Garden ringing - Danish too

During these times while travel is restricted, garden ringing has been of increased importance. All of the Group with C permits (non restricted)  ring on their own properties. We have had 2 RAS projects, a garden CES as well as sessions primarily used for training..

Alison  has written a short summary of her garden experiences since gaining her C permit.

 I achieved my C permit in late 2019, so 2020 was my first full year of ‘independent‘ ringing, and for obvious reasons, a significant amount has been garden - based.

 

Initially I wasn’t sure how garden- ringing would pan-out, whether it would be a relentless amount of Blue Tits and very little else. I was however, pleasantly surprised when by end of the year I had processed 730 birds of 25 species , 665 of which were new birds.

 

Species Name	S	N	Grand Total
Robin	8	15	23
Goldfinch	1	64	65
Great Tit	9	71	80
Starling	2	74	76
Blue Tit	13	138	151
Blackbird	3	8	11
Dunnock	14	13	27
Chaffinch	5	100	105
Coal Tit		7	7
Marsh Tit	1	1	2
Greenfinch	2	37	39
Nuthatch	3	4	7
Brambling		1	1
House Sparrow	3	112	115
Collared Dove		5	5
Song Thrush		2	2
Siskin		2	2
Treecreeper		1	1
Willow Warbler	1		1
Great Spotted Woodpecker		2	2
House Martin		1	1
Bullfinch		4	4
Rook		1	1
Blackcap		1	1
Wren		1	1
Grand Total	65	665	730

I caught birds that I had never seen use my garden before, such as Treecreeper, Blackcap and Willow Warbler ( a control from Andys’ site in Carmarthenshire) , and I ringed 3 new species - House Martin, Brambling and Rook.

 

 

Overall, I’ve enjoyed garden ringing and look forward to building on the knowledge and results I’ve obtained this year. The one drawback of having mist nets so visible through the window though is that you get to see ‘the one that got away’. Twice I’ve watched a Sparrowhawk bounce out of the net now.........

See link for details and updates on Andy's results with his House Sparrow RAS involving colour-ringing.

A few Starlings have been ringed in Wendy's garden so when one was caught with a ring she was expecting it to be one she had ringed. A big surprise though, it had a ring with the words ZOOL.MUSEUM DENMARK !!

 

 

The details have been submitted to the BTO and we await confirmation of news via social media that it was ringed in Skagen on the 25th July 2020. 

 Siskins numbers are increasing in several of our garden sites. As well as new birds there have been a good number of sight faithful returning birds. This one was ringed in Wendy's garden in January 2018 and seen each January since.

A couple of movements of birds from last year that we have just received from the BTO

Goldfinch   APE4200 

Ringed    Tickenham, North Somerset         19/02/2020      Gordano Valley Ringing Group

                Bancyffordd, Carmarthenshire    21/12/2020         306 days 124km WNW 

 

Sedge Warbler AEK0013 

Ringed   Teifi Marshes, Ceredigion          28/07/2020    

               St Phillippe de Grand Lieu, Loire Atlantique      15/08/2020         18 days 590km SSE