Last duck catch of the winter

Today marked the first day of spring, but also the last cannon net duck catch for the Group until next winter. With only a small team and few birds the session was nearly cancelled. Although there were 20 Shelduck appearing in pairs on Seaton Marshes lagoon, we were able to catch half. One Mallard was also caught, but the surprise was a Little Egret, the second for the Group. 

Little Egret - Photo Mike Tyler

The team - photo Mike Tyler

Latest duck catch

The Group yesterday took a catch later in the day as an experiment to try and net more birds, as we had noticed that higher numbers descended onto the catching area later in the day. Even with fewer duck present, the test catch was considered reasonable with 13 birds caught, one being a Black-tailed Godwit just changing into summer plumage.

Depending on the weather and the number of duck present on the Axe Estuary, we will decide whether to take another catch in the middle of March.

Black-tailed Godwit showing early breeding plumage (Photo Mike Tyler)