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!

2013 Ringing Review (part 1)

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!

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!

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.

Slow start to 2014...

Well, the recent weather in Wales has been typically... Welsh! Wind and rain do not make for good ringing opportunities, so I was determined not to miss the recent SCAN weekend (18/19th January). Recovering from a cold, I wasn't sure whether I'd manage both days, especially as I have to work the Saturday evening, but I needed a fix, so went along.
Saturday we were planning on catching some Dunlin, which had been roosting around the old Dickies Boatyard in Bangor. I helped set this net with some of the team, while the rest set our back up net for ducks at the other end of the harbour. Once set, some of the team dispersed to track down these little grey waders. The local Oystercatchers decided that the Dickies beach was perfect for a snooze, and we ended up with a few hundred on there, which we really didn't want to catch (due to having already caught Oystercatchers on 3 previous sessions this winter). Unfortunately, the Dunlin were absent from all their regular haunts that we were aware of, so we decided to let the Oyks sleep and go after the ducks.

Me with "Shelley"

BANG! We ran down the steep "path" to the beach to discover a catch of Shelduck and Wigeon, enough for one each, which was excellent as the main flock had moved to another area. So I started off my 2014 ringing with a tick - a lovely female Shelduck. Once they were all processed and released we moved onto the smaller Wigeon, and I managed to pull out the only retrap (we had previously caught some at the same site last year on a Redshank catch), a stunning male. While the last few birds were being processed, I double checked the keeping cages to find we'd missed a Shelduck, which was quickly claimed by Richard.

After packing up the kit, I had a boring shift at work, then home for a decent night's sleep - 9am meeting for the next day! I should have known better! With my mum visiting, I was ready to leave at 8.50 (the harbour being less than 5 minutes walk away), but she kept me talking til after 9! Thankfully our team had grown with the arrival of some student from Aberystwyth and most of the work was done. We had the same nets set, with the same plan... and funnily enough, the Dunlin also had the same plan! This time we tracked them down to some islands in the Menai Straits, and with the absence of a boat or RC Bird of Prey, that's where they stayed!
Now, I would have been happy with another duck catch, and that was certainly looking promising until a ball chucker for a dog disturbed the whole flock and they disappeared out of the harbour. While we were waiting on what to do next, a ringed Pied Wagtail was spotted on the prom, which led to those with scopes attempting to read the ring number. We also had company from a resident Rock Pipit. The Oyks had returned to the Dickies site, so we moved positions to concentrate on them, deciding to catch on the falling tide. We had some spectacular views from a Greenshank and a Snipe amongst the Oystercatchers, which was great to see at this relatively urban site.
The local football team came onto the field and provided entertainment for us, until the cry went up "Merlin in pursuit"! The next 10 minutes saw us all peering through scopes and bins watching the Merlin chase a Ringed Plover, the gap staying almost the same at every point as they wheeled across the harbour! Eventually the Merlin ran out of steam and flew off down the Straits, leaving the Plover to recover somewhere safe.
By now, it was time to get into position for the catch. We use radios to communicate as most of the team were unable to see anything of beach. Unfortunately, some of the Oystercatchers were very much asleep right where we didn't want them, in the safety zone. Richard moved into almost full view, and got no reaction. Steve jumped around and clapped his hands on the opposite spit, which didn't even get an eye open! In the end, Ros crawled to the top of the beach and threw small stones down the bank, but even this didn't get an immediate reaction. We were all listening and watching from behind a hut, getting more and more frustrated at this one bird that refused to wake up! Suddenly, we heard "it's moved, 3-2-1...BANG!"
Having so many people on the team meant that we extracted the 190 birds very quickly, and I managed to extract a few more than usual. I was nominated to help Rachel colour ring the Oyks, so spent the rest of the afternoon holding rings on legs waiting for glue to set.

Brown bellied Dipper

That evening, I had been invited to visit a Dipper river with Chris and Hamza, with Jamie meeting us there. At the first bridge I realised my welly was leaking... GREAT! However, the evening was a good opportunity to see these delightful little birds up close, even if they already had rings on. Due to me being rather petite and certainly not a strong climber, I missed out a few of the bridges, staying up top, but we didn't find any at those bridges. Chris faced a dilemma when he found a roost of Wrens under a bridge - because they are day flying birds, if we caught them we would have to return them the next day, which would be difficult due to another planned ringing session. We decided to leave them be, with the hope that they would still be there the following night. By 10pm we had caught three Dippers on two rivers, and called it a night.

The next morning was an early-ish start at 6am, travelling to a farm near Porthmadog to use a whoosh net to catch Starlings. Whoosh nets are similar to cannon nets, just without the gunpowder! Basically, they throw a net over the birds, which is released using a pin on string system. We baited the catching area with bread and grain from the farmer, and set up some mist nets alongside the barns, hoping to catch some of the 30+ Chaffinch and House Sparrow that were flying around the farm. While we waited, the farm terrier started digging in a pile of cuttings and was soon shaking his head for the kill. When we investigated, there was a tiny Shrew lying in the hole. It was placed on a fence post with the hope of attracting a Kestrel, but the terrier had other ideas and stole it back!
Eventually the bread attracted a Meadow Pipit, so we got to see the trap in action. When it was brought to the truck for ringing, I was presented with my second tick of the year. Meadow Pipits have incredibly long rear claws, and this is measured to determine if it is a Meadow or Tree Pipit. As we don't catch many of this species, everyone had a good look at the features before he was let go, telling us off as he went!
After a few hours of waiting in the rain for the Starlings to appear, we decided to pack up. And, sod's law, as soon as the kit was back in the truck, they arrived! Nevermind, I got the impression that this is a site we may visit again, so I'm sure I'll be able to add Starling to my list soon.
When I got home my gear smelt of Oystercatcher and manure, so a quick hose down outside for the gear, and straight in the shower for me. Later, with my kit drip drying over the bath I noticed that my Gran had used bleach in the toilet, presumably to hide the natural smells coming from my stuff. I must confess that I actually preferred the Oyk smell and hint of manure to the bleach... is this normal?

Anyway, I'm off to Malta this weekend for a girly holiday with a friend from Uni. When we booked the trip, I had no intention of birding while there, but I have done my packing this evening and found my binoculars and Birds of Europe book fitted very nicely into my rucksack... will keep you posted on what I find!