Hi, I apologise for this one being a little late out, and for not writing all week. Ive been away at Scout Camp since Saturday, and never fully dry until last night! It was fun, but I’m back now and working overtime on many more posts. Keep an eye out!
It was our last day at the Global Birdfair, and we intended to see most of it for one last time. This evening it would be packed up and prepared for next year. Because of this, todays outing was to be shorter, but still packed full of enjoyment. To start, we moved towards the RSPB discovery area, named as The Nest. It was quiet in here as the rain came down in torrents outside, and wooden chairs and tables were spread in a fun, disorderly pattern about the tent. Tables off to the left held a seedball making station and several boxes that you had to stick your hand in, and guess what was in there with just your sense of touch. It was tricky, and I only got one correct, but Daddy got all 3, so we soon knew what was inside. The volunteers were great to talk to, and we spent well over 20 minutes in there.
We were just leaving when we realised there was one thing that we had failed to check out on Saturday, and it was rather surprising that we never looked into it: the BTO Bird Ringing Demonstration. We turned up, and completely by chance, the demonstration started in about five minutes. One of the volunteers for the BTO showed us the different rings they used, each one suited to a different leg size. There were more than you would have realised, ranging from bands that fit the tiny Goldcrest, to the very much larger Mute Swan. We had a lot of fun trying to guess these combinations, ring and bird. And then the actual ringing began.
Two men sat at a table, and one took a small, drawstring bag from a box and produced a Dunnock, which he held between two fingers. The other man took out a leather-bound notebook and started to write as the first weighed and measured the bird. To weigh it, he had to place the bird headfirst into a black, plastic tube where it would be comfortable. He then took it out, and gently fanned out its wing to its full length. The measurements went into the notebook, and the man took a small pair of pliers, with about four or five different grooves for different sized rings. He placed a relatively small one in its corresponding slot, and applied it to the birds leg.
The second man now carried the bird away towards the hedge, and there he let it sit flat on his palm, soon flying away. And at the end, we received coloured rubber bands that looked just like rings, and each one read as a different bird with its own unique ring number!
It was coming up to lunchtime, and we were wandering the Swallow Marquee, looking at the various art pieces for sale and available to view. Some of them were truly breathtaking, and all were bird-related. It was here that we met Darren Rees, a brilliant artist and a great person to talk to. But more on that will come in the next post.
Finally, following a quick lunch, we were beginning to contemplate leaving. We went around the Nightingale Marquee (my personal favourite) one last time, and Simon from the Grant Arms, remembering me, stopped me and introduced me to someone. I had seen him on Saturday during the Birds v Bugs quiz, him being ,of course, on the birdwatchers panel. His name was Mike Dilger, a well-known ecologist, presenter and writer. It was brilliant to meet him, and he explained that he would soon be down in Devon, on the hunt for Cirl Buntings (Devons speciality). He said he would be thinking of me, and that felt quite special. I shook hands, and even had a photograph taken in the cluster of people from the Grant Arms, and those who were with Mike. It was incredible.
And that was about the last thing we did. We walked out of Birdfair for the last time that weekend weighed down with things we were given or bought, but also lasting memories. We would be back next year.
The Bovey Birder 