2019
Ringing Report for Cape Tenaro
2019 saw the
third spring visit to Cape Tenaro for the bird ringing team.
As in the
previous two years we chose as our ringing site a valley side and bottom just
south-west of Paliros where abandoned olive groves provided shelter and a
corridor of movement for migrant birds after their arrival on the Cape. On the penultimate day we experimented with
a single 6m net positioned over a permanent drinking pool in a steep sided
gulley below the village of Koureli
On the day
of arrival (2nd April) 6 nets were erected by late afternoon and the
first 2 birds caught and ringed. By
07.30 on 3rd April, 8 nets were in operation and the session
finished with 40 new birds being ringed.
From the 4th April onwards the full complement of 9 nets
totalling 93m was in operation.
|
Turtle Dove
|
1
|
|
Hoopoe
|
2
|
|
Wryneck
|
8
|
|
Swallow
|
1
|
|
Tree Pipit
|
1
|
|
Robin
|
10
|
|
Nightingale
|
55
|
|
Redstart
|
3
|
|
Stonechat
|
1
|
|
Blackbird
|
1
|
|
Savi’s Warbler
|
4
|
|
Great Reed warbler
|
7
|
|
Sedge Warbler
|
9
|
|
Reed warbler
|
1
|
|
Subalpine Warbler
|
69
|
|
Sardinian Warbler
|
3
|
|
Whitethroat
|
32
|
|
Garden Warbler
|
4
|
|
Blackcap
|
42
|
|
Wood Warbler
|
20
|
|
Chiffchaff
|
12
|
|
Willow Warbler
|
11
|
|
Spotted Flycatcher
|
1
|
|
Pied Flycatcher
|
53
|
|
Collared Flycatcher
|
24
|
|
Semi-collared Flycatcher
|
1
|
|
Golden Oriole
|
4
|
|
Woodchat Shrike
|
5
|
|
Spanish Sparrow
|
4
|
|
Corn Bunting
|
3
|
|
Species 30
|
392
|
11 full
sessions of ringing were completed with two days being lost to bad
weather. The average was about 35 birds
per full session which compares very favourably with the previous years’
averages of 26 and 25 ringed per day.
It was
interesting to see the different species composition of an earlier visit
compared to the previous two years and also some marked daily differences, for
example 3 Pied and 11 Collared Flycatcher caught on the 3rd April,
followed by none caught the following day.
We reviewed
the siting of our study area and concluded that it is the optimum site that can
be operated by one ringer, whilst still having the potential to expand if we
were to have a larger team involved with the ringing programme in future years.
The big
advantage is that it is away from any habitation and is neither troubled by
people nor domestic animals. Its
position in relation to migrants making landfall on Cape Tenaro and then moving
generally north into the landscape also seems to be beneficial.
The
targeting of the drinking pool near to Koureli could also prove to be an
attractive option for the normally inactive afternoon/evening periods.
Body mass for some migrant species
caught & ringed at Cape Tenaro 2nd- 15thApril 2019
Species
|
Species
|
No. measured
|
Weight range (g)
|
Mean weight (g)
|
Nightingale
|
LUSMEG
|
53
|
16.8 – 24.8
|
20.7
|
Sedge
Warbler
|
ACRSCH
|
9
|
9.7 – 14.6
|
11.0
|
Great
Reed Warbler
|
ACRARU
|
7
|
26.8 – 33.8
|
30.1
|
Subalpine
Warbler
|
SYLCAN
|
66
|
9.1 – 13.4
|
10.9
|
Whitethroat
|
SYLCOM
|
31
|
12.4 – 20.0
|
14.6
|
Garden
Warbler
|
SYLBOR
|
4
|
14.1 – 19.5
|
17.0
|
Blackcap
|
SYLATR
|
41
|
15.7 – 23.3
|
19.0
|
Wood
Warbler
|
PHYSIB
|
20
|
7.2 – 9.6
|
8.4
|
Collared
Flycatcher
|
FICALB
|
21
|
10.0 – 15.1
|
11.6
|
Pied
Flycatcher
|
FICHYP
|
46
|
9.7 – 13.9
|
11.8
|
