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Whilst headlands in the SW were awash with passage migrants yesterday, SML, in its SW facing bay, had its quietest day of the year – one of the penalties of the location and settled calm weather. Just 12 new birds were trapped, the highlight being 3 Firecrest. #birdringing #ukbirding #ornithology

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

News of a Sedge Warbler recovery. A 1st year bird, ringed at South Milton Ley on 6th August and killed by a cat the next day in Bournemouth, 150km away. Just one of the roughly 55 million birds killed annually by cats in the UK. Please fit your pets with a bell collar!

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

From feast to famine. After 95 birds on my last visit numbers fell to 35 today half of which were resident species. A UK re-trap Reed Warbler and a French Sedge Warbler provided most interest as did this young Reed Warbler with a curved upper mandible. #birdringing #ukbirding #ornithology

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

6th August 2026. A busy day for a lone ringer with 95 birds processed. The catch was dominated by Willow Warblers with 16 other species for company. Surprisingly, a female Yellowhammer turned up in the same net as last month’s male. #birdringing #ukbirding #ornithology

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

28th July 2026 – Migrant numbers down a little yesterday with just 54 birds trapped. Highlight was this beautiful male Yellowhammer caught in the reedbed. Rarer than Cirl Bunting at South Milton Ley. #birdringing #ukbirding #ornithology

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Had the surreal experience of being serenaded by a girl practicing the violin in a distant field whilst I processed the early morning rush. Things quickly tailed off as the day warmed. 61 birds of 17 species processed including 8 warbler species. #birdringing #ukbirding #ornithology

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

17th July Another 51 birds trapped at South Milton Ley yesterday including a UK control Cetti’s Warbler, BKH5388, and the first two southbound Willow Warblers of the autumn. #birdringing #ukbirding #ornithology

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

16th July – Heatwave! 60m of reed cleared at the seaward end of the reserve preparing net rides for the autumn Acro rush. A hard slog in the current heat. The ringing hut is secure again with a new padlock and hasp fitted.

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

59 birds of 16 species trapped in a six-hour session. That’s one bird extracted and processed every 6 minutes on the hottest day of the year in the Southwest. I was home, rehydrated and washing bird bags by 3pm. #birdringing #ukbirding #ornithology

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Visits on 27/06 and 03/07, both hot and humid days, produced 97 birds of 16 species leaving enough time to trim back new Willow and Bramble growth. With each net round just short of 1km it was pretty tiring. totals included 54 warblers and 43 resident species. #birdringing #ukbirding #ornithology

Map showing summer net round distances at SML

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

No sign of the impending heatwave yesterday with drizzle and coastal fog for most of the morning. A snapped pole left one net in a tangled heap of vegetation which will take an age to unravel. Still caught 56 birds of 13 species inc. juvs. Of 5 warbler species. #birdringing #ukbirding #ornithology

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Saturday 13th June Summer has returned so I was able to get a few nets up. The water level in the reedbed is still high but manageable. 46 birds were trapped with 77% juveniles. I also planted 11 native saplings to fill the large gap left by SW Water next to willow ride. #birdringing #ukbirding

A barren Willow net ride after SW Water stripped out the trees and topsoil in 2024

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

A beautiful spring day with a few birds as a bonus. Marsh Harrier on site and 29 birds ringed including the first Willow and Sedge Warblers of the year plus 7 each of Chiffchaff and Blackcap with backup of two Cetti’s Warblers and a pair of Cirl Buntings. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

A sunny but frosty start to the day. Nets up in the reedbed for the 1st time this year. A brisk start tailed off with just 2 birds trapped after 09:15. 18 in total: 1 Blackcap, 3 Blue Tit, 2 Cetti’s, 1 Chaffinch, 4 Chiffs, 1 Dunnock, 1 Lotti, 1 Robin, 1 Song Thrush, 3 Wren. #birdringing #ukbirding

The main reedbed net ride at South Milton Ley

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Now pollen coated birds are returning, it’s time to stop the survey of Chiffs wintering near the sewage works. Endless wet weather reduced the catch to just 71 birds. However, capture/recapture models indicate a population of c. 272 birds. Just a little lower than 2024/25. #birdringing #ukbirding

Chiffchaff and Chironomid midges, South Milton Ley. Photo: R. Moore

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

After 50 consecutive wet days, a dry forecast was too good to miss. It was a slog with saturated ground and few birds. 5 hrs/7 nets yielded 9: 2 Blackbird, 1 Blue Tit. 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Firecrest, 1 Robin and 2 Wren. As a bonus, water vole tracks were found. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Yesterday was the first decent ringing day for over a month. It was cold and the reserve was sodden with the reedbed ride inaccessible. Most insectivores seem to have pushed off. Just 19 birds trapped: 1 Blackbird, 4 Chiffchaff, 2 Firecrest, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Great Tit, 5 Long-tailed Tit and 3 Wren.

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

I won't be using my main net ride for a while. We've had a little bit of rain in Devon!

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Storm Goretti felled 3 trees in the ringing area and the wettest ever recorded December meant Marsh Ride was underwater. The remaining 7 nets yielded just 22 birds before rain stopped play. 2 Blackbird, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Bullfinch, 8 Chiffchaff, 1 Dunnock, 4 Firecrest, 4 Goldcrest, and 1 Redwing.

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

I wouldn’t normally ring with temperatures around 0°C but yesterday was probably the only opportunity this week. 6 nets, all close to the ringing table, were used, yielding 30 birds in 3.5hrs, dominated by Crests and Chiffchaffs. Temperatures are up to 9°C today but with rain so correct decision!

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

A cool, grey and dreary day yesterday with the nets full of leaves! Still caught 56 birds, dominated by Chiffs and Crests and the 1st Redwing of the autumn. Some very fat Chiffchaffs heading south - up to 9.5g. I had to check the calibration on my scales! #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Yesterday. Steady passage of migrants. 90 birds, 13 species. Quite enough for a lone ringer! 4 Blackcap, 4 Blue Tit, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 1 Chaffinch, 27 Chiffchaff, 4 Firecrest, 16 Goldcrest, 2 Great Tit, 1 Grey Wagtail, 22 Meadow Pipit, 2 Robin, 2 Song Thrush, 4 Wren. #birdringing #ukbirding

Net rides in yellow. Ringing table in red.

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

South Milton Ley Nature Reserve, Devon, our first ever Firecrest control: Ringed here on the 28-Sep-2024, and controlled almost a year later on 24-Sep-2025 at Coppet Hill, Dorset, UK. 361 days since ringed, 92km movement. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Tuesday 23rd. A beautiful autumnal day at SML with a steady trickle of migrants. 56 ringed, dominated by Chiffchaffs and Meadow Pipits with a supporting cast of Blackcaps, a late Reed Warbler and the first Goldcrest and Firecrest of the autumn. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

Yesterday was the first ringing opportunity for two weeks. Some hirundine and pipit passage overhead but only 12 migrants caught out of 35 birds. The remainder were resident species and re-traps. A close-up of a meadow pipit hind claw is attached for those interested! #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Friday 5th Sept. A welcome break in the weather saw 45 birds processed, half being passage warblers. No visible passage of pipits or hirundines. The other half were mostly local Tits and Robins. Bonus: another new fungus for the reserve list Candolleomyces candolleanus. #birdringing #ukbirding

Candolleomyces candolleanus, Pale Brittlestem. Photo: Juan Carlos Poveda Molero

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

The warblers breeding within SML seem to have had their most successful season for years, with only brief periods of wet weather to interrupt the food supply, so it was a surprise to catch a Chiffchaff with a fault across the end of its tail. Who knows where it hatched! #birdringing #ukbirding

Tail of a young Chiffchaff with a terminal fault line.

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

This female Kingfisher was the star bird yesterday, on what was the quietest day of the autumn so far. Just 43 birds processed. A bit of a slog in the sultry heat! #birdringing #ukbirding

A view of the back and rump of a female Kingfisher.

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Another 71 birds were processed yesterday, including this male Cirl Bunting. The incessant high-pitched, squealing calls of juvenile Water Rails has formed the background sound to all my recent visits to South Milton Ley. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

I live near to Plymouth Argyle so only a brief spell at SML today so I could park at home! Caught 71 birds: 2 Blackbird, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Bullfinch, 1 Cetti’s, 1 Garden, 12 Reed, 6 Sedge and 23 Willow W. plus 1 Chaffinch, 14 Chiffs, 1 Dunnock, 3 Great Tit, 1 Robin, and 4 Wren. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

The moth boys were busy again at SML on July 25th, adding another 10 species to the list. Best of the bunch – Webb’s Wainscott, a notable B species, which is spreading along the coasts of southern England. It favours fens, marshes, and brackish ditches so not unexpected at SML. #ukmoths #DevonMoths

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Birds had deserted the reedbed at SML prior to yesterday’s heavy showers. Nothing caught there all day. The perimeter compensated, yielding 79 birds of 12 species, including 34 Chiffchaffs, 27 Willow Warblers and the first Garden Warbler of the autumn. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

I learnt something this week. I ringed a Great Tit with flaking scales on its tarsii. Initially I feared disease. I hadn’t realised that the "podotheca", the scaly skin covering birds’ feet and legs, has a periodic shedding and replacement process. Not a lot about it in the literature. #birdringing

Flaking scales on a passerine's leg - photo from North American Bird Bander

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

After 16 months disruption and 4 months late, SW Water have completed their works at South Milton STW. Multiple trees and 20m of bramble and scrub were destroyed in the process but fencing and damaged ground has been reinstated. It was great to finally get the net ride back. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

Busiest day's ringing this year! I closed the most distant net to catch up with the processing. 94 birds trapped: 1 Blackbird, 5 Blackcap, 6 Blue Tit, 46 Chiffchaff, 2 Dunnock, 1 Goldfinch, 2 Great Tit, 9 Reed Warbler, 3 Robin, 3 Sedge Warbler, 8 Willow Warbler and 8 Wren. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

A scorching day yesterday. 49 birds trapped including 43 juveniles. Further evidence of a good breeding season. 27 warblers were caught and strangely, a party of 8 Chaffinches together in one of the reedbed nets. Finally, a pic of a Dark Bush Cricket on the ringing table. #birdringing #ukbirding

Male Dark Bush Cricket on the ringing table

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

The ringing was a dull as the weather today with just 22 birds caught in 90m of nets over a six-hour session. The tedium of trying to monitor the breeding populations at SML was lifted briefly by this fine male Cirl Bunting. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

I've just received details of a Chiffchaff, ringed at South Milton Ley in February 2023 and re-trapped at Paper Court Marsh, Surrey on 25 May this year. Out of all the controls of SML wintering Chiffs this is the first record of a bird, which looks to be a UK breeder. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Too windy for nets today, so I decided to replace the rotten bridge to Marsh Ride, unsafe since last October. 3 hours of effort with Nick Townsend, from Devon Birds and we are rather pleased with the result! A quick coat of non-toxic wood preservative will finish the job. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

With the first, returning, summer Chiffchaff of the year yesterday, it is time to knock their winter survey on the head. 158 individuals were trapped and capture/recapture models suggest that the population visiting the sewage works was 284 birds +/- 80. #birdringing #ukbirding

Chiffchaff and Chironomid midges South Milton Sewage Works. Photo by Richard Moore

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

In amongst the 50+ Chiffchaffs still wintering around the sewage works and despite a less-than-optimal net ride, I trapped one with a pollen horn. This must be a returning bird which had wintered around the Mediterranean. The earliest migrant Chiff I have ever trapped at SML. #birdringing #ukbirding

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

Damage to my most productive winter net ride during Southwest Water’s improvements at the sewage works continues unabated! With 75% of the trees and shrubs now removed and the works overrunning by 3 months, a JCB has now ripped up the ground underfoot! Before and after photos. #birdringing

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Rain, gales and disturbance by engineering works meant just 7 birds were trapped at SML in January – the lowest number for years. Things picked up yesterday with 41 birds caught, including 29 Chiffchaffs and 3 Firecrests. This winter’s Chiffchaff total is now up to 144 birds. #birdringing #ukbirding

1st winter female Pied Wagtail. South Milton Ley, 11 Feb 2025.

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

The ever-industrious Geoff Foale sent me a list of new insect species he recorded at SML during 2024. This prompted me to check the iRecord and NBN websites. It’s a good job I did, as I found an additional 30 species recorded by visitors. The arthropod total now stands at an impressive 1114 species!

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

One of yesterday’s Chiffchaffs, a first year bird, had an obvious fault bar across its tail. Hunger related stress when new feathers are growing can cause fault bars. The fact that all tail feathers were growing at the same time confirms the age as first year. #birdringing #ukbirds

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Friday 27th December 2024 – even more Chiffs! Although the cold grey weather was not conducive to clouds of midges, a 4-hour session beside the sewage works still produced 68 birds, including 47 Chiffchaffs and another Siberian Chiff. This winter’s Chiffchaff total is already up to 119 individuals!

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Friday 13th December 2024 – a Chiff fest! The first wind-free day for over a week was dull, grey and cool. Despite this, a morning’s ringing beside the sewage works at South Milton Ley produced 57 birds including 38 Chiffchaffs, 2 Siberian Chiffchaffs and 3 Firecrests. #birdringing #ukbirds

Siberian Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita tristis, South Milton Ley

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Ill-conceived dredging at South Milton Ley during the late 1990’s significantly lowered the water table, but our efforts allowing natural sedimentation to restore the floodplain are beginning to bear fruit. Note the steady increase in winter water levels between November 2021 and December 2024.

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

A beautiful crisp Tuesday, marred only by the din of engineering at the neighbouring sewage works. Birds were very dispersed with just 30 caught in 4 hours, inc. 15 Chiffs and another 2 Firecrests. A refurbished field drain running past my shortest net ride has left me with a neat little bridge.

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SMLBirder @smlbirder.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

I’ve just received news that a Dunnock I controlled last Wednesday was ringed as a juv. a year ago in Lancing, West Sussex, 259km away. Astonishingly this is the 1st Dunnock control at SML in 55 years! #birdringing #ukbirds

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