Richard Dobbins

Storm Petrels and early breeding results Mid June saw the start of our Storm Petrel ringing at Strumble. Over two nights we handled 18 birds, one of which had been ringed on Skokho...

New Teifi Ringing Group blog including Storm Petrels at Strumble Head, first signs of breeding success at our CES site and a Reed Warbler on the Teifi Marshes that had been ringed in Belfast #BirdRinging @btobirds.bsky.social teifimarshbirds.blogspot.com/2025/06/stor...

Recoveries and Reedbed arrivals Sedge Warblers,  are mostly on migration not local breeders, and numbers peaked in the third week of April. Because of the good weather, fre...

Teifi Ringing Group latest blog with news from the Teifi Marshes reed beds and movements of our birds including a Woodcock to Russia, Sedge Warblers from France and Jersey and a wandering Bullfinch from Llangorse Lake #birdringing #birdingwales teifimarshbirds.blogspot.com/2025/05/reco...

White Wagtail ringed on migration to Iceland

Spring migration so far through the Teifi Marshes and other news... teifimarshbirds.blogspot.com/2025/04/mid-... 62 White Wagtails, over 150 Sedge Warblers including one ringed in Wiltshire and one with a French ring and the first six returning Reed Warblers from previous years. #birdringing #wales

Male Wheatear with a green colour ring as part of a long term study on Skokholm Island.

Male F22 was the first Wheatear back this year @skokholmisland.bsky.social
He was singing around the Obs on 4 March! He had the entire island to choose from but he chose to set up his territory at the same place as last year. (He’s also not shy of people).
#ukbirding
#birds
#birdingWales

Despite another windy day our nest-building female is now onto white feathers @skokholmisland.bsky.social
This is usually the final stage of construction so laying in the next day or so (5/6 eggs). Incubation of c12 days so feeding young around 8 May.
#birds
#birdingWales
#ukbirding

Now the Wheatears @skokholmisland.bsky.social are paired, the males are on constant vigil. Flying round their territorial boundaries to protect their patch, they are quick to challenge any encroaching males with eyes on their female! Here C54 is on sentry duty on North Plain.

Most Wheatears @skokholmisland.bsky.social are now paired and are starting to explore potential nest sites together. Male C39 and female H09 are roaming their territory in the general North Plain area where both have bred with different partners for the last few years.
#ukbirding
#BirdingWales

Female C48 & male C91 are paired at Frank’s Point @skokholmisland.bsky.social. Both four years old they returned early to the same territory where they bred in 2024 and paired again.
#BirdingWales
#ukbirding

There are 42 Wheatear nestboxes @skokholmisland.bsky.social.
Each year they are checked and made good for the season.
There are usually one or two used each year. Bespoke cameras are used if there is an active nest to monitor the nestling behaviour.
#ukbirding
#BirdingWales

Male Wheatear with green colour ring F07

Female Wheatear with green colour ring H69

Enjoyable 1st day on @skomerisland.bsky.social, amongst the highlights 2 successful Wheatear colour-ring reads from @skokholmisland.bsky.social, part of @fatsnipe.bsky.social long term study there

More female Wheatears ‘clocked in’ today @skokholmisland.bsky.social
4 birds with colour rings were sighted and photographed and a further 4 were ringed. Female F99 was paired with an unringed male at Winter Pond where she raised 2 broods in 2024 with a different partner.
#ukbirding
#BirdingWales

The Wheatear study @skokholmisland.bsky.social uses colour ringing which allow birds to be identified in the field. Male F22 (pic) has bred in the same area for the last two years. Analysis of these data helps understand survival and spacial aspects of the species’ ecology.
#ukbirding
#BirdingWales

With more female Wheatears arriving daily the number of pairs is increasing #skokholmisland. As are the territorial disputes. After it all settles down in a couple of weeks the birds will end up occupying the same areas as previous years regardless of the individuals.
#ukbirding
#BirdingWales

Wheatears are starting to pair up @skokholmisland.bsky.social
Here male H42 and female H32 are keeping close near North Gully. On The Neck, female H92 is the first of last year’s juveniles to return from her winter quarters.
#BirdingWales
#ukbirding
#WheatearTales

skokholm.blogspot.com?m=1
For Apil 5th

Welcome to the 9th year of ‘Wheatear Tales’; a diary of the Wheatear colour ringing research project on #skokholmisland via daily posts (previously posted elsewhere). One of our first pairs back are female C56 & male D63 - both 5 years old, exploring their 2025 territory. #ukbirding

A Black-tailed Godwit in the hand after ringing

New Teifi Ringing Group blog teifimarshbirds.blogspot.com/2025/04/wade...
Some wader ringing, spring arrivals and news of a movement of a nestling Grey Wagtail in a Dipper box from Carmarthenshire to N Devon #birdringing @btobirds.bsky.social

Reed Buntings with colour rings to study adult survival

New Teifi Ringing Group blog with an update of our early spring ringing and plans for the season ahead at our sites in West Wales teifimarshbirds.blogspot.com/2025/03/spri... #BirdRinging #BTO

This LBBG was photographed by John Jarju / Kartong Bird Observatory in the Gambia on 4/2/25. It was ringed on Bardsey on 8/7/24. Distance between the two sites was 4534Km.

More great work in Kartong by KBOstaff...
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Photo Dawn Balmer

Our first post here.

A great weekend for the BOC AGM hosted by @btobirds.bsky.social

Superb turnout with 16 Obs represented from Fair Isle in the north to @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social in the south. Thanks to the BTO Staff, the Theford Bell Inn & the Thetford Raj. Excellent service all round

Movements of Storm Petrels to and from Strumble Head

Ringing a Storm Petrel

New Teifi Ringing Group blog with 2024 totals and movements teifimarshbirds.blogspot.com 29 of the 162 Storm Petrels encountered at Strumble Head were either re-encountered elsewhere during the season or had already been ringed at other coastal locations #birdringing #seabirds #ornithology

The Teifi Ringing Group have several records of wintering Starlings ringed in Lithuania but this month an interesting movement was a bird caught near Lampeter. It had been ringed in a nest in Finland 2004 km away in May 2023 #birdringing teifimarshbirds.blogspot.com/2024/12/earl...

A near final post of the season with a nice birding summary of 2024..
skokholm.blogspot.com?m=1

We left The Gambia yesterday after another highly successfull visit, back on the Teifi tomorrow.....

This magical White-rumped Sandpiper circled the Obs this morning before flying high towards the Lighthouse. After eyeballing Winter Pond on its loop of the Island, it dropped in to the waters edge where it is now busily feeding. A first for Skokholm and just a third for Pembrokeshire! #rarebirdsuk