On Sunday March 30th 1952, at a meeting called by George Shannon, Hon. Secretary of the newly-formed Kent Ornithological Society, a committee was elected to set up a Dungeness Bird Observatory and comprising representatives from London Natural History Society, KOS and Hastings Natural History Society.
The first accommodation was a room above a garage at the old Royal Naval Shore Signal Station, called the Watch House and since demolished. But by May 1953 the Observatory was housed at No 1 RNSSS and Bert Axell was co-opted as Honorary Warden.
Life was simple and spartan: no electricity and one cold tap. Cooking and heating were done by Tilley, with candles upstairs. All catching was done with Heligoland, Potter and Chardonneret traps – a Red-backed Shrike was caught with a bumble bee in a bottle in a Chardonneret.
Ring sizes were limited, and all rings had to be closed with the fingers (or teeth!). Bert Axell devised a tarsus gauge to obtain accurate measurements of the tarsi of all birds caught and these measurements were passed to the British Trust for Ornithology as the basis of a successful campaign for a more suitable range of rings. The first ringing pliers were also devised by the Warden and made by Gene Tully from Woolworths pliers. Subsequently supply of these was taken on by the Ringing Office.
Harry Cawkell, the Observatory Secretary for 47 years, saw a mist net demonstration on Christ Church meadows, Oxford, during a Bird Observatory Conference. He ordered twenty nets and these were the first to be used by a mainland bird observatory. In the fifties the Midrips were often flooded and excellent for waders. One night Norman Barnes, Bert Axell and I set a forty foot net and caught three Grey Plovers – one each!! In those early days the vegetation in the trapping area was kept short by rabbits and sheep, and in the autumn was often flooded making for some interesting birds.
Ringing was a great adventure, with so much to learn, nothing written about ageing and sexing, no Svensson and no moult guide. Ken Williamson was on Fair Isle leading the way to our study of migration. We were all pioneers, and Dungeness was in the fore to further our knowledge.
Mary Waller
Dungeness Ringing Pliers
and Tarsus Gauge