Mist-netting - Exminster Marshes - Wednesday 15th November 2023
High Tide 3.76m @ 19:51, Sunset 16:28, Rendezvous 15:00
A small team of 6 assembled at 3pm at RSPB Exminster Marshes to set around the RSPB lagoon field pools. Weather conditions were ideal, with no wind at all 0-2mph, no moon and part to full cloud. Pools were high following a prolonged wet and stormy period but set locations could still be fully accessed with wellies only, just! On arrival a while was spent helping the RSPB wardens move cows out of the field. The 15 cows we has been informed were on site, turned out to be 30 and despite some effort any attempt to move them to a different field failed. Based on this the decision was made to just set one line of 5 full-height 3 panel wader nets across the main pool in a single line running perpendicular to the train line. This was a third of the usual number due to the smaller team size and reluctance to set on either bund due to the cattle. With these all over water, it was hoped the cows would not venture near. All nets were set by 16:30 and the field vacated.
Set mist-nets at Exminster Marshes as the sun sets © R Phillips
| Species | Ringed | Retraps | Controls | Colour ringed | GPS tagged |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunlin | 64 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 0 |
| Redshank | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turnstone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mist-netting - Exminster Marshes - Saturday 25th February 2023
High Tide 3.51m @ 22:13, Sunset 17:47, Rendezvous 16:15
We assembled a team with a range of experience at RSPB Exminster Marshes, in slightly breezy, but overcast conditions for an evening wader mist net catch. Following a dry February, the pools were not as full as previously, there was plenty of shallow water to attract birds pushed off the estuary by the rising tide. We set 9 full-height wader nets across the main pool and 6 large mesh three-panel nets along the bunds, retiring to the ringing base as the sun set.
Setting mist-nets at Exminster Marshes as the sun sets © R Phillips
| Species | Ringed | Retraps | Controls | Colour ringed | GPS tagged |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redshank | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dunlin | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Snipe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Snipe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mist-netting - Exminster Marshes - Saturday 21st January 2023
High Tide 3.72m @ 18:26, Sunset 16:47
We carried out a mist-netting session at Exminster Marshes, catching and ringing 18 Dunlin, a Lapwing, a Teal and a Common Gull. The Dunlin were all colour-ringed as part of our ongoing project to study their use of the Exe Estuary and surrounding land. Full report to follow.
| Species | Ringed | Retraps | Controls | Colour ringed | GPS tagged |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunlin | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Lapwing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Teal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Common Gull | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mist-netting - Exminster Marshes - Sunday 5th December 2021
High Tide 4.10m @ 19:23, Sunset 16:10, Rendezvous 14:45
The team gathered on a breezy Sunday afternoon at RSPB Exminster marshes to set a total of 13 mist nets in three separate lines, in preparation for an evening wader mist net catch. The site has a series of fields with newly established flooded pools that the waders come into when it is high tide out on the estuary, and it was across and around one of these pools the nets were set. As forecast, the wind died down during setting, and it was almost perfect conditions for the evening. All the nets were up with plenty of time to spare, and the team went back to the base to wait for dusk.
| Species | Ringed | Retraps | Controls | Colour ringed | GPS tagged |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oystercatcher | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lapwing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curlew | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Dunlin | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Redshank | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bar-tailed Godwit | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mist-netting Background
The use of mist-nets on high tides during the hours of darkness is less selective in which species are caught, but this technique provides us with additional opportunities to catch and ring waders in the region. A mist-net catch can usually be managed with a smaller team and without the need for a specialist cannon net license holder or the preparatory work needed to reconnaisace precise roost sites and set cannon nets in advance of the planned catch tide.
Our focus on the Exe estuary is the wintering Oystercatcher population and this species is our primary target for mist-netting as we aim to catch birds flying into the high-tide roosts.
Oystercatchers are faithful to wintering sites so the birds you have seen here years ago may be the same ones now. The oldest Dawlish Warren Oystercatcher on record is at least 36 years old, last seen in Jan 2018.
If you see a bird with one of our colour rings, please use the form on this website to send us the details (ring-code, date, location, species) or you can send email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Mist-netting totals
2022-2023 winter totals
| Species | Ringed | Retraps | Controls | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redshank | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dunlin | 26 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Snipe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Snipe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lapwing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Teal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Common Gull | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023-2024 winter totals
| Species | Ringed | Retraps | Controls | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunlin | 64 | 0 | 1 | 65 |
| Redshank | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turnstone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Grand totals
| Species | Ringed | Retraps | Controls | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunlin | 115 | 0 | 1 | 112 |
| Redshank | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turnstone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Snipe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Snipe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lapwing | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Teal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Common Gull | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oystercatcher | 48 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| Curlew | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Bar-tailed Godwit | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grey Plover | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Woodcock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Knot | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greenshank | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |