It's a Stormie Night!

Ringing Barn Owl, Kestrel, Stock Dove and Swallow brings a joy to ones eye, being given the opportunity to ring Storm Petrel and Manx Shearwater was even better. An invite from Kieran Foster to catch both these species on Anglesey was the next trip.

Resting up and packing plenty of food for the night; Kane,Zac, Kieran and I headed over to Anglesey on Wednesday 29th June, arriving on site at 9:45pm. In order to try and catch both species during the night, a net was erected for each, to maximise our catch rate throughout the night.

A total of 2 Storm Petrel and 7 Manx Shearwater were caught during the night and with Manx Shearwater calling offshore and flying right over our heads made for an amazing spectacle and one I will never forget and of the 7 Manx Shearwater caught, 6 were new and 1 control, being a bird ringed as a chick in 2005 on Bardsey Island. Great stuff!

Both Manx Shearwater and Storm Petrel were both new species for us all and were a joy to ring; happy faces all round from Kane and I.

Arriving back in Atherton around 5am the following morning, it was time for some much needed sleep.

Huge thanks to Kieran Foster for inviting us along and Kane Brides for doing all the driving throughout the trip.