A light to moderate north-westerly wind made for a cold morning. We put a complicated configuration of five sixty-foot nets in a small area of rushy ground close to one of the large freshwater pools on the marsh as well as a net adjacent to the feeders.
The catch was only 30 birds, and nets were down by 10:00. It was made up as follows.
|
Species
|
Ringed
|
Recaptured
|
Total
|
|
Jack Snipe
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
|
Snipe
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
Wren
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
Blackbird
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
Blue Tit
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Great Tit
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
|
Chaffinch
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
|
Greenfinch
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
Goldfinch
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
|
Siskin
|
2
|
5
|
7
|
|
Reed Bunting
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
|
Total:
|
17
|
13
|
30
|
The feature of the catch was four jack snipe (we had only caught three in the previous two years) caught at first light. The nets were in place over an hour prior to dawn and these appear to have been birds dropping in to their day roost.
We aged the birds on a combination of features including the characteristics of the undertail coverts and shape of the tail feathers. One was an adult, and the remainder first winter birds.
Photos of the jack snipe, taken by Keith Vaughton, are below.
 |
| Jack snipe squatting characteristically on release |
Thanks to Keith, Emma Cole and Wayne Morris for company and assistance this morning.
Owain Gabb
06/03/2016
