A catch of waders was made at Harty in the early hours of the 8th of September. On a night with a full moon, that was only partially covered by cloud, and a very light westerly, a catch of 15 birds was made by team of 8 ringers. It would have been more if there had been less light on the ringing pools.
The following birds were caught:
- Dunlin - 1 juvenile
- Black-tailed Godwit - 5, all adults (one male, 3 females and one indeterminate). All were coloured ringed.
- Green Sandpiper - 1 juvenile
- Redshank - 8 (5 juveniles and 3 adults)
This is only our 11th Green Sandpiper and only the third at Harty.
Of the 71 Black-tailed Godwits that the Swale Wader Group has colour-ringed up to the beginning of 2017 only 2 have not had sightings reported back. A total of over 2600 sightings have been made of these 69 birds, quite amazing. See here for maps of some of these recovery histories.