BTO Bird Ringing - 'Demog Blog'

Another Curlew Tit is spotted

2012-03-02T14:54:00.007Z

The life of a wild bird is not an easy one. The BTO get quite a few reports of 'unusual' looking birds with abnormal plumages and deformities. The types of deformity vary widely but the most commonly reported are of the legs and especially the beak.The most common bill deformities reported by Garden BirdWatch members are:Upper mandible over grownUpper and lower mandible crossed overUpper and

Jack Snipe for the Year List!

2012-02-20T16:56:00.006Z

Jack Snipe are a difficult bird to survey, let alone ring, so what are the chances to get a foreign recovery?A quick look at the online reports shows that the chances of receiving a recovery of a Jack Snipe are pretty slim, with only only a couple of birds recovered in good years (see table). Most of the recoveries are from shot birds. Ringed and Recovered Jack Snipes, from on-line

Where are your Purps from?

2012-02-13T22:18:00.003Z

I recently heard of a colour-ring sighting of a Purple Sandpiper at Godrevy Island, Cornwall, in late October 2011. This got me thinking, as the origin of the county's wintering birds has interested me since moving down here recently. The only previous recovery in the county was an Icelandic-ringed bird seen at Penzance in November 2004 and May 2005. So it was a bit surprising to find this bird

Belgian Surprise

2012-02-10T11:18:00.009Z

Orchards are great sources of food for our wintering birds, and also ringing opportunities for ringers. The North Notts Ringing Group was doing just this yesterday, ringing in an orchard. They were mist netting thrushes before the snow started to fall.They managed to catch 450 birds, with a large proportion being Fieldfare (217 birds). There were also 177 Blackbirds, 15 Redwing and 3 Mistle

Black and Gold

2012-02-07T11:29:00.007Z

Every BTO ringer who has a current ringing licence has a permit number. Trainee ringers have a permit number of 0000 to start with but when they are able to operate with 'remote supervision' (C permit holder) they get issued with another number . This number then stays with them for the rest of their ringing career. The latest permit number to be issued is currently 5866.Coming from someone whose

It's all about the sewage

2012-02-04T15:08:00.004Z

It’s well known that wintering Chiffchaffs have a great affinity with the southwest, with Devon and Cornwall home to an unknown, but undoubtedly large, proportion of the UK wintering population. Looking back at just the last five winters (December to February in each of 2006-07 to 2010-11), we hold electronic ringing records of 918 Chiffchaffs, with no fewer than 244 ringed in Devon and 187 in

10 Millionth Milestone

2012-02-01T10:12:00.012Z

The British and Irish ringing scheme is part of a much wider group of ringing schemes across Europe called the European Union for Bird Ringing (EURING), which was formed nearly 50 years ago. EURING encourages co-operation, common standards and data exchange across Europe.The EURING databank is currently located at the BTO and its purpose is to collate information on bird demography. This makes

White wonderland

2012-01-27T15:39:00.007Z

As you may guess, we receive quite a lot of reports in the Demography team regarding swans. So far this month, we've had 26 reports of Mute Swans, 10 of those were reported alive and 9 were ring-read sightings, one was caught in netting and released. Of the 16 swans that were reported dead, the stated cause of death was: hit by a car; flew into overhead wires; sick; or oiled. We have also

It's Loony that we only get one a year!

2012-01-19T16:20:00.004Z

Birdfacts quote: "In Shetland Red-throated Divers were considered one of the best weather indicators, short cries (or flying inland) indicated fine weather, long, plaintive ones (or flying out to sea) wet weather." Although probably not a statistically significant weather predictor, the Red-throated Diver is an amazing bird.Occupying shallow ponds and lochs in Scotland during the summer and

Tricky Customer

2012-01-10T16:29:00.007Z

From late 2005, we began to receive reports of dead or dying Greenfinches, cases that were subsequently linked to an emerging infectious disease called Trichomonosis. This disease was already known from pigeons and doves but cases in wild finches were unknown. During the outbreak that followed (notably during 2006 and 2007) significant numbers of Greenfinches and Chaffinches died. In areas where

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T14:32:00.003Z

With gale force winds and driving rain, the start of 2012 isn't ideal for ringing birds but while this settles down, its time to deal with the last of the 2011 recoveries.After the Christmas period we have received quite a few reports of wildfowl and garden birds being found dead. Some wildfowl and gulls have been recorded alive by the dedicated ring readers at their local park. It won't take us

Ringed birds in the Gambia part 3!

2011-12-29T12:20:00.006Z

The increasing work done in Africa to find out about our declining migrants is picking up pace, with the BTO Cuckoos still going strong and the Out of Africa project. As mentioned in a post previously, a team of volunteer ringers have just returned from their third trip to Kartong Bird Observatory, The Gambia, in an attempt to gain more knowledge on our European passerines and gain more

African Swallow Roost

2011-12-25T17:00:00.010Z

What best to celebrate the turn of the Equionox than the recovery of a UK ringed swallow in South Africa! Andrew Pickels controlled this bird on the 30th of November in Umzumbe (in the area of Southern Kwazulu Natal), his ringing patch where he rings at a roost 2-3 times a week. This year the Umzumbe roost hosted an impressive 1-1.5 million swallows. Fittingly, the controlled swallow had

The History of One Med Gull and Three Rings

2011-12-22T11:14:00.014Z

Luke Phillips, who works for the RSPB, told us last week about a Mediterranean Gull that is visiting Radipole Lake RSPB Reserve 18 years after it was first caught for ringing in The Netherlands.According to the ringing database, this would be the longevity record for Mediterranean Gull recorded in the UK, but not as old as the longevity record for Europe, which was a Med Gull ringed by the Greek

From one cold coast to the other

2011-12-07T14:14:00.009Z

Many birdwatchers agree, Purple Sandpipers are very special birds. Not only is the rocky habitat they can be found on unusual for a sandpiper, but also for their interesting movements. The majority of birds found here originate in Norway and Iceland but we have had birds from the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Svalbard. We have even had 2 birds ringed in Britain and found in Greenland!

October oddities and November notables

2011-11-30T11:42:00.007Z

Grampian Ringing Group definitely got the distance prize for October with a Sandwich Tern turning up in Liberia, West Africa (5679km in 488 days). This chick was ringed at Sands of Forvie Nature Reserve, Aberdeenshire last year and was caught by children playing on the beach in Robertsport but unfortunately died.We also received 8 reports of Lesser Black-backed Gull wintering in Portugal and all

Pipits that Rock!

2011-11-22T17:58:00.009Z

Rock Pipits are worthy of respect; not only breeding on rocky coastal habitats, but in winter they are probably the only passerine capable of remaining on the rocks in all weathers.Last week we received details of a colour ringed Rock Pipit from Norway that had been ringed on 12 August 2011 as a 2nd calendar year male in Makkevika, Møre and Romsdal , Norway.This bird was identified from its

Dipper in Essex

2011-11-11T17:23:00.011Z

Continental Black-bellied Dippers are recorded most years on the islands in the north of Scotland and on the east coast of the UK. However, ringing recoveries have been surprisingly lacking in the origin of these migratory Dippers that visit the UK in the winter.More than 1900 Dippers were ringed under the BTO ringing scheme during 2010, most of them ringed as chicks (1700). Encounters of ringed

Quail surprise!

2011-11-07T15:29:00.007Z

Ringer Greg Conway writes:When one of my trainee ringers, mentioned that he had a 'good number' of Quail on a local farm in south Norfolk, and recalling the apparent ease with which this species is caught in Belgium and the Netherlands, I decide to give it a try. However, given the low success rate when attempting to catch in the autumn, I didn't expect to to catch any. Just another exercise

Eastern Jewel

2011-11-01T14:42:00.009Z

There is an amazing amount of information that can be learned from ringing and at this time of year migration strategies are high on the list. Projects can be done looking at fat deposition or even the timings and reasons for movement.Saying that, you can never be 100% sure what you will catch. While doing a routine ringing session, Maple Cross Ringing Group had a very unusual bird appear in

Tystie gets a Bus Pass

2011-10-25T16:38:00.015+01:00

Although the summer days are long gone and we have just put the clocks back to the winter time, we have recently received news from Dr J G Greenwood (BTO ringer) about a Tystie (Black Guillemot) which was ringed by him in Northern Ireland and has broken the longevity record for the species.The Black Guillemot wearing the ring EP35353 hatched on 27 June 1988 and was ringed nine days later in

September Swedish Sweeties

2011-10-12T16:25:00.016+01:00

Last week we received some very exciting news from Sweden. One piece of news came from Fair Isle where they heard that a coloured ringed Common Rosefinch seen amongst a flock of 15 birds in early September had in fact been ringed as a juvenile on 25th August on the west coast of Sweden (see map in yellow). There are only two previous records of Common Rosefinches ringed abroad and found in the UK

Cetti's to the Conquest of Northumberland

2011-10-06T13:43:00.023+01:00

The last decades have seen a change in the distribution of many species as a result of climate warming. If you read the abstract of this recent article you will see this affecting many different terrestrial organisms. In the bird world, a typical example of range shift towards the north is that of the Cetti's Warbler. Some years ago, the species featured in headlines like "Mediterranean Songbird

Kingfisher Pole Vaults to Ordfordness

2011-09-30T09:50:00.014+01:00

The great majority of Kingfishers breeding in the UK are resident. However, the kingfisher that winters in your patch may have known other countries in its life, and that's what this story shows...Last Monday we had news from Mike Marsh of what seems to be the first Polish ringed Kingfisher ever controlled in the UK, Mike said: At Orfordness, Suffolk we catch a small number (up to 8) Kingfishers

What happened to the recoveries?

2011-09-20T15:54:00.006+01:00

After looking at how many recoveries we get from predators in the last posting, I thought it would be nice to look at the recoveries we get as a whole.I have used all the recoveries that we have received from August up until now. We use two codes to say what happened to the birds. The finding condition tells us, for example, if the bird was found dead or alive. The finding circumstances give the

August recoveries update

2011-09-14T16:06:00.009+01:00

"I found a bird's leg in my sock!"Over the years there have been some odd finding places for bird rings, including at the bottom of the North Sea, a Red Kite in the engine of a plane and a Mute Swan killed by a Lion at Chester Zoo. This month's winner is quoted, "I put my sock on this morning and felt something sharp dig into my foot. Upon further inspection, and to my disbelief, I found a tiny

CES ringers finally get a lie-in

2011-09-08T12:11:00.005+01:00

Greg Conway writes:As the breeding season draws to a close, so the hundreds of dedicated ringers who run the 120 Constant Effort Sites (CES) scattered across Britain and Ireland can start to relax and recuperate after a summer of early morning starts. As they use the same mist nets in the same places each year to catch the birds, the information they collect tells us about changes in numbers of

Waiting for the kids to leave home

2011-09-03T12:18:00.012+01:00

Over 36,000 Reed Warblers were ringed in the UK during 2010, so what was interesting about the seven caught at a site in south Norfolk on Thursday? During the summer of 2011, a team of BTO staff, collectively known as The Swamp Things (AKA Dave Leech, Lee Barber, Rachael Portnall, Mike Toms and Jez Blackburn), decided that the best way to spend their free time would be to slip into a pair

Warbler wanderings

2011-08-31T13:38:00.015+01:00

Ringing warblers in the summer is always exciting and the data collected is very valuable, especially when they are ringed as chicks or biometrics are taken. The top warblers ringed in 2010 were Blackcap, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler, all with more than 30,000 birds ringed. These are a mix of long and short distance migrants. We have had reasonable number of Sedge

Just nipping to Spain

2011-08-23T16:16:00.007+01:00

In 2010 our ringing scheme ringed 2,331 Redshank and lots of these birds have gone on to be seen or recovered in other countries. Foreign ringed Redshank are found less frequently in this country. Click here to see recovery reports in more detail. Redshank, 3M009051, was ringed and colour ringed on 13th February 2011 as a juvenile at Fianteira, Sanxenxo, Spain (42'27N 8'50W), (blue pin). This

Ringing Course at Chew

2011-08-12T16:05:00.009+01:00

I have just been on the Chew Valley Ringing Course in Somerset. This long standing course offered training in mist netting of various species covering Reed habitat, garden birds and also hirundines. Together with this information on moult stratagies and other catching methods were also given. This year there were mainly trainee ringers attending the course and we had a good mix of birds caught

Roseate went to the Americas

2011-08-02T16:49:00.019+01:00

Any report about Roseate Terns is always special, just like their rings. On Monday we opened the online recoveries from the weekend to find a sighting of a Roseate tern in a breeding colony. Yes, we are in the summer that’s what they should be… but we read a bit more and discovered that the finding county was New Hampshire! After double-checking, I checked the database and found that

Quail

2011-07-25T11:53:00.008+01:00

Earlier in the month we had reports from a few ringers saying that they had many male Quails ‘calling’ in their ringing sites, which coincides with the peak of birds shown by Birdtrack. These are thought to be young (3) males from more southern breeding grounds which are migrating north during their first calendar-year before their journey to their wintering grounds in the Sahel. Quails are

One good tern deserves another... and another...

2011-07-18T10:35:00.009+01:00

Tony Murray writes and provides photo:The plight of the Roseate Tern has been well documented over the last few years. The National Parks Wildlife Service (NPWS) has been involved in wardening the largest ternery in Ireland at Lady’s Island Lake, Co. Wexford for many years now. Since my move from Co. Mayo to Co. Wexford in 2004, this site has fallen under my responsibility as the Wildlife Ranger

Interesting Reed Warbler distribution

2011-07-14T16:13:00.007+01:00