Tuesday 17 May 2011

Wading through Waders

Well, I wish we were! Last night Steve and myself ventured out to nearby Ferrybridge for a bit of wader ringing. Yesterday I received a load of new nets from a superb polish company called Ecotone who make superb mist nets. Some of the nets in the parcel were a few two shelved nets which I bough specifically for catching waders. Did they work? Well, we caught a few. Like said at the start, we weren’t exactly swamped by waders but 5 Dunlin and a Ringed Plover were caught which was a good start. Last May proved quite good for catching waders at Ferrybridge as plenty of dunlin usually pass through on their northerly migration. Here’s a pic of a Dunlin.

And finally, a bit of good news from Ferrybridge. 31 Little Terns have been present and nesting seems to be getting underway. I do feel sorry for the wardens who will be out doing night shifts shortly to protect the colony. Very rewarding if the birds are successful but the weather gets pretty rough on Chesil beach! Here’s a picture I took last year when trying to read rings. This particular bird was caught the night previous to taking the photo. It was caught whilst ringing Dunlin in a single shelf mist net at about 11pm?! No Idea how it got there!

EDIT: 43 Little Tern have been counted today!!!

3 comments:

  1. Hi Luke,

    I'm popping down to Dorset in ten days or so to visit the (family-in-law), staying near Poole mainly, but I might pop across your way, do you have any ringing planned?

    Peter

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  2. Might possibly have a few things going on. Possibly a bit more wader ringing? Will let you know.

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  3. Nice one Chief!

    My email is on the blog!

    ReplyDelete