16/Feb/17 O frabjous day! Callooh callay!

I timed myself putting my nets up this morning. Ten minutes for each net, which I felt wasn't too bad considering my Ecotone net is poorly and I stood for a few minutes looking at it all confused. The top shelf string was hanging loose and the net was bunched up all around it and I couldn't work out what was wrong. When Jan came to visit a little while later he looked at it and fixed it a bit, but it's still not 100% right... :-( I've been looking at Potter Traps and Spring Traps online this past week thinking about buying some but maybe I'll have to invest in a new net first, if I can't fix this one :-(

My first catch of the day was a Robin, which overtook me as I was walking back to the car after putting the nets up, and I watched it fly straight into the net in front of me. The second net round I walked the opposite way round the Butterfly Reserve. Extracted a Dunnock from the Ecotone net, walked towards the last one and saw a little bird in the net and another one of the same size on the other side of the net in the bushes, probably Goldcrest. As I got closer the bird in the bushes flew away, and the closer I got to this "Goldcrest" in the net the more I thought "that's an eye stripe!" I'd caught a Firecrest!! My tummy flipped and it's the explanation for the title of this blog post :P a happy line from my favourite poem, The Jabberwocky! Jan had timed his visit perfectly as I had the Firecrest in my hand when he got to me and we admired the bird together :D so happy! Here are a couple of photos that Jan took:

After the excitement of the Firecrest we looked at my Ecotone net that I've already mentioned was a bit broken. That round saw a Blackbird and a Goldcrest caught in the 6m net. The Goldcrest was the female that I've now retrapped twice since ringing it on the 24th of January. The rest of the session involved attempting to coax a Swan up the bank of the lake just outside the gate of the Butterfly Reserve. It wasn't successful but Jan gave me 2 Swan rings just in case I'm ever successful in catching one when he's not around lol. I also spent a little while pulling those Alder (I think) seeds out of the net. Such a pain!...

Here's the totals for today's session:

Jan and I are going to a meeting with staff from Thames Water tomorrow to discuss permissions to ring at Kingsclere Sewage Works. So excited for the prospect of ringing Pied and Grey Wagtails! and Pipits! And a building with heating and toilets to ring in - luxury! Fingers crossed!! Watch this space, blog readers (if I have any)!

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.