Another successful ringing course was held in January 2014.
During the 10 days, 2526 birds were captured (2108 new ringed, 418 as re-captures) of 111 species (four new species for the site). Of these 2526 captures, 229 (9%) were birds ringed from 20 Western Palearctic species. One Spanish ringed Reed Warbler was caught with details pending. The most caught species was Village Weaver. A grand total of 16,457 captures have now been made at Kartong since 2002.
This was the year of Blue-cheeked Bee-eater with a grand total of eighty-one (81) captures as a result of the efforts of Matt Prior and team and the use of playback calls. This provided some interesting comparisons of immatures and adults in active primary moult and a better understanding on how to age these birds once the moult has finished.
The expedition was made possible by Colin Cross’s organisation within The Gambia, arranging accommodation, transfers to and from the airport and ringing sites, clearing net lines, and most importantly the permission to ring in the Kartong area.
The Observatory would like to thank the Gambian Parks and Wildlife Dept., in particular Mawdo Jallow, for granting a group licence to operate in the Kartong area, and also the BTO for permitting the use of BTO rings ensuring that reliable feedback will be received and made available for the appropriate organisations in the future.
For full details see the January 2014 Ringing Report
