Last Saturday Chris and I spent the afternoon trapping in his garden in Ormskirk. I’ve never spent much time trapping since starting my training ( bar using the odd potter trap) so it was a great opportunity to get to grips with how they operate.
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| Potter traps set under the feeders |
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| Drop trap |
The main aim of the afternoon was to catch Starlings as this year’s first broods had just fledged and were busy eating the Bridges out of house and home!
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| Even after the traps were triggered these greedy birds still continued eating! |
During the afternoon we caught a total of 20 new Starlings and 1 Blackbird.
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| Juvenile |
I had only ringed a couple of Starlings before so it was a great chance to get to grips with ageing and sexing the species.
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| Adult Male |
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| Juvenile |
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| Tail feathers belonging to a male born last year |
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| Tail feathers of an adult born before last year |
I must say Starlings are loud buggers! The couple I had ringed previously were very quiet but these guys liked to let all of the neighbours know what we were up to with their squawks and squeals...I only wonder what the neighbours actually thought we were up to?!
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| Adult male |
I really enjoyed an afternoon of trapping. Ringing in the sun is definitely a great way to relax!
Big thanks to Chris for a great afternoon in sunny Ormskirk and here's to the next time!
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