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With the reedbed starting to fill with Reed Warbler song (they've been going for it proper for the last week or so), this is what the males reckon is going to impress the females when they turn up. Some wonky nests to come.

Reed Warblers are not waiting around.

Some Reed Warblers are well underway.

13 days later and surviving the best part of 2 days of strong winds and rain, the Reed Warbler nest is not looking as pristine. Still, there are now occupants. CVRS nest records are submitted to the BTO Nest Recording Scheme.

The Reed Warbler nest from our previous couple of tweets has failed. Outcome successes and failures all contribute valuable data to the BTO Nest Recording Scheme.

A slow morning of ringing was livened up by a Reed Warbler and a Sedge Warbler. A quick look at our data shows that from 2000, October Reed Warbler are just about annual here though not reaching double figures in any year. Sedge Warbler are somewhat less than annual.

Moving into Bearded Tit season at CVRS, with 1 male ringed today (first of the year). Up to 2015 they were sporadic here with occasional 'good' years and not much in-between. Since then they are almost annual (missing from 2016 & 18) but numbers do fluctuate somewhat.

Not too many Blackcap are ringed 'in the nest' at CVRS. This map shows the recovery locations of 2 such birds. The Portland bird recaptured in April, just under 2 yrs after ringing - presumably migration. The Cricklade bird was recaptured c3 months after ringing - juv dispersal.

4 Bearded Tit ringed this morning at CVRS - 2 male and 2 female. Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex, Kent and Suffolk are the counties from which we have records of Bearded Tit either moving to or from Chew Valley Lake.

6 Bearded Tit ringed this morning, giving a total of 11 individuals so far this year - the third highest year total on CVRS records. 22 were ringed in 2017, 35 in 1965.

Reed Warbler was interesting in what was a slow day of ringing today. Not too unusual as an October bird here, as we've had around 60 individuals over the years, and we've even had one in January.

4 Lesser Redpoll ringed this morning - annual totals rarely exceed single figures here.

Looks right I reckon for subspecies tristis - the Siberian Chiffchaff. Ringed this morning at CVRS. Nice to see these eastern birds making it to the west of England.

Chiffs have been interesting over the weekend period, with 3 tristis-types ringed (more on this perhaps when I have photos) and today the recapture of a collybita-type that was ringed here last Nov and not seen again until today.

tristis-type Chiff ringed at CVRS on 07 November 2021. Remarkably this was the third presumed Siberian Chiffchaff ringed at CVRS in 3 days.

Chiffchaff number 4 of the season. This bird from today has the same characteristics as those three individuals ringed here on the 5th, 6th and 7th of November.

First kingfisher of the year. Ringed as a juvenile male this morning during CES.

First Willow Warbler of the Autumn season. Ringed as a juvenile during CES this morning.

This re-trapped Lesser Whitethroat was the avian highlight of CES 10

This Lesser Emperor in the nets during CES 10 was rather unexpected! Fortunately it was successfully extracted and flew off.