BOOM!

Waiting for high tide and birds at Beaumaris

I've been for a wet and cold weekend in Wales (who'd have thought that Wales would be wet and cold in December?). But there was a good reason: to see cannon netting for the first time. After much briefing, we arrived at Beaumaris on Anglesey before dawn and set up the net. Then we waited in freezing cold temperatures for a few hours until high tide had pushed the roosting waders into position.

One of the 90 'retrap' Dunlin

One large explosion later, we had a net full of c330 unringed Dunlin, c90 ringed ones, and six unringed Turnstones. I'm glad I couldn't see me 'sprinting' the 150m (while wearing chest waders) between our waiting position and the net on the beach (sorry for anyone who saw).

Inside the hide at Bangor

On Sunday we tried again at Bangor harbour (having failed on Saturday). It was horribly rainy and we then had to wait for the tide again. I was pretty lucky to wait inside the [leaky, hessian] hide instead of outside.

It would have the ideal place to have seen the red button being pressed... but unfortunately, the birds didn't get into the right position for us and once more, we didn't get to fire the net.

Pretty exciting stuff. And we had a great pizza (with free pint) at Gallt y Glyn on Saturday night. Thanks to the SCAN crew for showing me the ropes!

photos taken with iPhone 4S

Holme

Dunlin

beach pebbles

whose footprint?

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM, Extender EF 1.4x II

Norfolk

It's a bit silly to go to the north Norfolk coast on a Bank Holiday weekend and then moan because there are lots of people about...

Anyway...

Lots of birds at Titchwell, too. Mixed flock of Dunlin and Curlew Sandpipers

Curlew Sandpiper with Phragmites in the way...

Bathtime for Ringed Plover

Redshank

Teal dabbling

Snipe probing

Will Bowell and David Roche had counted 24 species of wader on the lagoons and beach, which I think would have been...

1. Dunlin
2. Curlew Sandpiper
3. Black-tailed Godwit
4. Bar-tailed Godwit
5. Lapwing
6. Golden Plover
7. Grey Plover
8. Sanderling
9. Temminck's Stint
10. Little Stint
11. Redshank
12. Spotted Redshank
13. Curlew
14. Snipe
15. Green Sandpiper
16. Common Sandpiper
17. Oystercatcher
18. Avocet
19. Ringed Plover
20. Turnstone
21. Greenshank
22. Ruff
    
23. Knot?
24. Wood Sandpiper?

Before hitting Titchwell, we took a walk along the hedgerows at Burnham Overy Staithe, only to find it congested with dog-walkers and a selection of eccentrically-dressed birders, and devoid of birds. Nice Migrant Hawkers, though.

Lunch was had at The Chequers Inn, Binham, and was very good. I can recommend the steak and ale pie. Am I getting middle-aged?

Nearly forgot to mention that I had a Titchwell tick - a small boy having his bum wiped by his mother, on the main path to the beach, fully exposed to the cold north-westerly wind. Poor sod. No wonder he didn't look very happy. Is there anything people won't do on nature reserves? It seems not...

digiscoped photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 77 with 20x eyepiece