Thursday 5 September 2013

It was a much quieter day today, with very little movement in terms of migrants. A Great Skua flew over the Narrows in the early hours, whilst a Pomarine Skua harassed Kittiwakes off the South End at the same time. A total of 11 Grey Wagtails passed overhead during the morning, whilst smaller numbers of warblers saw six Chiffchaffs and 12 Willow Warblers in the island's gardens, along with four Spotted Flycatchers. The first Merlin of the Autumn was also recorded.

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Many Swallows have been feeding on flying ants in the last few days, picking the insects off the surface of the sea in Henllwyn. The lower bird is pictured getting rid of the unwanted by-products of its catch! (sea water). (C) Steve Stansfield
A Pink-barred Sallow was the only notable species in the moth trap today


Some pictures from last night's ringing session...
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This superb adult Little Owl was trapped on Pen Cristin via the aids of a mist net, and was promptly ringed back at Cristin
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The bird is in full wing moult (=adult)
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Mark and the Little Owl
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Two Swallows were trapped in the New Reed Bed, along with two White Wagtails and two Stonechats. In this image, the an adult is on the left, to compare to a juvenile on the right
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Comparison between the relatively fresh tail feathers of a juvenile (top left) and  worn tail of an adult (bottom right)
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Again, compare the worn primaries of an adult (bottom left) to the fresh ones of a juvenile (right)
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Stonechat

1 comment:

  1. Hi I loved this post with fantastic photos and information. The second shot is amazing. I loved seeing the comparisons of the different feathers in Juv & adults. The Little OWl is adorable.

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