the reed bed drying out was done.

Reed Warbler: 2018 has one of the lowest 1^st summer totals as expected a poor fledging year.

Sedge Warbler number remain low due to the diminishing population.

Most other species numbers too low or sporadic for meaningful analysis

Sightings 36 Species: Ian’s list, we probably missed a few