Ringing session at NOU congress
The past weekend I have attended the annual congress of the Dutch Ornithological Union (NOU). It was very interesting to hear about the ins and outs of bird research, especially for an outsider like me. My contribution to bird research is limited only to collecting data on nestbox breeders and more specifically Pied flycatchers, which I have done for over 10 years. And to be honest: I’ve hardly done anything with, nor do I know the conclusions of the resulting research. Instead, back then, being able to follow the birds over a longer period of time was enough of a ‘reward’ for me. But I have over time become more interested in, maybe, at one point taking part in bird research myself.
One of the highlights of the congress, despite many many interesting talks, is probably the ringing session on saturday morning. A photo report of that is below.
After the mist nets were placed, a little before 8 in the morning, the first bird was caught: a Eurasian blackbird.
The ringing tool with holes the right size for many kinds of small birds.
The beautiful little Eurasian wren.
Eurasian wren
Since multiple birds can be caught at the same time, they're kept in cloth bags until it's their turn.
Differences in plumage are used to determine — if possible — sex and age of the birds, in this case European robins.
Eurasian blackbird
The process is explained extensively…
It was quite chilly that morning…
A Blackbird that seemed not to understand it could go.
Mist nets. They are very easy to loose sight of when you walk past them, so logically these are used to catch the birds (who don't easily see them either).
The arsenal of accessories.
The Coal tit, a species I hardly ever see, so it was nice to see them up close.
And when next to a Great tit, the difference in size clearly shows.
Coal tit
We did not catch a Bullfinch, unfortunately, but these Goldcrests, the smallest birds of Europe, more than made up for it. It's remarkable how these birds, that measure just 8.5cm and weigh around 5 grams, are capable of flying hundreds of kilometers a day during their migration.
Obviously I wasn't the only one who got enthusiastic :-).
Goldcrest
When blowing the crest feathers it becomes really clear why these birds are called Goldcrests: the males show some beautiful and very vibrant orange colors.
