First ringing!

Today we ringed the first bird of the season! On a previous trip we attempted to catch gulls, using a spring trap but the birds proved more cautious and intelligent than I anticipated! So we decided to change our tactic and use a baited walk-in trap, and we were in luck! We baited it and while Shirley did disturbance trials, Demi and I walked around looking for new nests. By the time the three of us returned to the trap and rebaited it, yummy sardines (!), there was one brave bird that went in quite quickly and was caught for it’s bravery. Demi was the one who pulled the string to close the trap, and was quite chuffed with herself! The ringing was not nearly as smooth as I would have liked it to be, but hopefully practice makes perfect and the next bird will be processed faster and more efficiently. Now to catch more gulls!

An Oystercatcher with a yellow colour ring from a previous project.

Ringing the first adult of the season!