Raising the bar for Bar-taileds

Following on from the first Bar-tailed Godwit post, had a nice hour discussing Bar-tails with the Reverend. Started by confirming he'd only ever ringed a handful at Oakham over the decades. When present around the island, they would number only fours, fives, maybe up to as many as a dozen on a red-letter day, but never more than that.

What was interesting was a nice anecdote confirming their dislike of the softer, siltier mud so often found around the inner basin. When present, the birds would usually only frequent the northern shore of Oakham, where the flats were much harder. Only after really strong south-westerlies, might they appear on the south side, and only for a few weeks. The tidal action would havescoured the soft silt from the harder base below, much preferred by their prey.

On the matter of prey, The Reverend let slip the highest concentration of lugworm in the estuary was actually inside Oakham. Because he had built a sluice to allow control of water levels within the island, for much of the year, especially during the breeding season, the mud inside Oakham was under water. The lugworms, washed in as youngsters, loved such conditions. Obviously things will have changed since the Station closed, but back in the day the pool was full of lug.

Clearly I need to get the kettle on, get more biscuits in and pick the Reverend's brains some more.