Wild Bird Wednesday 576 - A Bird in the Hand

Last week I spent a day at Barry Beach, trapping and banding (ringing) Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers.

I have managed to miss most recent banding trip because of other commitments - so I was pleased to be able to make this on, even if it did mean a 5:30am wake up!

Barry Beach is about 2.5 hours from Melbourne, and is a sandy stretch of beach that is actually made up for dredging spoil from a nearby port facility.  However, I don't think that you would know it's not 'natural' - and the oystercatchers seem not to see this as a problem!

Oystercatchers are one of my favourite birds - and here are two pictures of the species we were trying to trap.  (These are older pictures, not taken on the day)

Pied Oystercatcher

Sooty Oystercatcher

Oddly, these pictures show the species in the opposite habitats I would associate them with!  Pieds are fond of sand and mud, and Sootys are often associated with rocky shores.

As you can see this Sooty Oystercatcher has been banded, and has a metal ring on its right leg, and a white plastic one on its left.  

To catch these birds it is necessary to find where they roost, and then set nets in this area.   The nets are rather large, and are deployed by explosive cannons!

This is the net drying after use.  

The rope in the foreground is the back of the net.  This is anchored to the ground, and the rest of the net is concertinaed onto the back of the net in a narrow strip.  This means that the front of the net is on the top of this stip.  There are additional ropes on the front of the net that are attached to the 'projectiles' that are fired by the cannons.  A huge amount of care is taken to ensure that when the net is fired no birds are harmed.

Cannons and projectiles after use.  They are indeed rather large and heavy!

Once the net has been fired - or deployed as we call it - all hell breaks loose as we extract the birds, and make sure that they are safely transferred to large keeping cages.  At this stage nothing is more important than the health of the birds - and speed is of the essence!

Once the birds have been removed from the nets and placed in the keeping cages they are 'processed' - which means having bands and plastic 'flags' put on their legs, and having their vital statistics measured.

A sooty oystercatcher having a band placed on its leg.

A Sooty being aged

A Sooty having its 'head-bill' measured

Ageing a Pied Oystercatcher based on its plumage

Pied Oystercatcher having its bill measured

Weighing a Pied Oystercatcher

A Pied wondering what the heck is happening!

A unique 'leg flag' (colour and number) means we can identify the bird in the field without the need to
re-trap it.

A pied Oystercatcher looking surprisingly relaxed - turning this species upside-down does seem to calm them down.

Once the birds are fully processed they are released back into the wild.  The data we collect is used to study breeding rates, bird movements and to help identify areas in need of protection.  

It also a great way to spend some time and see some birds in the hand - or lap, as the case may be!

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