Catching Curlew

A contingent of the Cardiff Ringers crossed the border into Lloger (that's England) to join in a catch of Curlew with members of SCAN and others.

With the nets set yesterday we just had to  turn up, cram ourselves in to the back of a Toyota thing (very cramped) and wait for the sound of canon fire. Then there was the very enjoyable fast drive to the catch field by Coker McRae.

Bailing out and running as fast as our wellie clad legs would lets us to the nets, we covered the birds to keep them calm while they were extracted. 30 birds in the net which kept us busy for a while. 

All the Curlew were colour ringed as part of a BTO study - so keep an eye out for them, especially when scanning curlew roosts. More importantly don't forget to report them!  





Ooo! Arty. Curlew catchers calm their catch by covering them.
Say that 10 times really quickly.

Once the birds were extracted and safely in the holding "box"
we split into three teams; (back to front) ringing team,
processing team, and colour-ringing team.

Up close and personal with the processing team. AH is
at the back with one of his first curlew; it was a nightmare
trying to get him to let go of it. No Anthony, its not yours.

Even more up close and personal with the colour ringing team.
The ever handsome Denis Jackson on the right is more clearly
seen than the equally handsome Maurice on the left - sorry
for cutting off your head Maurice.

Look out for these blighters - and don't for get to report them!



This is a Curlew



The most recent addition to the "CJ stares at Birds" collection.



Look at AH's smile - we had to wrestle that bird off him.
RJF on the other hand is just thinking about breakfast.