Back where it all began

The 12/04/2003 was my first outing with Steve, when I first became interested in training to ring birds. Steve invited me along to Botany Bay Woods in Greater Manchester, which holds the biggest heronry in the county.

However being the age of 14 at the time, I often found it hard to close the 'J' rings and often sent the birds along with the pliers in a bag - back up to the nest, so that Steve (at the top of the tree) could finish off the ringing!

Although the trip included scrambling on all fours in dense vegetation to reach the ''epicentre'' of the heronry, being puked on by the young herons and bearing the smell within the heronry (yes it's bad!) I've never looked back since, and always enjoy a trip into the heronry.

Tonight we concentrated more on censusing the heronry rather than ringing. We counted around 80 active nests and 8 pulli were ringed. Thanks to Steve for doing the climbing today!

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If anyone is interested in reading more about this colony, our study and the dispersal results from the heronry, they can do so here - Heron Paper - this paper will also appear in Ringers & Migration later this year.

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