Well, this is my first blog! There are many reasons for why I've decided to start keeping a blog, but the main one is to keep track of my birding and share it with other interested parties.
It's been just over 12 months since I started as a trainee bird ringer in North Wales, and what a year it's been. My trainer is Stephen Dodd, and I've been so lucky with the opportunities he's given me to learn more about birds. Between him and Rachel Taylor, I think I am in VERY capable hands, and am already looking forward to what 2014 can throw at me (secretly hoping for less tits!)
So, here's a rundown of my bird ringing highlights of 2013:
Total birds ringed - 777
Total species ringed - 50
Ringing sessions attended - 23
Hours put in - Lost track!
2013 started with winter mist netting on a farm outside Caernarfon. Having attended a few SCAN sessions towards the end of 2012, I already had 89 birds on my records, but these being mostly waders (Oystercatchers and Redshank). Arthurs farm always gives a great variety in species, and I started off the year with Blue, Great and Long Tailed Tits, House Sparrow, Goldcrest, Chaffinch and Blackbird.
My next session was the last SCAN session of winter 2012/13 and we went after Sanderling at Kinmel Bay. I work Saturday's at 4.30 so can only attend these sessions with a guarantee from Steve that I will be back in time. "Yeah, no problem. We only had about 60 when we did the recce so you should be back by lunch" - this was the day I learnt to ignore what Steve says about catches. Turned into a 200 bird catch of Sanderlings and Ringed Plover and I barely got back in time to start my shift (thankfully they don't poo much so the usual shower was not as necessary as other sessions!)
April saw the start of CES, or Constant Effort Site Scheme. The scheme involved visiting the same site 10 times over the breeding season, using nets in the same locations and ringing the birds caught. Our site at Malltraeth is mostly reedbeds, which attracts a good mix of warblers from around the world. Due to the very cold start to Spring, the first few visits were slow, but over the course of the season my identification skills improved greatly, especially when everything started off being an LBB (Little Brown Bird) ... we'll see how I manage next season!
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| Can you tell I'm nervous about "letting go?" |
Alongside the CES site, we also visited a farmland site near Llangaffo, which also had ponds and woodlands. I must say that I loved setting the nets on this site, with the birds just waking up, dew covering the cobwebs and thistles and a slight mist drifting off the ponds. Must try and go there when not birding with the camera sometime. Anyway, this is a site I will remember for a long time, as I ringed my first bird of prey here. Steve and I were setting the nets in the woodlands, while Rachel set nets with Ros and another ringer near the ponds. On our way back to the truck, Steve got a call from Rachel, and his side of the conversation was intriguing..."Well, that's exciting... and it's gonna hurt!" I was convinced we'd got a woodpecker, so when Rachel got back to the truck cradling a Sparrowhawk, my eyes probably did pop out of my head a little. Being the newest trainee, I was expecting Ros to get to ring it, but she'd already done a few, so it was mine! EEEKS! While Steve carried on with the other birds, Rachel watched me like a hawk while I tried to get round ring a bird that just wants to grab your hands with its talons. The key is DON'T LET GO of the feet! With a little help, we got a ring on her and took the necessary measurements, then it was time to let her go... wait, I just said don't let go! Yeah, I was pretty nervous of this, especially with her eyeing me up during the processing. Before we allowed her to go on her way, I got my first photo with a bird, and I know I upset many fellow birders with a slight amount of bragging, especially as I escaped with no blood loss! Definitely worth getting up at 4am for!
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| It's called Puffin Island for a reason! |
My next venture was the start of a hectic 2 week period and involved lots of blood loss, and POO... Puffin Island has always been somewhere I longed to visit, with someone in my family tree having been stationed there way back when it was inhabited. As it is now an important breeding colony for seabirds, the SCAN group organise a few trips during the breeding season to ring chicks before they head out to sea. I was looking forward to handling some cute, fluffy babies and exploring the island a bit - in reality, baby seabirds are not overly cute, only slightly fluffy and not really something you'd want to cuddle with! We started by rounding up some Cormorants for colour ringing - these guys are slippery, with snake like necks that extend a LOT further than you expect and surprising grippy feet, especially onto your hands! Their favourite trick is to puke up their last meal (or 6) while you're attempting to ring or measure them! Definitely tested the gag reflexes on us "newbies". After successfully colour ringing 50 Cormorants, we headed across the grassy clifftops, ringing gull chicks as we went. Next was a decent down the cliffs to the Auk colonies. Now, I'm not great with heights, and certainly get slightly nervous around rocky edges. However, with adrenline pumping, there was no way I was going to miss out, so down I scrambled. I almost wish someone had photos of me clinging to the cliffs, as my brother (who is a keen rock climber) still doesn't believe that I went down there after birds! As it was, after lunch I decided to let the more experienced people go down the "chimney" while I stayed up top and took photos of the birds. There were plenty of Puffins around, but they had evaded capture until we were heading back for the boat. Steve decided to have one last go at a ledge and caught the only new Puffin of the day - MINE! I was so happy to ring one of these comical birds, and was careful not to be too overcome by their cuteness - apparently they're mean buggers! Mine was lovely though, and once released it joined the throngs of Razorbills and Guilliemots flying round above our heads, all wondering what the new bling was for, no doubt!
Oh yes, blood! Well, it's difficult to say exactly where each cut, gauge and bruise came from, but I definitely got a Cormorant claw hole between my fingers, and an adult Razorbill gave me a parting "kiss" by slicing a finger open. Welfare of the birds is far more important than ours and when I was passing birds on I had to explain "No, the bird is fine. That blood is mine!" After a day on Puffin Island, I was straight in the shower when I got home, and despite washing my hair 3 times, and scrubbing myself with soap, shower gel and a nail scourer (OUCHIES!) I still stank of fish for at least a week later! So worth it though, and I can't wait to get back on the island next year!
Following this trip, we had 2 CES and another trip to Llangaffo, which had started to pick up with the breeding season in full swing and many juveniles leaving the nests and flying into nets. You would think they might learn, but catching the same bird 3 times in one session is not uncommon, and results in some frustrating pep talks to said bird after it's third time! 4 sessions in 8 days resulted in 180 birds for me, which really boosted my yearly total after missing several sessions due to other commitments earlier in the breeding season.
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