A last minute session was held in the vicinity of the Discovery Hut. It was a bit windy, but 28 birds were caught and processed. Cetti's warbler Chiffchaff Female Bullfinch  Goldcrest Ringed Re-trapped Blackbird 2 3 Blue Tit 1 Bullfinch 1 Cetti’s Warbler 1 Chiffchaff 3 2 Dunnock 1 Goldcrest 4 2 Great Tit 1 Long-tailed Tit 1 6 13 15 Photos by Mark Wills ..read more

On Friday, 3 members of the Group set up 5 nets in the vicinity of the Discovery Hut. It was a pretty quiet session as we only managed to catch 24 birds. It was also a fairly painful session due to some rampant &  ferocious nettles & brambles in the net rides. We had a nice variety of birds, with 13 different species, although unlike the last session, we had a fairly even split of adults and juveniles.  It was great to catch a juvenile Sedge Warbler, the Group's first this year. All Sedge Warblers undergo a complete moult in their wintering quarters in Africa, so an adult bir ..read more

No mist netting was scheduled by the Group until March, but as there were a few ringers available & the weather was looking good, we set up an extra session.  It was a cold morning, so we were glad that we were able to use the Reed Base again, and set up 8 nets in the reeds and scrub in the vicinity.  It was quite slow at first, but as soon as the temperature rose allowing us to play tape lures of the smaller birds, we started catching. It actually turned into a good Chiffchaff day, as we caught 12, with one of the first being a bird that was already wearing a ring. The prefix of ..read more

There was a good turn out for today's mist netting session, with 9 members attending. The old 'feeders' area (where no feeders are currently in use), had been cut back by the Wetland volunteers, and Dave, the Wild East Devon ranger,  had strimmed some great  rides in the reeds. We therefore based ourselves in the Reed Base and set 7 nets to make use of the newly cleared areas. It was the first time that we've ringed in this area since September 2022. We caught 36 birds of 12 species. The star bird was an unexpected Kingfisher, a female that was hatched this year.  Kingfis ..read more

The weather forecast kept changing & we almost cancelled the session due to impending rain showers....but decided to give it a go. We'd originally planned to go to Colyford Common at the far end of the Wetlands, but changed to the Willows area so we'd have the pond dipping shelter for cover if needed.  We put up 6 nets, and almost immediately caught a Cetti's Warbler. They're quite difficult birds to age, but testing out Robin's new guide 'Identification Atlas of the Continental Birds of Southwestern Europe' by Blasco-Zumeta & Heinze, we aged it as an adult (age code 4). The guide ..read more

A number of sessions have been cancelled recently either due to bad weather or a lack of volunteers, but today a session went ahead around the Willows area near to the Discovery Hut. The session had been advertised, and a number of people eager to learn more about bird ringing joined us for the morning.  It was fairly quiet, but the rain kept off until the very end of the session, and we caught a nice variety of birds, with 22 birds of 11 species. Only one bird had been ringed previously, a Great Tit that had been ringed on 30/6/2 at the Wetlands.  Sarah explaining the ringi ..read more

This session took place in the willows and along the Stafford Brook quite close to the Discovery Hut. A total of 28 birds were caught comprising 10 species. The highlight, and the first bird to be processed, was this reed warbler which had been ringed in France. It was a female and had a well developed brood patch which suggests that she may be breeding nearby.  French ringed Reed Warbler The bird was ringed on 3/6/2020 in Noyant, Soulaire-et-Bourg, Maine-et-Loire, France, and was  at least a year old at the time.  The bird is therefore at least 5 years old, and a ..read more

A small group of members took part in a mist net session at the crop field. Nineteen birds were caught which included a good selection of juveniles. The juveniles of a number of species, such as this robin, blackbird and stonechat, are easily recognised by their spotty plumage.               Juvenile Robin     Juvenile Blackbird                                      &nbs ..read more

On 2nd April, the group were hosts to a visiting group of students from University Centre Reaseheath College, Cheshire. The group has a long-running association with the centre, and has delivered demonstrations for them on multiple occasions. It was therefore a privilege to have them back on site in East Devon. It was a grey start to the day as the team assembled at Seaton, before collecting kit and heading to base at the cropfield. The usual nets were set across the area, hoping to catch a range of species between them. The site boasts thick hedgerow, scrub, green pasture and thickets, so whe ..read more

Seaton Marshes and the Borrow Pit are not so popular as the main public area of the Wetlands, but the Axe Estuary Ringing Group are still responsible for monitoring migrant birds at the site. This year, the Group in partnership with East Devon Countryside Team, have arranged for two public demonstrations at the Borrow Pit, one in early May and the second in August. At the May session five members of the public attended and found the ringing activity interesting and encouraged some to show an interest in the Group’s activities. Seventeen birds were ringed of nine ..read more