Monday 17 February 2014

4 species in one SCAN catch!

The last SCAN weekend of the 13/14 season didn't get off to a great start. Steve e-mailed to say that our intended Saturday catch was off due to the birds not being around (and the weather being more than a bit eurgh!)
While I can imagine those who travel a fair distance to attend these sessions were a bit disappointed, I was quite happy as my mum was visiting to deliver some puppies to their new owners. I made the most of puppy cuddles and having the opportunity to take some photos of the monsters!

Archie, Sally and Heather, all eager to get out and play!
Wish, showing her support for the Reds!


















Sunday we planned on catching Sanderling at Kinmel Bay, but I had arranged to arrive a bit later to help mum load up the remaining puppies for the return trip to Scotland. Driving along the A55, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and I felt very optimistic about the day. I was also pleased to have gotten out of setting the nets, as cannons are VERY heavy! She dropped me off at about 10.30 and I walked along the busy esplanade and found Rachel and Noko on lookout. The team had set the nets where we had had a successful catch last year, but the birds were no-where to be seen. Having sent a few people further along the coast, Chris had found the flock about 5 miles west of where the nets were set, so we walked back to help the team lift the nets, reload the truck and drive frantically along the coast. Thankfully, a group of students from Aberystwyth had come up again, so we had plenty of people to carry the equipment down to the beach. High tide was at 11.30 and it was already 11.15 by the time we started setting the nets on the new location. My optimism was nil, and most of the team felt the same. The birds were there, but how were we going to set the net with them all sitting on the beach???
With a few people on lookout to see where the birds went, Steve led the way for myself, Chris and Hamza to set the net (being the more experienced SCAN members). The flock lifted but didn't go very far - they flew around for a few minutes then settled slightly further along the beach. Perfect! Sometimes, the fewer people there are, the quicker the work gets done, as the net was set in record time (no more than 15 minutes!)
We retreated back to the esplanade and I was allocated the task of Long-stopping - basically doing some PR for what we were doing and asking passers by not to go down onto the beach. Everyone I spoke to seemed interested in what we were doing and it was good to see people of all ages watching the proceedings.
I didn't have a radio, so was keeping a close eye on what Steve was doing on the beach to gently push the flock towards the net. They would take off in small flocks, fly around over the waves then land amongst those who had not shifted. From my position, I could see it was a nice mixed flock of Sanderling, Dunlin, Turnstone and Ringed Plover. When the whole flock took off, the sound of hundreds of wings beating was like raindrops on a lake, and as the flock twisted across the waves, it was like someone throwing glitter as the sun shone on the pale undersides. Not sure if a camera would have captured the effect, but it was slightly breathtaking!
Anyway, after watching the birds for a few minutes, I turned my attention to a slightly older gentleman who was walking towards us. Knowing that the catch was imminent, I thought it a good idea just to warn him of a loud bang. I was half way through explaining what we were doing when Phil called over, signing 2 minutes, no, 1 minute, start walking. Before I could turn to the gentleman and say what was happening, BANG, and I took off. Fastest 30m or so I've ever run, I think, until I hit the pebbles! Managed to half jog to the net, by which time the rest of the team were there and lifting the birds clear of the surf.
I managed to extract a good few birds, despite Sanderlings being a bit small for the net and managing to seemingly get through the net and tangled in a second layer. After watching Ian extract one that had done this, I got another two out. It was nice having the group from Aber Uni to do the keeping cages and running, meaning I could concentrate fully on extracting.
Once all the birds were out of the net, Steve started putting people into ringing and processing teams. I decided that because I had already ringed all of the species we'd caught, I'd try my hand at doing some of the biometrics, and was allocated the task of weighing (and releasing) all the birds. I've done a bit of this with passerines, but it's slightly more difficult with a breeze and jumpy birds! In the end we had 2 Ringed Plover (a nice pair which were released together), 10 Turnstone, 10 Dunlin and 62 Sanderling.
After packing up the kit we enjoyed a late lunch at the cars and discussed everyone's plans for the summer. It seems most people are planning on attending at least one of the Puffin Island trips, so hopefully I'll make it over for them too. We then headed back to the stores to put all the kit away. Rachel mentioned that they were going to try mist netting for waders at Llanfairfechan that evening, which I was keen to do.
I went home for a few hours then after dinner Steve picked me up. We would be setting the nets, with Rachel and Dave arriving later. I was slightly nervous of this, as I haven't done very much net setting, especially in the dark. We set off towards some flooded fields that Steve thought might be productive, deciding to set the nets on the reserve later. We set a line of three nets across one end of the flooded field, which was just about ok for welly depth. Steve did most of the work, with me just holding the poles and bringing the pegs and ropes to him from dry land. Unfortunately, just as we were finishing setting the first lot of nets, the wind picked up from a gentle breeze to gusting. We moved on to set the second lot, but after setting the first of three, Steve called Rachel for an update on the weather. She checked and said that it was going to be the same til after high tide. Catching in a slight breeze is ok but with the wind gusting as it was we risked birds being injured, which is obviously not what we want, so we decided to call it off.

Hoping the weather starts to improve soon so we can get out a bit more with the mist nets. I'm predicting lots of knot practice required over the next few months for me!

Thursday 13 February 2014

It's been too long!

I've been feeling a bit low recently, and when someone posted on a group saying that SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) should now be RAD (Ringers Affective Disorder), I wholeheartedly agreed! This crazy weather that the UK has been experiencing just doesn't seem to want to blow away, meaning that most methods of catching birds are out. Even though I had a busy weekend in January with two SCAN sessions, a lamping session and a training trip to use a whoosh net, I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed by the incredibly slow start to my records - ok, so I got two new species, but they were also the only two birds I ringed, and my new ringing pliers (No 1s) were yet to be used and tested.

So when I got an e-mail from Steve on Sunday morning saying there was a chance of ringing on Monday, I think I made it quite clear that I was keen "YES YES YES!!!" was my response!

I met Ros at our usual meeting place just before 7am, and we drove to pick up Conor, the newest trainee, then headed out to Arthur's farm, just outside Caernarfon. On our way there, we got caught in a heavy shower, which resulted in some expletives being yelled upwards. It seemed to work, as while Ros and Conor helped Steve finish setting the nets and I walks Noko it stayed dry. Our first net round got a few birds, but it seemed quite slow for the feeder nets that we'd set. Soon the reason was apparent, when a heavy drizzle descended on the farm. We kept the nets open but checked them every few minutes for birds while processing the ones we'd already extracted. We even managed to process in the dry by parking the truck inside a barn (thanks to Arthur!) While me and Ros got on with ringing and processing, Steve talked Conor through some of the finer points to holding birds. It made me think back to little over 12 months ago when I was in exactly the same boat! All my ringing experiences kind of fast forwarded up to then, while I was turned into a pin cushion by yet another Blue Tit, and I realised how far I've come in a relatively short space of time. (See Ringing Reviews 2013)

About half way through the session we got to the net to find a Treecreeper. Ros extracted it, but as she had already ringed one, it came to me. I had to make sure my hands were very warm before taking this tiny bird out of the bag. I've seen Treecreepers on many occasions (usually at Zoos scurrying up trees in Tiger or Wild Dog enclosures!), but never truly appreciated how exotic they look, with the long curved bill and stunning patchwork effect of plumage - wish I'd had my camera to take a photo!

I got some good practice extracting birds too... I had a couple of Blue Tits that had gone further through the net than I'm used to, so needed a bit of assistance from Steve just to confirm I was doing the right thing by pulling wings through the net (a technique we use fairly often with waders on SCAN sessions). When we caught a GSp Woodpecker, I was slightly relieved that Steve didn't ask me to extract it - having seen what they can do, I wasn't keen in donating blood. Plus, it was in a high shelf, so my lack of height may have been to my advantage, on this occasion! Having mentioned blood, you know it's not going to be an easy extraction when the Great Tit "growls" at you as you reach towards it! No joke, it glared up at me with a face that said "I'm gonna get you!"

Ros and Conor both had a lecture at 11am, so we had to keep an eye on the time. Unfortunately at 10.30 when we had to leave, the birds had decide to come out again, so we helped Steve clear the nets before we headed off, leaving him to finish ringing and processing. On the way back to Bangor, we discussed keeping records and when I got home I updated my own spreadsheet to separate my new ringed birds from my retraps (having previously put them all together). This is important so that when I come to get my C Permit (which Ros is in the process of applying for now), I can see exactly what I've done to how many birds.

Oh, and my new pliers are excellent! They ringed 1 Dunnock, 2 Robins, 8 Blue Tits, 2 Great Tits and the Treecreeper, so hopefully this is a case of onwards and upwards! If only this weather would settle down a bit! Fingers crossed for the last SCAN of the season this weekend.

Tuesday 4 February 2014

I've got a pocket full of Nurdles...

What are nurdles I hear you cry???

I first came across the term in Swanage, where I worked as an Outdoor Tutor during 2012. Spending many hours a week on the sandy beach with groups, we were required to know a fair bit about the marine environment.
At first glance, these tiny blobs look like fish eggs, and therein lies the problem.

Just some of the nurdles found in Swanage 2012

Nurdles are microplastics, which are defined by many as "plastic particles less than 5mm". The most common source of them is as the raw product for the plastics industry:

  • They are small and lightweight, meaning you can pack millions into a small space.
  • Due to their size, they require less energy to melt down into a moldable form.
  • They can be found in a variety of colours, but the most common is white or clear, presumably as colour can be added to the molten liquid in the process.
Nurdles can also come from larger plastic items that are discarded, and get broken down by the elements.

So what are they doing on our beaches?

In January 2007, the MSC Napoli came into difficulty in rough seas off the coast of Cornwall. The crew abandoned ship after it started taking on water through a large gash in the starboard side of the vessel. Two days later, the 275 metre container ship was pulled to Lyme Bay and deliberately beached to limit further damage by the waves. An oil protection boom was set up around the ship to contain any leaked oil (although the fuel tanks were not damaged, the RSPB were called in to assist with the rescue and rehabilitation of 200 gulls and 900 guillemots which were suffering from the effects of the oil.)
The vessel was carrying 2323 containers when it ran aground, and 114 of these were lost overboard. Some of these washed ashore at Branscombe Beach, and hit the headlines as beach combers salvaged everything from BMW motorbikes and car parts to hair products and nappies. Many of these items were found along the channel coastline, causing problems for several National Nature Reserves, including Kimmeridge Bay, part of the Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve.
Nurdles mixed with seaweed at Kimmeridge (Photo by Dorset Wildlife Trust)
In July 2007, the ship was broken up using explosive charges following the removal of its cargo. Parts were shipped away for recycling and scrapping. In July 2009, 924 days after the ship first hit difficulties, the operation was officially closed.

Before the Napoli disaster, nurdles weren't that common on beaches in the UK... findings near factory outlets where they had washed down the drains were usually dealt with by local groups and received very little publicity. But since the ship went down they have been found in ever increasing numbers - whether as a direct result of lost cargo from the ship, or of greater awareness following the disaster.

What's the big deal?

As you can see from the photos, nurdles look like fish eggs. And lots of marine creatures like to eat fish eggs, so there's your problem. If a bird or fish eats nurdles, they fill up the stomach, reducing the amount of actual food they can eat, eventually causing them to starve.

The link below shows a short video by Chris Jordan, showing the effects of plastic on the Albatross colony at Midway Island. WARNING - contains some distressing scenes.

Midway Island

Not only do nurdles cause problems for birds that eat them directly, but they can also be eaten by fish, who also mistake them for eggs. We all enjoy a fish supper now and then, and the issues of the declining fish stocks in the sea are well documented, but what remains unclear is whether the decline is purely down to overfishing, or whether other forces are also contributing to the problem. Climate Change is often brought into the discussion, but what about the effects of pollutants, such as microplastics. Most marine creatures die at sea and are lost before we humans can have a look at them to determine the cause of death.

Whilst I would imagine we might notice if our fish had a stomach full of plastic, what is less documented is whether the plastics can leach toxins into the fish, which may be harmful to us. There are some early indications that this may be the case, but these studies are still in the very early stages and full reports may not be available for several years.

What can I do to help?

Currently, there is no organisation or network in the UK (and very few around the world) who look at the distribution of nurdles. It is down to a few individuals with occasional help from local environmental organisations to clean up our beaches and record the findings. Now, before everyone rushes down to the beach on a nurdle hunt, please note that they are not found everywhere... the north west coasts of Wales, England and Scotland appear to be "clean", as far as I know.

In Swanage, the tourist information centre on the seafront has a large bottle where nurdle collections get put. Every year they organise beach cleans and some locals use sieves to collect the nurdles from the sand, although this only works when there is no seaweed in the area. At the Chatsworth Centre (where I worked), we would encourage the groups to collect nurdles into plastic bottles, then at the end of the season we could see which schools had collected the most. At the end of my season, I decided to get crafty and spent several evenings working on some nurdle art... simply gluing them down to create some pictures.

Montage of Sea Creatures
Seahorse


I feel that without further awareness of this serious issue, the government and the plastics industry will continue to ignore the problem. Having recently been to Malta on holiday, I was disturbed to find nurdles on Mellieha Beach, one of the most popular sunbathing beaches on the island. I spent no more than 15 minutes on my hands and knees collecting nurdles with my friend, which resulted in my pocketful of nurdles (which went through security no problem for the return flight!) Maybe naively, I believed that this problem couldn't reach these idyllic island paradises, but obviously I was wrong.

I am now going to do more research into this, and am considering setting up a campaign to raise awareness both here in the UK, and around Europe. If every person who visits a beach spends just 10 minutes collecting nurdles, that could reduce millions from being eaten by our wildlife, and save countless lives. 
Believe me when I say that it's slightly addictive and you won't want to leave a beach until EVERY nurdle is safely stored in a container (plastic bottles are good for this).

If anyone can think of another way of recycling nurdles, please leave a comment. And if you would like to support the campaign, please get in touch.

2013 Ringing Review (part 2)

August saw some evening mist netting for Swallows, which was great. We caught the birds then drove back to Steve and Rachel's to ring and process. I've always admired Swallows, but until you get them in the hand you won't believe the colour on them, and the variation between individuals. Due to the long distances travelled during migration, and the many perils faced along the way, it is quite rare to get a retrap, but we actually had a couple out of the 3 sessions, which caused some excitement. I wonder if we'll retrap any of 13s birds next year?

September saw the start of SCAN again, and it was great to catch up with everyone. One thing I've realised is how lucky I am to have such an active and long-standing group right on my doorstep. Many ringers come up for the weekend and travel from as far afield as Lancaster, Sheffield and the Midlands. The first session was a rather unsuccessful Curlew catch, with a flock of about 300 beating the net, leaving behind 14 stragglers - one of which was a Finnish control! The next day we tried for some Oystercatchers but the conditions were against us and we had birds above and to both sides of the nets, but not in the catching area. Still, a nice day to sunbathe in the bunker! October was a more successful catch with a retry for Oystercatchers resulting in 389 birds, and the Sunday at Bangor Harbour resulting in 143 birds, including some Wigeon amongst the Redshank.

November was another hectic ringing month. It started with a huge Redshank catch with SCAN - what Steve estimated to be about 200 birds was actually over to 400! With all these bumper catches, I wasn't getting much of an opportunity to do any extracting, being the person on the team with the most experience but least for extracting, my main tasks have been organising the keeping cages and ensuring that the correct number of birds are put into each cage. On this session, we had to "ring and fling" about 50 birds before we could start processing (because of welfare, all birds must be released within 3 hours after capture). Even then, the last bird was release with less than 5 minutes to go!
Monday morning - MIST!
The following weekend I was invited to help with a Barnacle Goose catch at Ynys Hir RSPB reserve. The Sunday morning started with a return to Arthurs for some mist netting. Setting the nets near feeders allowed us to get a fair number of birds early on before the breeze picked up and we decided to call it a day. We then travelled down to Ynys Hir for our stake-out. I'm ashamed to say that this was my first time to this part of the world, and from what I saw, I can't wait to go back! We arrived at the reserve and decided to set the cannons and hide ASAP before losing the light. Unfortunately, numbers were lacking slightly for helping with this, and carrying heavy cannon netting equipment across saltmarshes is no fun, especially with the many deep sunken gullies to cross. However, we were treated to a stunning sunset on the marsh and left feeling optimistic about our chances. Dinner in a local pub, then back to the cosy visitor centre with a lovely log burner for an early night.
Kelvin pouring hot coffee - luxury!
Monday started grey and misty, so with the two Rachel's in the hide on the marsh, the rest of the team had the comfort of a large wooden hide, being able to walk around and even visit the bathroom and coffee maker! I have never been one for sitting in hides "twitching" but I did enjoy my day in the hide with fellow birders. However, Barnacle Geese are very good at playing ping pong, especially when the playing field is a huge estuary stretching for miles! Day 1 was called off when we could no longer see our canvas hide on the marsh, and certainly not the nets beyond. Back to the visitor centre to reassess our plans - with one day left we were slightly desperate to catch something! Another pub dinner and evening infront of the log burner left us all relaxed and come dawn, there was a slight feeling of optimism between the team.

Tuesday morning - amazing how a bit of sun increases optimism
When we arrived, the geese were seemingly scattered in small groups in front of the main hide, but not near the catching area. We sent out "twinklers" (people who's job it is to move the birds into position) which once again resulted in a game of ping pong - they went everywhere BUT where we wanted them! By 11am things were looking pretty bleak when the main flock of over 100 Barnacle Geese flew just upriver of the catching area. I was sent out with RSPB Intern Matthew to try and herd them back to the nets. It was a gorgeous sunny day with a slight breeze, but we were aware that the final deadline for the catch would be about 2pm, by which time we would have to go and retrieve the equipment before we lost the light.
Goose herding
When we found the flock, they were sitting on an island in the river. We made ourselves visible and slowly moved towards them, and helped by the rising tide meant that they flew off onto the saltmarsh infront of us and mixed with about 200 Canada Geese. Using radios to communicate with the team, we gently pushed the birds downriver, although they seemed to be disappearing down the bank round the bend. From where we were, I was convinced the geese would walk along the rivers edge and avoid the catching area, but just as I was trying to figure out how to solve this, Steve announced "Prepare to fire, 3, 2, 1..." We were so far away, we started running on 2, which sent the remaining Canada Geese into the air, although this had no effect on the Barnacles, who had wandered right into the catching area. Running along saltmarsh is very difficult and it felt like we were miles away (probably at least 800m). By the time we arrived, the rest of the team were mostly there and setting up keeping cages. I glanced over at the nets and was so happy - we'd actually caught some!
Extracting gooses (Photo by Mathew Heaver)

 With the interns in charge of the keeping cages, I got stuck in extracting the birds. Barnacle Geese are a lot smaller than I'd been expecting, but Rachel's explanation of how to hold them was very appropriate... like a set of bagpipes! They tuck in quite nicely under your arm and you hold the neck upright to avoid any "Glasgae kisses" (although they were all VERY well behaved!) We'd caught 25, so it didn't take long to get them all settled. Next came a lot of head scratching as Steve tried to figure out how to age and sex this "ringing tick" for everyone. After looking through the available literature, the first few birds were all aged as adults. Obviously, geese have much larger legs than my usual passerines and waders, so take a much larger ring. I certainly need to work on my hand strength as they were a bit of a nightmare for me to fit, however I did get to do a lot of dipping the rings (when you tuck one edge under the other slightly to close any gap), so that was a useful technique to learn.
Fly Away Home - so we can see where you go
It was decided that we would release the birds as a flock, because we were unsure whether there would be any juveniles amongst them, and given that the rest of the flock had disappeared, didn't want anyone getting lost. So after each bird was ringed, measured and weighed, they went back into the keeping cages. Once we'd sussed the aging process (something to do with white flecks on the wings, I think), it didn't take long to get them all done and ready for release. This was my first flock release, and due to the importance of the study, everyone involved wanted plenty of photos, so we lined up on the opposite bank infront of the keeping cages. The idea was that Steve, Rachel and David would pull the keeping cages in one direction, lifting them up and allowing the birds to fly off in our direction. The birds had other ideas, with some managing to get out the back and fly upriver before realising they were going the wrong way and turning back to join the rest of the flock heading downriver towards the estuary.
If I'd have had my proper camera with me, I could have got some lovely shots of the geese flying off into the setting sun, but that was back at the hide across the marsh, so my phone came in handy for getting some snaps. A quick pack up was organised and with the interns still around, we had more pairs of hands to carry the equipment back to the truck. By the time we were saying our goodbye's it was already dark, so I REALLY hope to get back down to Ynys Hir again soon to have a proper look around.
Lovely sunset to end the adventure

The 30th Nov/ 1st Dec saw the last SCAN session of 2013. Saturday we headed out to Rhos on Sea for the Turnstone flock that roosts here. This is a very public area, with our catch taking place in front of houses and hotels on the promenade, so we had to be very aware of what we were doing. The three nets had been set the previous night, so we didn't have long to wait before the birds arrived. Unfortunately, the Turnstone's were not alone on the beach and were joined by Redshank and Oystercatcher, in large numbers. Although the birds were spread out in front of all the nets, we only fired one, which was just as well, catching 140 Turnstone, 220 Oystercatcher, 16 Redshank and a single Dunlin. A busy few hours was spent sitting on the sunny beach ringing and processing all the birds, and spending some time showing the birds to the interested locals. It was great to do some public engagement, especially letting the kids get up close to the birds and showing them the differences between individual birds (for aging purposes).
The next day we headed to Beaumaris boatyard for Oystercatchers, and caught LOADS (I think over 200). I spent the session helping Rachel to colour ring the birds, which makes them more easily identifiable in the field so we can see where they go to feed and roost. 51 birds went off with some new colourful leg accessories so we'll wait and see where they all end up.
That evening, Steve had arranged a wader mist netting session at Llanfairfechan so I didn't bother showering before heading back out. Due to my small foot size (5), I can't get waders that fit, which means that at these sessions I am usually on the ringing team instead of extracting (no doubt I'll have to get wet feet at some point!) Ros went to help Steve at the nets and it was clear that we were in for a busy night. In total we caught 51 Redshank, 49 Dunlin, 3 Snipe and 2 Wigeon. I ringed a fair few birds then swapped to do some weighing, which is slightly harder in the dark!

Synchronised extracting
Great Tits don't normally make me smile!
The following weekend my dad was visiting. Since I started ringing, he has constantly been moaning at the lack of photos, so I persuaded him to come along with his camera to take some photos for us. We went to Arthurs and set up the feeder nets as well as some in the fields. Dad came out with us and watched us putting the nets up and asked sensible questions. Usually we get a nice mixture of birds, but Blue and Great Tits are always the most common species. On this occasion they were joined by more than usual House Sparrows, some Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Godlcrest, Nuthatch, Wren, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a "tick" for me in Coal Tit (couldn't believe it when I got home to update my records and couldn't find them on my list!) Dad took great delight in watching our faces as we pulled the Tits out of the bags (they always get the same spot on your fingers!), and was even allowed to let a few go. Thankfully, he missed the agony faces and took some good profile photos of the birds, and some nice ones of us extracting.
Ringing TICK - Coal Tit about to be ringed
Great Spotted Woodpecker getting measured









There is some controversy over photos when out ringing, so I had to vet them all before sharing, but dad is quite good at taking photos that show what we're doing and not causing any stress to the birds. I find it valuable to see exactly what I was doing, as sometimes I feel like I'm so close to the net/ birds I struggle to give space for extracting.
Despite dad wanting to be back no-handy, we persuaded him to take a slight detour home via Llyn Padarn, where Steve and Rachel had been trying to catch some male Goosanders. Armed with some reduced bread (one advantage of working in a supermarket!) they lured the resident birds close, trying to separate the Goosanders from the Mallards and Gulls. After a few missed attempts, Rachel grabbed one and brought it back for us all to admire. They are much bigger than I'd expected, and the colouration of their plumage is amazing - from salmon pink to emerald green. Their feet are huge and the serrated edges on their beaks help them to catch slippery fish in the murky waters. Our final count for the day was 101 birds, which was a great way to end the year.
Rachel with her reward for a soggy elbow!

The rest of December was very stormy, so no more ringing. :( I think 2013 will be hard to beat, but looking forward to improving and getting ever closer to a C Permit in 2014!