It’s usually a good day if you see a Spotted Redshank in Britain or Ireland. How about a flock of 60?
On 27 July 1975, I was fortunate to be part of a Wash Wader Ringing Group cannon-netting team that caught 60 Spotted Redshanks at Terrington, on the Lincolnshire border of Norfolk. When we fired the nets, we knew that there were some Spotted Redshanks in the catching area but, as these birds were part of a mixed catch of 414, most of which were Redshank and Dunlin, the total number of these elegant ‘shanks came as a very welcome surprise. Why so many, what did we learn about Spotted Redshanks and what do we know now?
How to catch Spotted Redshanks
The spring of 1975 was very wet in East Anglia, with twice the annual monthly rain as is normal in April. Pools formed in fields, seed failed to…
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