There is this book, which may explain the basics
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bird-Ringing-Concise-D-Balmer/dp/1906204454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325349310&sr=8-1

Steve Suttill wrote:

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Hi Pete

Can't suggest any proper reading (from real books made of paper) but would suggest you have a look at the BTO website - ringing pages

http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/ringing/ringing-scheme

there you'll find endless links which might give you some answers.

Some bird ringing might appear to have no logic (and there may well be some ringers who are a bit lacking in the logic department ) but the vast majority of ringing is done as part of a co-ordinated scheme which will have specific aims.

Cheers, Steve

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Excellent - thanks Steve, I'll have a "read" I guess its good enough if there's a logic for most of it and any extreme will be no better or worse than a badly behaved birder or photographer: in that anyone who pushes ringing/photography/twitching may get the balance wrong between the pursuit of the subject versus the impact on the birds. Cheers, Peter

Hi Pete

Can't suggest any proper reading (from real books made of paper) but would suggest you have a look at the BTO website - ringing pages

http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/ringing/ringing-scheme

there you'll find endless links which might give you some answers.

Some bird ringing might appear to have no logic (and there may well be some ringers who are a bit lacking in the logic department ) but the vast majority of ringing is done as part of a co-ordinated scheme which will have specific aims.

Cheers, Steve

Being aware that this could be a tricky area - and not having a very strong view yet [but being keen to learn] - Snow Buntings at Kinmel Bay have been ringed which got me wondering about the logic of ringing. Like everything there's probably a spectrum from "ringing the xth hundred blackbird" which could seem like ringing for ringing's sake to "ringing fledglings from a population of a rare bird known to be under pressure to check on migration etc" which would seem to be ringing for good cause.

Can anyone suggest anywhere I can read up to understand the logic applied? - which I guess might be as simple as ring everything you can and hope to get some results from birds of any species being re-found. I guess there's a certain risk to any ringed bird - maybe low probability but high impacts - risk of death or injury from the capture, subsequent issues with snagged rings etc and I'd like to understand how that's evaluated by ringers?

Any reading suggestions gratefully received.

Ian Peters wrote:

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JOHN TYMON wrote:

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I wonder if anyone has ever made a decision on the maximum ammount of rings that one bird should be burdened with,I have seen a few recently on my travels with 2 colour rings on one leg and metal and colour rings on the other,which to me is too much and may at some points hinder the bird in some ways.

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Thursday 21st of July 2011 07:38:17 AM

The BTO have guidelines for ringing hence why they should know of all projects and studies currently ongoing in the UK. Whilst I agree with Ian about specific national metal ringing schemes, I am not sure all local studies would have been notified given the attitudes towards birds in some parts of Europe although they should in theory. Anyway, the rings are light in weight and providing that too many are not placed in a way that they hinder the movement of leg joints, it should be OK. The rings are size-specific so the number question should not really arise if commonsense is applied. For example, wader-sized rings would not be used on a blackbird and similarly blackbird-sized rings would not be used on a blue tit. Therefore, there may not be a numerical limitation on the rings used so much as making sure the bird is not hindered in movement - weight is unlikely to be an issue.

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Its difficult really to know if many rings on a bird hinder a bird in any way and I know they are light,but so are my trainers ,but I wouldn't feel comfy wearing 6 pairs.I do realise that in some birds it is nescessary though to see thier movements.The multi ringed birds I was refering to were the Chough at south stack RSPB.

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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The colour ringed birds I saw (finch sp. if I remember rightly, with no BTO metal rings and a single colour ring) had undoubtably come 'cagebird enthusiasts', call them what you will. One was (still is?) known to operate in the Astley area and considering the origins of at least some of his birds were unknown (I intend to insinuate nothing with that comment too) plus he regularly 'lost' birds, it is highly possible they could have included a Blackbird.

There are however, atleast 13 official European (including UK) colour ringing projects for Blackbirds, not all current projects it has to be said, but all (as with all other official ringing projects) include a metal ring too. Any official project in Europe should be known by the BTO and ringers are especially keen for this so they can monitor sightings of their birds (the whole point of colour ringing!). I also think the colour ring is more liable to come off than a metal ring (perhaps a ringer can confirm that?).

John, I certainly wouldn't expect any licenced UK ringer to colour ring any birds without the necessary prior consent from the BTO or without including the usual metal BTO ring too (for instance, how would they be informed of any subsequent sightings of birds they had ringed?). By and large, colour ringing passerine projects are uncommon (certainly compared to non-passerines they are) so if you've seen a number of colour ringed birds in the areas you say, particularly if they lack metal BTO rings then I'd be especially interested in the numbers, species, locations and any ring combinations you've seen, via email preferably. Then we can try and get to the bottom of it . I'm quite a fan of searching for colour ringed birds (a regular occurrence with my gulling) and despite purposefully looking haven't seen any such passerines for a long time in the county and they were from an official Tree Sparrow project!

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Never noted them or kept records of them,and never noted if they had metal rings also,will do in future but seen many over the years more in the time about 5 years ago ,none in the last 12 months.
I wonder if anyone has ever made a decision on the maximum ammount of rings that one bird should be burdened with,I have seen a few recently on my travels with 2 colour rings on one leg and metal and colour rings on the other,which to me is too much and may at some points hinder the bird in some ways.

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Thursday 21st of July 2011 07:38:17 AM

The colour ringed birds I saw (finch sp. if I remember rightly, with no BTO metal rings and a single colour ring) had undoubtably come 'cagebird enthusiasts', call them what you will. One was (still is?) known to operate in the Astley area and considering the origins of at least some of his birds were unknown (I intend to insinuate nothing with that comment too) plus he regularly 'lost' birds, it is highly possible they could have included a Blackbird.

There are however, atleast 13 official European (including UK) colour ringing projects for Blackbirds, not all current projects it has to be said, but all (as with all other official ringing projects) include a metal ring too. Any official project in Europe should be known by the BTO and ringers are especially keen for this so they can monitor sightings of their birds (the whole point of colour ringing!). I also think the colour ring is more liable to come off than a metal ring (perhaps a ringer can confirm that?).

John, I certainly wouldn't expect any licenced UK ringer to colour ring any birds without the necessary prior consent from the BTO or without including the usual metal BTO ring too (for instance, how would they be informed of any subsequent sightings of birds they had ringed?). By and large, colour ringing passerine projects are uncommon (certainly compared to non-passerines they are) so if you've seen a number of colour ringed birds in the areas you say, particularly if they lack metal BTO rings then I'd be especially interested in the numbers, species, locations and any ring combinations you've seen, via email preferably. Then we can try and get to the bottom of it . I'm quite a fan of searching for colour ringed birds (a regular occurrence with my gulling) and despite purposefully looking haven't seen any such passerines for a long time in the county and they were from an official Tree Sparrow project!

Dave Thacker wrote:

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Hi Ian & Steve

Thanks for the info. The fact that this Blackbird and the other coloured ringed birds that Ian McKerchar reported could have come from another country never crossed my mind. Its nice to see that a bird I saw over 4 years ago is still creating interest. Thanks again.

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Probably as likely to have come from Leigh than abroad,as I have seen many of the comoner species around Leigh and atherton with colour rings on,got to be local ringers doing it to study thier own sites,id say.

Hi Ian & Steve

Thanks for the info. The fact that this Blackbird and the other coloured ringed birds that Ian McKerchar reported could have come from another country never crossed my mind. Its nice to see that a bird I saw over 4 years ago is still creating interest. Thanks again.

The only ringer I know in Swinton is Steve Christmas who occasionally posts on this forum - why not send him a PM Dave?

Steve

Dragged out of the archive via the search system,

recently i was given a dead great tit with a ring on,and i also found a dead swan on the flashes that had been ringed,I filled in the reports via the BTO website and have now had
replies on both birds,the great tit was only 7 months old and 1 mile from the nest site,the swan was 2 years old and was found under power lines yards from the nest site.Nice to know the reporting system works and adds a little more interest.

cheers geoff

As a ringer and a relative newcomer to this forum one or two items are worth mentioning.
Less than 900000 birds are ringed per year in the UK by 2100 ringers most of whom seem to live in the South East. Last year I ringed c1000 new birds only one of which was ringed elsewhere (a Swallow from Lancaster area). Blue Tits and Great Tits are not the most popular birds, mini psychopaths which are mainly useful for teaching trainees how to extract difficult birds from mist nets, and the fundamentals of using feathers to age birds. Many of them nest in boxes provided for Pied Flycatchers and Tree Sparrows, and tend not to get ringed.
Ringing nestlings requires training for 'box side manner' handling etc, Tits are helpful here.
Birds have been ringed near M/C Airport for 40 years, and when ringing started there, House Sparrow were on the not to ring list. As it became clear that House Sparrow numbers were declining, the error of this ruling was realised, no historical database, and House Sparrows are now ringed. They are very clever birds and apart from juveniles know why nets are there. This means it is not easy to gauge adult survival from retrapping.
Colour ringed birds without metals especially finches might well be wild birds ringed in the nest for cage birds which fledged/exploded before they could be taken as 'birds reared in captivity'.
Anyone putting up large boxes should inspect them to minimise the risk of illegal activities of this type. Barn Owls are in danger here.
A really good photographer has a hide on one or my ringing sites, and is not worried about rings spoiling his images; he uses software to clear them up.
Ringing ticks. Ringers are encouraged to ring at least 50 different species before they can get a full permit. The training period is normally a minimum three years, even for twitchers-400 bird 'lifers' who are ringers. Over a period of c30 years ringing regular ringers might end up with 130 or so ringing ticks. I've never met or heard of a ringing ticker as such!
Colour ringing. As someone pointed out all project have to be registered so that there can be no duplication of colour combinations in any one area. Please report all colour ring sightings. The data reports how long the birds live and how far they travel to provided food. I seem to remember from a recent study that it is 1 mile for Sparrows and 2 miles for Yellowhammers

I tend to agree with you Craig as I have been told a number of things about certain ringers in the last couple of days and unfortually even though most ringers are decent people with the birds welfare at heart , it seems just a couple of them may have their own agenda.

I feel that I should explain a little more on the above.
Yesterday while in Manchester I met an old birdwatching friend from the 80`s .He used to live in America and he mentioned that he had read my post about the coloured ringed Blackbird.He told me that in the small town in which he had lived while in the states were a number of ringers who used to colour ring the resident birds in the ringers own combination of colours and then kept a score of each birds visit to each of their gardens. They did this for a bit of fun!! . Lets hope that it does not catch on over here
-- Edited by Dave Thacker at 16:31, 2007-07-04

-- Edited by Dave Thacker at 20:51, 2007-07-04

Dave Thacker wrote:

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I suppose that there may be a ringer colour ringing birds for his own interest in the Manchester area so I may not get to find any history about this particular Blackbird.

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Dave,

This wouldnt happen either - all colour ringing schemes have to be registered with the BTO so that there is no overlap between people using the same ring sequence. It is slightly possible (but very unlikely) that the metal ring had fallen off. Either way, if its a bird with colour rings on that the BTO dont know about, and its missing a metal ring, chances are its probably being ringed illegally.

-- Edited by Craig H at 22:29, 2007-07-02

Too coincidental for me that we've had 3 colour-ringed birds (Lesser Redpoll, Goldfinch and Blackbird) already in the past 4 months, all bearing no metal rings. Whether they're released aivary birds or ringers birds they're certainly a mixed bunch of species, I just can't understand where they've come from.

I have had a reply today from Kate Risely ,Ringing Data officer for the BTO at Thetford in Norfolk concerning the Blackbird with the two coloured rings which I saw in Swinton. She mentioned that all wild birds which have coloured rings will also have a metal ring as well ,as this Blackbird did not have a metal ring it was not a BTO ringed bird and is therefore untraceable.

However, birds with only coloured rings are mostly escaped avairy birds, and as such almost always` ornamental `birds such as finches .Kate reckons that this will account for most of the other reports from around the Manchester area of coloured ringed birds.

As a Blackbird is not a typical avairy bird ,Kate reckons that the metal ring was discoloured and hard to see or had fell off. As I have mentioned in the previous posts I had an excellent view of this bird and there was no metal ring on either leg.She was also interested in the colour order of the rings which was the blue ring on top of the white ring and she may be able to find some info about that.

I suppose that there may be a ringer colour ringing birds for his own interest in the Manchester area so I may not get to find any history about this particular Blackbird.

Thanks for your reply Kane.

Hi Dave,

The celluloid rings (Coloured Rings) are fitted to the birds leg using a small aluminium tool thats supplied to open the ring and slide it onto the birds leg. The ring can then be sealed with acetone (nail varnish remover) to minimise the chances of ring loss.

Cheers Kane

I have reported this sighting to the BTO and I am awaiting their reply.
There was not a metal ring present on either leg only the two plastic rings on the right leg . As a matter of interest I know how metal rings are attached to the birds legs from watching many years ago a Lapland bunting being ringed at Spurn point but how are plastic rings put on?

Whilst running the BTO stall at Martin Mere last year, I was approached by a woman who said she saw a lot of ringed birds in her Swinton garden. It turned out that she lived a couple of streets away from Steve Christmas so I assumed they were the results of his garden ringing activities. I don't recall that she mentioned colour rings though.

I watch colour ringed birds for a living at the BTO, and depending how good the views were, it is possible that the white ring could be a metal ring, in sunlight they can look white, or just the metal ring is dirty and doesn't show up as well. Birds often lose colour rings but losing a metal ring without a severe leg injury is very rare, sounds similar to the goldfinches up your way with colour rings but no metal, very odd.

It doesn't have to be a local bird, there was a blackbird ringed in Thetford, Norfolk that was seen in a garden in Devon in the winter, then was back in Thetford the following summer before once again going on it's holidays back to Devon.

Hi,

Quite a number of Blackbirds have been colour ringed at Ness Gardens on the Wirral by Bob Harris. Like Ian said all birds ringed by BTO ringers should have a metal ring even if the bird is colour ringed.

As far as I am aware Steve Christmas (Ringing in Swinton) has not colour ringed any Blackbirds in our area. There is the possibility that the metal ring has fallen of but this is very unlikely.

Cheers

Kane


-- Edited by Kane Brides at 11:31, 2007-06-18

Thanks for that Dave, it's potentially a very interesting sighting. Birds ringed under licence from the BTO should carry a small metal ring on one of the legs and if you're bird didn't it may fit two birds I've seen recently which bore coloured plastic rings but no metal rings and weren't from any BTO or other 'official' ringing program.

Let me know if you receive anything back from the BTO Dave as I'd be very interested.

Ian

There was not a metal ring on either leg only the two coloured rings on the right leg. I will report it to the BTO as you mentioned as I am interested in its history. Thanks.

Dave,

there seems to be no information on such a ringing project for Blackbirds but there is an active ringer living (and certainly used to be ringing) in Swinton, so perhaps it came from there? Did it have a metal ring on one of the legs?

Either way report your sighting to the BTO here, and if it's one of their's you'll receive the full history of it.

http://blx1.bto.org/euring/main/rings.jsp?LAN=en

Today I saw an adult female Blackbird in my mothers garden in Swinton, it had what looked like two small plastic rings on its right leg , one white and the other blue . As I know nothing about ringing what do the rings mean.