Castricum bird ringing group, Holland.

George usually has a family holiday in August, and most years manages to fit in a couple of mornings helping out at a local ringing site. Situated in coastal sand dunes, with reed beds, scrub and a wooded area, high mist nets are set to capture birds moving in the canopies. There also have four clap nets, and a small shallow pond, outside the ringing hut. Being located in the dunes means that the nets can be susceptible to coastal winds at times (which can reduce the catch), but the arrangements seem to work very well, especially early in the morning. The Group relies heavily/entirely on the use of bird calls/tape lures, which are played at high volume, with timers set for the following day, when nets are closed at the end of each session. There is an elaborate/comprehensive collection of amplifiers, speakers, cabinets etc so they can choose any combination of calls at each net run. The Group has been ringing since 1960, mainly in summer/autumn (when they operate most days), and it isn't unusual for them to have 2-300 captures a session. George had a very interesting visit with some experienced ringers, catching a few species not yet seen at the Lake. Two screen shots for the 14th and 16th August (when George visited) below, and the Group reports daily on the following website -

Web Site is : trektellen.nl You will want to choose the Union Jack to see the birds in English!
Click on "Captures"
Scroll down to the "Castricum" ringing group. Click on the date and the days totals are visible ...

A good first day!

Wouldn't have a day like this at the Lake!