Wildside success!

Waking up at 3 am and hearing the roof of the house almost blow off wasn't the best omen for the ringing demo we were due to provide later that morning!! However, by about 7 am we were dealing with a moderate blow-which would have been too much for most areas--but we knew that Wildside Activity Centre is an urban site, in a valley with decent available cover--so the decision was made to go ahead.
A good team rocked up to set only two nets, which started catching steadily and continued for the duration of the demo.
A crowd of about 25 people of a wide age range turned up, including quite a few newcomers, several with children, and they all reported having a smashing time. Events like these are very much geared to trying to connect with people, and the questions we get and overall feedback makes them worth the investment of time and effort we put in. Indeed more than one of our trainees has come from such sessions. A sample of the birds which we were able to talk about and enable visitors to get up close and personal to were:-

This was a juvenile male Blackbird and we were able to explain what features of the plumage enabled us to show it had been fledged in 2019

This was a juvenile female Goldfinch and again plumage and other features demonstrating the sex and age of this bird were clear for the visitors to see.

 Great Spotted Woodpeckers like this male are always a great bird for a demo--if only to show folks that they are not as big as many think. Many experienced birders will know just how many times people say they have had Lesser Spotted in their garden--until they see the size of a Great Spot..

 

Thanks to the team who turned up, the visitors who provided some excellent input and questions--and of course Steve and Phil for their hospitality