Bird ringing at Grotto Bay : 31 August 2024

On 31 August we held an Open Day for bird ringing at Grotto Bay Private Nature Reserve. We caught 62 birds of 19 species (list at the bottom of this blog), including a few recaptures of birds which had been ringed in the last two years. The most-caught species was Cape Weaver, as these were breeding in the reeds in the pond at the Conservation Centre (see the photo above). This was followed by White-backed Mousebird. In addition to ringing three Chestnut-vented Warblers, it was exciting to catch a Layard’s Warbler, a bird not caught very often. Also exciting for me was a ringing lifer, Cape Penduline Tit.

This was the BDI’s third ringing event at Grotto Bay Private Nature Reserve. There is a report here on the bird ringing here on 27 May last year here. The first trip escaped without a blog! Here is a list of (almost!) all the reports of BDI ringing courses and events which have already taken place. There is a list of future courses here. If you want to find out more about bird ringing, send an email to ring@thebdi.org.

Thanks to Michelle van Acker, chair of the conservation committee, and the community at Grotto Bay Private Nature Reserve for hosting us! The Tygerberg Bird Club ringers helped with the ringing. Thank you to Suzette Vorster and Sue Gie for photography. We plan to do more Open Days for bird ringing at Grotto Bay in future. Keep looking here.

Birds caught at Grotto Bay on 31 August 2024