I've just been reading up on the Bearded Tits that made the national press by turning up in Hyde Park. Both birds (females) were ringed and some close up photography was able to identify that they were ringed at Rye Meads - I'm assuming the ones mentioned on the blog in November (link below)
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/placestovisit/ryemeads/b/ryemeads-blog/archive/2012/11/10/three-bearded-tits.aspx
I think results like this help highlight the fantastic work the ringing group at Rye Meads do. I thoroughly recommend going on the ringing event they hold every year. Their knowledge and the chance to see birds in the hand make it an event not to be missed.
Well done the group and long may their records continue to contribute to the welfare of our birds.
Jeff.
Well that is your opinion,is it really that important to hold a bird in the hand that is terrified and feathers damaged by being in a net and going without food all that time.Do not think it important to know that those birds at Hyde Park came from Rye Meads or anywhere else.
I am not sure why Sooty joined this group. He / she / it doesn't understand the value of ringing. It cannot even see the value in knowing the dispersal patterns of birds in the winter and how they can make use of all sorts of habitats that you would not normally think of as being valuable to wildlife. I had the pleasure of doing a ringing demonstration on behalf of my local wildlife trust yesterday morning. We had 16 adults and 6 children attend and the enthusiasm from the youngest (6) to the oldest (80) was fantastic. Hopefully this will have a positive impact on the youngsters' interest in birds and wildlife in the future. Applications to attend were twice as many as the number of places available: it was so successful that we have been asked to do another one in August.
As for Rye Meads - I did a week there in 2011, helped out with their CES scheme as well as having the opportunity to get a couple of ringing ticks (spotted flycatcher being a highlight - I was too far down the food chain to get to do one of the two wryneck). It also got me into my other passion - mothing, which is another great way of looking at wildlife.
Simon Tucker
Simon, Sooty is clearly entitled to his opinions and this is no different to any comment about twitching. I am aware that ringing studies (done well) are of immense importance. One of the main criticisms of ringing is what can appear to be almost an element of 'ringing twitching'. Unfortunately making the comment "having the opportunity to get a couple of ringing ticks (spotted flycatcher being a highlight - I was too far down the food chain to get to do one of the two wryneck)" does only serve to feed that belief. Well done for the ringing demonstration and CES work but I would concentrate on publicising that.
The Cotswold Water park sightings website
My Flicker page
Deleted in the interests of harmony