Today marked the beginning of three days of Wet and Wild fun with EDDC on the local marshes. This is the winter cousin of the couple of days of similar fun in late summer.
I joined the Axe Estuary Ringing Group late morning, where we showed visitors what we get up too. We weren't based in our usual ringing hut though, we had one of Fraser's tents as base camp...
It wasn't quite tall enough though!
Things were slow...and it got very cold! We just had the usual culprits in the nets; Blackbird, Wren, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Robins. And these are always good value...
Caught two of these long-tailed balls of fluff!
Our temporary ringing hut was in a nice location though, right on the water side of Blackhole Marsh. A couple of Green Sands, two fighting Little Egrets and a fly over from the Spoonbill kept us entertained when we had no birds to fondle.
It flew from the estuary, up river, circled over Colyford Common then returned back to the estuary again
Later on, at 17:00, seven trams were lined up FULL of punters for an evening birding session from the tracks. I was leader on tram number three, and it was good fun....
Glad everyone wrapped up warm!
The return leg was in the dark and the night sounds of the estuary were supposed to keep us entertained...but there were very few sounds to enjoy!! The first leg of the trip was much better, and a Knot with a couple of Redshank besides the track just south of Seaton hide was a genuine surprise. Otherwise just the usual ducks and waders were on show. The trams do offer a unique view of the river, well worth a try one day if you've not experienced it.
I joined the Axe Estuary Ringing Group late morning, where we showed visitors what we get up too. We weren't based in our usual ringing hut though, we had one of Fraser's tents as base camp...
It wasn't quite tall enough though!Things were slow...and it got very cold! We just had the usual culprits in the nets; Blackbird, Wren, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Robins. And these are always good value...
Caught two of these long-tailed balls of fluff!Our temporary ringing hut was in a nice location though, right on the water side of Blackhole Marsh. A couple of Green Sands, two fighting Little Egrets and a fly over from the Spoonbill kept us entertained when we had no birds to fondle.
It flew from the estuary, up river, circled over Colyford Common then returned back to the estuary againLater on, at 17:00, seven trams were lined up FULL of punters for an evening birding session from the tracks. I was leader on tram number three, and it was good fun....
Glad everyone wrapped up warm!The return leg was in the dark and the night sounds of the estuary were supposed to keep us entertained...but there were very few sounds to enjoy!! The first leg of the trip was much better, and a Knot with a couple of Redshank besides the track just south of Seaton hide was a genuine surprise. Otherwise just the usual ducks and waders were on show. The trams do offer a unique view of the river, well worth a try one day if you've not experienced it.
Who's that dodgy geezer in the ludicrous red hat sneaking into the background of your last pic?
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