RINGING OF WESTERN OLIVACEOUS WARBLER IN BADAJOZ

As occurred in July 2012 at the Azud de la Granadilla or Azud de Badajoz individuals of Western Olivaceous Warbler (Iduna opaca) have been trapped for ringing. This new record complements the recent posting in this blog, which carried a revision of the status of Western Olivaceous Warbler in Extremadura.

In 2012, a bird of the year was trapped for ringing on 14/07/2012. It was probably a bird reared at the same site or nearby (Ángel Tomas Mejías). In 2013 on 10 August the same ringer trapped close to the Azud de la Granadilla an adult and a juvenile. The two birds were flying together and trapped in the same shelf of the same net, beside each other. Therefore it is thought they too were local birds. Their physical condition suggested that they were not on passage, rather they were starting to accumulate fat before migration. (Á. T. Mejías, Pablo Herrador, Inmaculada Jerez y José Luis Bautista –photos, Western Olivaceous warbler to the left and in the centre and a Melodious Warbler to the right). They also caught a Melodious Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta), so a good comparison was possible. Without doubt there are more Western Olivaceous Warblers in Extremadura than previously supposed.