Its odd that only in my last entry  I blogged about a colour ringed bird, a Black-headed Gull that turned out to have been ringed in Finland. It took more than two months to confirm that, but today I photographed a very interesting colour ringed Redshank.  I knew that the weather was going to be nice and clear this morning, it's been so bad just lately, wet and overcast mostly. But today as the morning developed so the weather cleared and it was a bright cloudless winter morning. I decided to check out the marsh at Exminster, always a good winter site for birds.  I was staggered at the quantity of birds, it was like an aviary with ducks, waders small finches and geese everywhere. I could have spent hous just searching through them but instead I blagged a lift in the back of a Post Office Van to the end of the marsh at Turf Lock……I had a plan, there's always a plan! 

When I got there I immediately saw Red-breasted Mergansers fishing close in and by the lock gates and that excited me. I decided to have a look on the river because my plan was to sit under my bag hide and photograph the waders as the tide receded. In the past I have seen Grey Plover here as well as Redshank, Dunlin and quite often Avocet. I sat down on the mud (in waterproof gear), covered myself with the bag hide and sat it out tucked away neatly with my back up against the bank. I was quite surprised that I had to wait for quite so long but eventually a Redshank worked towards me and I started to take photos. In the end it finished up really close and I noticed that it was sporting rings on both legs and whats more I could read the numbers very clearly. A bit of research this evening , just minutes really, and a bit of help from Gavin Haigh of the Devon Birds blog, led me to quickly discover that it had been ringed in the Netherlands  and was part of an ongoing survey. I have sent off the details and I expect to discover if it has been seen before and when and, specifically where it  was rung. 

Oh…… and in the afternoon I had a tooth pulled. As I lay in the dentist chair I tried to think of the nice morning I had enjoyed to take my mind off it, and it almost worked!

A nice female Linnet.

It's been a good day for the Blog with a new visitor from Madagascar  today, the 140th country to visit the blog.