Bird Ringing has been going on for about 90 years in Britain and Ireland and its main focus today is to keep track of population numbers. But bird ringing is about more than just watching and counting birds.

It's a vital operation that helps us learn about their feeding habits, how long they live, their migration habits and survival rates. The information is sent to the BTO, The British Trust for Ornithology, where they process it. About 800,000 birds are ringed in Britain and Ireland every year.

Bird Ringing

You may wonder if ringing the birds harms them or restricts them in some way. However, this is not the case. Ringing is only carried out by highly trained volunteers, and the ring itself is so light it feels about as heavy as a watch does on a human arm.

Some birds are ringed in the nest, or in nest boxes, but most are ringed using mist-nets which are very fine nets about 60 feet long and ten feet high, such as the ones at the Northmoor Trust.

They are designed to catch birds in flight and hold them safely until the ringer frees them from the net. The bird is placed in a breathable cotton bag, then held in the 'ringer's grip', while its sex and age is identified. Then a small ring is carefully placed on the bird's leg. The unique number is noted down and the bird released back into the wild.

Mike Rogers is an ornithologist at the Northmoor Trust where over 120 bird species have been spotted. He has been bird ringing for over thirty years. He rings birds throughout the year, but in the summer months carries out a Constant Effort Ringing Programme, where he makes 12 visits, 10 days apart, and compares the number of young birds produced from one year to another.

This year has been an excellent one at the reserve, with a mass of young birds being produced. In particular, Mike has been catching a lot of chiffchaffs. He is interested in where the birds go in the winter, what their survival rates are and whether anything on the route from here to Africa has affected them, such as bird trapping in West Africa. He has noticed that Blackcaps have increased in numbers while good woodland management has resulting in an increase in the number of Song Thrushes spotted at the Trust this year.

Mike Rogers

Bird ringing has revealed some interesting findings. For example, one particular Marsh Tit has been caught at the Trust for nine years in a row. He was even caught in the same bit of net. He fathered many baby Marsh Tits over the years and is now on record with the BTO as one of the oldest Marsh Tits. Mike has now ringed a Marsh Tit with a number specifically for BBC Oxford. Its number is R959664, so if you spot it through your telescope, please report it to Mike at the Northmoor Trust. Bird ringing can only be done by skilled professionals so do not be tempted to catch any ringed birds you spot on your bird feeder!

If you are interested in finding out more about bird ringing, then you can contact the Northmoor Trust, or the BTO. Contact details below:

Northmoor Trust, near Little Wittenham.
Tel: 01865 407792
Email: admin@northmoortrust.co.uk
www.northmoortrust.co.uk

British Trust for Ornithology
The Ringing Unit, BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU
Tel: 01842 750050;
Fax: 01842 750030; E-mail: ringing@bto.org
Website: www.bto.org/ringing