Southern Colour Ringing Group

A vist to FIshers Green today saw a team of six in the large boat for the first time attempt to ring the large number of birds on the rafts. Some birds were still too small and there were probably around 20 nests still to hatch so there will be some more to ring when we visit for Terns in the next three or four weeks. The ringing operation was completed quickly and well. A final total of 74 birds ringed and 62 colour ringed was a good sample. None of the young on the islands were ringable due to no fences on the island and with 70 pairs nesting on the island means we are probably only ringing a third of the young from this colony.

The first visit to the rafts at Seventy Acres Lake was made today primarily to count nests. There were a few young Black-headed Gulls to ring and it was pleaseing to count some Common Terns that had laid. Final total count for the morning was 142 pairs of Black-headed Gulls and 9 pairs of Common Terns. We will probably make a visit to ring more gulls next weekend. One bonus was on counting some gulls that had nested on wire cages for fish refuges we discovered a Pochard sitting on a nest which trapped itself in the cage. A quick grab and it wa secured for Adam to gain a ringing tick!