Cooting Brilliant - 28th August 2011

Last weekend Chris, Kane and myself went out Coot catching. It was only my second time out colour ringing Coot but I was determined to catch one myself after having watched Kane AKA Cootman do it so many times, making it look easy...which it definitely is not! Chris was also out to catch his first Coot.

Cootman in action

The first stop was Crompton Lodges where Chris caught his first Coot!

Chris's first hand caught Coot at Crompton Lodge

Next stop was Plattsfield Park in Manchester City Centre. 

Plattsfield Park

Next up was Redsmere where I managed to grab my first Coot! A number of already colour ringed Coot were seen at Redsmere, these birds seemed wise as to what we were up to.

My first hand caught Coot

Next stop on the whistle stop tour of Kane's study sites was Pickmere.

Showing off the new merch!

Last stop was Bottom Flash. In total 19 Coot were caught; 18 new and 1 recap. Each Coot received it's very own shiny new colour ring combination as part of Kane's Coot study.

A newly colour ringed juvenile Coot

Each Coot also had it's biometrics taken; skull, tarsus, wing and weight were all measured.

Skull

Tarsus

Wing

Weight

It was also another great opportunity for me to get my eye in on ageing.

A prime example of an adult Coot with it's bright yellow legs.

The aim of the study is to help us understand more about Coots and their movements. Most people think of Coots as park pond birds that don't travel far (I used to be one of them) but this simply isn't true as the study is proving. If you see any colour ringed Coots then the sighting information would be greatly received at kanebrides@gmail.com. 

A great weekend was had with the guys and I was even taught by Kane how to input the ringing data on IPMR - which is a very important thing to learn for when it becomes time for me to apply for my C permit. Massive thanks goes to the guys for another ace weekend and hopefully it will be repeated soon.