old crests

After reading that the mid-Wales ringing team were catching plenty of goldcrests, it was decided to make a late season visit to our upland conifer site at Ty Rhyg to see if the situation was the same in Pembrokeshire. Netting has been tried at this time of year in the past in 2009 and 2013 with very limited success, (catches of 0 and 1 respectively). Between 2:30 and 4:00pm 36 goldcrests were caught including an adult retrapped from 2013. The catch was almost entirely goldcrest but a reed bunting, a great spotted woodpecker and a snipe added to the variety.

1st Winter snipe - quite a few can be seen beside the tracks of the plantation

Thinking to try the same in my woodland 'garden', six acres of mainly oak and willow not far from Ty Rhyg where goldcrests can be heard daily, the result was less spectacular in terms of numbers; just 4 goldcrests were caught but it included retraps from 2011 and 2012. At 3 yrs and 4 months since being ringed as a juvenile the first of these is quite an old goldcrest, with the BTO longevity record being only 4 yrs, 2 months.

The tail of the three year old female goldcrest was surprisingly pointed

This 1st winter goldcrest has pointed tail feathers though one of the central
pair has been replaced with a blunter round-tipped feather more typical of those found on adults 

The following day, another netting attempt in the broad-leaf woodland failed to produce any goldcrests, but this was compensated for by a gorgeous 1st winter male firecrest, the only bird caught during the four-hour session and the first to be ringed at this site.

The firecrest