Saturday 9th October
The Group date’s sheet listed a possible cannon net session on suitable tides between 8 and 11 October for the sanderling geolocator project and a possible mist net session, on the 9th October.
A reccee on the 7th October found very few sanderling on the beach at Heacham Far North. Essentially, the flock usually found on this beach is not behaving this autumn in the way it has done in previous years.It appears that this beach has been visited frequently by a sparrowhawk and presumably that predation activity has affected the flock’s desire to roost on this beach.
With few birds present and no geolocator tagged birds amongst them, it was decided not to attempt a cannon net catch. However, the weather forecast looked favourable for a mist net session and so plans were made for that on the Saturday evening. The team assembled at Base to sort kit before heading out to set by 4pm. Meantime, LW and JAC stayed back at base warming the huge vats of pumpkin soup that LW had made for the team’s supper.
Given the height of previous tides in the series, NAC reminded everyone that the marsh would be very wet and therefore you’d need waterproof trousers over wellies to keep you dry if you didn’t have waders. Hmm, was this destined to be a false prophecy?! Two teams went out to set mist nets, one team setting straight out from the White Barn and the other team setting on the E-pool. Shortly after the setting teams had left those keeping an eye on the nets saw, at least three wildfowlers head out onto the marsh, one out on the Ongar Hill side of the E pool and two went out down the fenceline to the left of the white barn. As dusk fell, it became clear why the wildfowlers were out, big skeins of pink-footed geese flew across the arable fields out across the marsh. More pinkies than any of us could remember seeing here at this time of year.
Teams went out to put out the tape lures and then stay out close to the nets to extract regularly given the windy conditions. The wind was a shame, it definitely picked up over dusk and affected how well we caught. And of course, being a north easterly, it gave us another problem and whilst we were out at the nets just before high tide, we were joined by most of the North Sea!
The E pool team had already sent people back with some of their birds and then took another group people off to get all birds back to the White Barn whilst the rest of the team remained at the nets. The team out from the White Barn decided it would be safer staying at the nets rather than try to find the way off without the landmarks, so got everyone together and stayed at the pool until the tide dropped off enough to take down the nets and get off the marsh safely. Meanwhile, the tide rose and rose and rose until reaching the “giggle zone”. The humour for this team stayed high (but verging on the hysterical?) although some displayed wishful thinking claiming the tide was dropping and one even boasted that the tide had at least 6” to fall before leaving his giggle zone. A highlight was the ‘Gandalf effect’ from the amazing Phosphorescence. Prodders became staffs that glowed when they were waved through the water!
Once the nets had been taken down and the teams got off the marsh, all headed back to base where those who could quickly changed into dry clothes and LW worked hard to get everyone a hot drink. All birds were ringed and processed under the lights in the garage and then taken back down to the marsh for release.
And finally, a big thank you from the team leaders to everyone involved in the catch. Your calmness and good humour helped turn the challenging conditions into a fun(!) experience