A team of six were pleased to be able to catch some waders at Harty on Sunday 27 October after the weather had prevented any ringing during the three previous tidal cycles. The weather on Sunday was perfect for catching waders with cloud, no moon and light wind, although a high tide and storm surge meant that water levels on the marsh would be high.
We started catching as soon as we had set the nets and decided to close them after 30 minutes as we had already caught 80 birds. The final totals were: Knot 31, Redshank 22, Dunlin 20, Bar-tailed Godwit 4, Black-tailed Godwit 1 and Starling 1. The Knot catch was the second highest catch with mist nets on The Swale. We caught 35 in 2006, normally we ring fewer than ten a year.