Reelin' on Rimrose

I headed down to Fulwood this evening to prepare the net rides in preparation for a ringing session this weekend. A leisurely walk down the canal led to a near-altercation with a hooligan firing a wrist-mounted catapult, I think a combination of shears, binoculars and most importantly, a beard, put him off terrorising the Coot any further. As I walked further on, there were two Coot still on eggs in the margins of the canal, whilst two broods have already hatched, along with a brood of Moorhen.

 Spot the Coot

Arriving at the pigeries, I quickly got about the job of trimming back any overhanging elder and brambles. The job didn't take long and the five net rides were quickly opened up and I could get down to doing some birding. A quick walk around the reed bed revealed that there had been a more recent burn at the Pendle estate end where we sometimes net in the reeds. The regrowth is already well underway and the area affected isn't too large and so far, the impact of arson hasn't been as high as it has in the past.

On the Crosby side of the reed bed, there was a Grasshopper Warbler reeling away as well as a total of five singing Reed Warbler and two Sedge Warbler. Most Hawthorns had a Whitethroat perched up top singing away and the copses yielded the majority of the Blackcap. The Valley is positively buzzing right now and well worth a look if you are in the area.

Elsewhere, Moxey headed out to Hightown to check out the fields for Wheatear moving through. During the course of the afternoon, there were peaks and troughs in terms of the numbers of birds around with most birds moving off pretty sharpish. Two birds were trapped although one escaped leaving just one Wheatear ringed.