Helping out on the river

Today I went with some friends to join in with a voluntary activity on the River Congost in les Franqueses del Vallès organised by Associació Hàbitats. Shortly after arriving we were able to watch as some birds (which had been caught in mist nets) had rings put on their legs by the members of PARUS, a group of people who ring birds and record the species, their weight and various other details before releasing them. This was very interesting and we were able to see, up close, a Streaked fantail warbler, Meadow pipit, Dunnock, Blackbird, Wren, Robin, Cetti's warbler, Eurasian blackcap, Common chiffchaff, Kingfisher, Pied wagtail and Eurasian reed warbler.

Streaked fantail warbler / Trist (Cisticola juncidis)

Meadow pipit / Titella (Anthus pratensis)

Eurasian blackcap / Tallarol de casquet (Sylvia atricapilla)

Dunnock / Pardal de bardissa (Prunella modularis)

Wren / Cargolet (Troglodytes troglodytes)

Kingfisher / Blauet (Alcedo atthis)

After this we went to plant some ash trees near the river and to clear the weeds from around some dog-roses (Rosa canina) which had been planted earlier in the year. We also spent some time collecting litter from the river banks and the roadside. The sun was beating down on us and it felt more like midsummer than the start of November. Some people built nest boxes to hang in the trees by the river. One little boy was allowed to take his home to see if any birds will come and nest in his garden. What an enjoyable way to spend the morning, and I hope that I will be able to get involved in more activities like this in the future.