We are halfway through the 11th consecutive season of ringing on Chituc Spit and we can confidently say that we have a slightly better year than the average: we ringed 7500 individuals of 73 species. As the species that migrate earlier mostly left, while the late migrants are just arriving to our area, the commotion shifted from the nets in the reeds to the ones in the bushes. Interestingly, this year we have a good catch of water rails (Rallus aquaticus), cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) and nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus). 

On the illustration below you can see the number of birds ringed of the most common species this year (red bars) compared to their decadal average (orange bars) is shown.

In the first half of the ringing season we caught three rare species : a Blyth’s reed warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum, 3rd for Romania), a Western Bonelli’s warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli, 2nd for the camp), and a little bunting (Emberiza pusilla, 4th for the camp). 

  Furthermore, we got news about two new international recaptures, both ringed in the first week of September 2023: a Willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) was recaptured in Murmansk, Russian Federation, while a Reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) was recaptured near Neve Yam, Israel. The willow warbler represents the northernmost recapture of a bird ringed both at our camp and by Milvus Group throughout the years.

The camp is heavily reliant on fundraising, and we are very grateful to have such great community of friends who contribute financially to our cause yearly. We are already preparing for next year’s, so if you wish to join our group of supporters, please visit the camp’s Galantom page.