A quiet couple of days on the marsh, but 88 birds caught.  Info here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/some-nice-settled-weather-with-very-low.html

Birds not captured included a flock of 31 greylag geese and a kingfisher.  Wigeon heard but not seen on morning of 30 Nov – sporadic on the marsh.

Red-throated diver off the pier (distant).  8 turnstone and 6 redshank roosting.

22 Med gulls at Bracelet.

Jack snipe, 2 common snipe and the 27th unique Cetti’s warbler of the year trapped on the marsh this morning.  More here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/oxwich-marsh-25-november-2014-new.html

Yesterday 60-80 snipe were around the fringes of the marsh.  A few redpoll over west.  65 birds captured for ringing / processing.  More here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/oxwich-marsh-22-november-2014.html

Alistair Flanagan and I had the woodlark briefly this morning.  They dropped into the field closest to Overton Village, made a short flight within the field, then flew off to the east at c. 10:45.  All five still present.

At Porteynon 25 Med gulls among c. 90 black-headed gull was a far higher count than normal.  Otherwise 25 ringed plover and 6-8 turnstone (but tide wrong to get a good wader count), little egret etc.  A lot of song thrush on Porteynon Point.  Kestrel hunting there and sitting in the valley at Longhole.

A bird showing the characteristics of Siberian (tristis) chiffchaff was caught and ringed this morning, along with a more familiar looking collybita.  Photos and further information here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/oxwich-marsh-15-november-2014.html

Also two blackcaps and a few goldcrests.  Lots of redwing moving around early morning.

A ringing session on Wednesday resulted in a female brambling, 3 snipe, a stonechat, a blackcap and a kingfisher.  More here: http://ow.ly/DZmtW

Lots of finches moving first thing over the hill.  A party of chaffinch in the sycamores next to the road past Bracelet including a very vocal female brambling.

On the hill a blackcap (f) and a lot of parties of foraging tits / crests.

GND seems to have disappeared, as haven’t seen it off the pier for the past 2 days.  An eider (f) was off Knab Rock yesterday am.

S/pl Great northern diver still present, but a bit further offshore and actively foraging.

High tide roost of 9 redshank and 7 turnstone on the pier

A 1st winter female firecrest and a blackcap were the best of this morning’s catch.  More here:

http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/oxwich-marsh-1-november-2014.html

Yesterday a visiting birder reported a purple sandpiper on the lifeboat station slip at Mumbles

S/pl Great Northern Diver still present off the pier.  Catching crabs this morning.

Peregrine very active over Mumbles Hill at the moment – lots of wood pigeon and starling moving, and some big flocks of jackdaw up there too.

23 oystercatcher roosting on the Middle Head, 17 Med gull at Bracelet Bay, 3 shag on the outer island.

A yellow-browed warbler was with a small flock of foraging tits yesterday.  There are lots of tit/crest flocks moving around the scrub in the dunes and the trees in the village at present.

Also a clouded yellow butterfly and a late swallow.

A summary of the last two ringing sessions is here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/oxwich-marsh-28-30-october-2014-3000.html

A summer plumaged great northern diver close in to the pier this afternoon, and a 1st winter / female black redstart on the lighthouse island.

Peregrine and sparrowhawk over Mumbles Hill, and a good passage of starling and skylark.

Eider (female) off West Cross

A yellow-browed warbler and 2 firecrests trapped and ringed on the marsh this morning.

Good movements of thrushes (redwing, song thrush, mistle thrush [inc flock of 12]), skylark and wood pigeon overhead.

More info, including photos, here:

http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/oxwich-marsh-16-25-october-2014-crests.html

Will be updated with more photos later

1st winter black-throated diver swimming very close inshore from the pier to Knab Rock, where started to move further offshore (last seen 10:20).

A seawatch from Tutt Head (1 hour 08:45-09:45) was very slow, with only a few gannets, a single auk, a few kitts, Meds and larger gulls.

A couple of French-ringed Meds amongst the flock at Bracelet at the moment.

45 goldfinch, 3 chiffchaff, 3 blackcap, a 1st winter kingfisher and a juvenile male sparrowhawk this morning among a catch of 127 birds on the marsh.

Passage of skylarks over head, plus a few siskin and a group of 4 jays.

More info here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/oxwich-marsh-12-october-2014-finches.html

A grasshopper warbler this morning (juvenile carrying no fat).  No blackcaps but lots of chiffchaff and goldcrest.

Lots of skylark, meadow pipit and the odd grey wagtail over.  Some passage of hirundines including a few large mixed flocks of swallows and martins

More info re: ringing totals here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/oxwich-marsh-6-october-late-gropper.html

This morning 1 sedge warbler, 2 reed warbler, 1 whitethroat, 1 willow warbler, 9 blackcap and 9 chiffchaff were caught (among the resident species) during the ringing session.

More info here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/oxwich-marsh-16-september-2014.html

Whinchat on Common Cliff (1) and in scrub above The Knave (3).  Spotted flycatcher at Foxhole Slade.

Also: 2 willow warbler, 7 grey wagtail (all on Overton STW), red kite, peregrine (being mobbed by kestrel at Longhole Cliff), whitethroat (3 at Longhole, 1 Ram Grove), chough regularly recorded in small numbers.  Commonest migrants were blackcap and chiffchaff.  Overton Valley is moving with blackcaps at the moment.

Flocks of meadow pipits of up to 60 birds, small passage of skylark mid morning, a few grey wagtails moving etc.

This morning 21 blackcap (20 captured), 2 sedge warbler, 1 reed warbler and 7 chiffchaffs.

We are now on the brink of ringing 2500 on the marsh in 2014.  More here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/oxwich-march-13-september-changing-of.html