On Monday the weather came good at last and so it allowed
us to visit the heronry to see how the chicks were getting on....after all the
heavy rain and rather low temperatures during the last couple of weeks we weren’t
too sure how the chicks would have survived and whether the
adults would have been able to keep them warm enough. On arrival it all seemed
very quiet, whereas the last time we were there 13th April - we could actually hear
the young birds from the path, however as we entered the woodland their noisy call
greeted us and so we quickly got to work! Neil & Eve from
Lewis Tree Surgery kindly offered their services and came to
our assistance, sending two climbers, Jamie Ulliott & Colin Kirby who did a brilliant
job and climbed 14 trees, lowering the young up and down safely in the short
time we’d given ourselves in there (to try and minimise disturbance and allow
the adults back on the nests).
The guys in action
Once the birds
were safely lowered down we did the rest and cracked on with ringing them
before they were safely put back in the nest by the guys who patiently waited
in the tree tops whilst we were busy on the ground!
Due to the
delay in us getting back to the heronry because of the bad weather, four nests
contained two young each which were too big to risk disturbing, but we were
able to ring 10 chicks, and five of those had darvics (colour-rings fitted).
Grey Herons are the latest bird to be added to the Lower Derwent Valley
colour-ringing scheme, and hopefully one which will bring many sightings,
either from around the valley or further afield! The rings are yellow with black numbers ranging from 01-99.
One of the chicks fitted with a darvic
Despite the
extremely wet and windy weather and extensive flooding, the birds seemed to
have survived it well, with
only two small dead young present, and the condition of the remaining
chicks looked good. Hopefully if the weather allows then we'll be back
at the heronry next week with another visit to ring the young that were
too small to be ringed today.
We’re
extremely grateful to Jamie & Colin for a great job carried out with good humour - given the smell and
stabbing beaks! It’s something a bit different for them anyway!
Job done!
For more
information on the services offered by Lewis Tree Surgery click here and visit their website
or e-mail them at hale@lewistree.freeserve.co.uk.
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