I got to the sewage works at 5:30 and had three nets set up by the time Bobbie (CT) joined me and we put the fourth net up together. I had a 40ft in the far left corner, as far down as we're allowed to go. I put a 60ft between two rotating things, one 40ft between a rotating thing and the hedge and the 30ft I put up with Bobbie we put next to the fence to the farmers field next door.
The first catch was a Pied Wagtail. I'd never processed an adult Piewa until this morning and following guidance from Laurent Demongin's ID guide I concluded that it was an age code 6, however I didn't manage to tell if it was Pied or White because the guide was talking about how the shades of grey/black/white are different in each, wing bars are broader/narrower than each other, face tinged "olivaceous yellow" in white or "slightly yellow" in pied... I had nothing to compare to. So it will remain a Pied Wagtail until proven otherwise! The second bird was a male Goldfinch and after that it slowed down quite a bit. Hirundines had started flooding in and a bright spark told me to move the 30ft net, so Bobbie and I did that and then Bobbie had to go to do BBOWT things. Thank you for coming and helping me! Please come again 😊
Captures continued to be slow and I was practicing my hirundine identification. They kept giving me heart palpitations, getting so close to the net and then dodging it at the last moment! To mock me even more one of them crapped in my coffee. Thanks. But that didn't stop me being ecstatic when I caught one! A House Martin 😁 The book says that they do a full post juvenile moult so I couldn't age it any more precisely than 4. I caught a Grey Wagtail in this round, too. After that I caught a Blackbird at 9:55.
I was just about to take my nets in and thought I'd better check the nets first. Another Grey Wagtail and 3 House Martins! Wow! After processing those I went and got a net in. Checked the other nets again - 2 more House Martins!... Processed those, took another net in, checked the last two nets nets, a Swallow! 😁💓 After processing that one I took a third net in (left the one that was catching the birds until last. Don't tell me you wouldn't) and there was another House Martin. Processed that. Another one in the net. Processed that. Took the last net in! Phew! I'm now knackered and I don't know how I'm going to survive work this evening! Wish me luck!
House Martin:
Swallow:
Totals:
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