Hello everyone,
Today i went to my first ringing session, the first bird we got was within the first hour and was a beautiful Cetti's Warbler. I know why we ring and also know how amazing it feels to be that close to something which you normally admire from a far. i was told there are group which disagree with ringing and felt if i was to continue training that i need the facts. I had a look on the net but came to the conclusion that the best people to ask would be those who have a passion for birds and care about the future of them, So here i am. Whats your view??
Robin M said: Hello everyone, Today i went to my first ringing session, the first bird we got was within the first hour and was a beautiful Cetti's Warbler. I know why we ring and also know how amazing it feels to be that close to something which you normally admire from a far. i was told there are group which disagree with ringing and felt if i was to continue training that i need the facts. I had a look on the net but came to the conclusion that the best people to ask would be those who have a passion for birds and care about the future of them, So here i am. Whats your view??
From the demonstrations I have observed at Bird Fair and from the literature that I have read (mainly from the BTO so not strictly neutral) I am in favour of bird ringing.
As you are no doubt aware this is undertaken by volunteers trained to a very high level over a long period of time by the BTO, these volunteers have the welfare of the birds as their priority and are handled with extreme care and for the minimum period of time.
Although the percentage of ringing recoveries is low the data obtained can be valuable and is provided by the BTO on a neutral basis to decision makers in a number of areas.
I have recently read up quite extensively on bird ringing as it is something that myself and Mrs Dipper are interested in getting involved with, I have also made contact with a local group and possiblle trainer, but because of the amount of training involved and having a young family and other committments it is something that we feel we must put on the back burner for the time being.
Good luck with your training, if you decide to continue.
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag" Mary Poppins
The first catch made my stomach go but once i saw the care for the bird and short duration the bird was in the net and processed made me feel so much better. People say it causes to much trauma to the birds, yet they return to the same spot each year?? We did catch one Blue Tit which was very lively under it was placed in the bag, my trainer straight away let it go wothout processing it as didn't want to cause it any distress. Surely with all the benefits of ringing and the level of care for the birds out weighs the negitive views??
Though I'm not a ringer I have seen it done several times, and in every case the people involved went to great pains to make sure the birds were processed quickly and with the minimum of fuss. To become a qualified ringer is actually a pretty tough thing to do - years of apprenticeship and training are required before the BTO gives someone a licence.
What I can say (and speaking now as an RSPB Conservation Officer) is that without the data that ringing gives us, our task of conserving important bird populations and protected places for birds would very often be much, much harder and based far more on guesswork. Depending on the particular species and the run of data, it can provide hard infomation about the age of individuals, average survival rates, productivity, migration routes and important stop-over sites, post-natal dispersal patterns, territory, mate and site affinity...
Colin is quite right. The data obtained from ringing activities can help to inform our conservation decisions. For example:
Ringing studies of cirl buntings in Devon showed that individuals rarely moved more than 2km between breeding territories and winter feeding areas. Subsequent conservation programmes for cirl buntings have provided breeding season habitat and winter food resources close together within the UK range of this species. This has resulted in a substantial increase in the UK population.
Our knowledge of the migration routes and destinations of our summer and winter migrant species comes largely from re-catching or finding British-ringed birds elsewhere. This may help determine the causes of population changes observed in the UK. Numbers of roseate terns were declining seriously in many colonies in the 1980s, but there was no obvious problem in the breeding grounds. Finding ringed birds helped researchers identify the wintering grounds off West Africa, where a local pastime of ‘fishing’ for terns was killing large numbers of roseate terns. Education programmes and other conservation work together with the Ghanaian bird conservation groups helped to reduce this needless mortality.
Best wishes,
Darren
Leave only footprints, kill only time.
Thank you to you all. I always realised that ringing was important for research but Darren's story of the roseate terns emphasises the importance of this exercise.
Robin, very best wishes in your training.
I fully echo Brenda's sentiments and would like to add well done to Robin for bringing such an important topic to our attention.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Yes, I also agree and good luck Robin!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Hello.
All the best with the bird ringing, Robin. From what I've heared, seen and read about ringing, its a very honourable career and the fact that it takes a very long time for anyone to become a qualified ringer means that the bird's wellbeing is always seen as the primary importance. As far as I see it, anything that can help us to learn more about birds with the absolute minimum of disturbance to these wonderful creatures, can only be appluaded.
Paul.
Warning! This post contains atrocious spelling, and terrible grammar. Approach with extreme edginess.
Hello everyone!
Thank you so much for the postive feed back. Iam going to continue with my training, got my second session sunday! Thank you for the good wishes and so glad i can be part of something that is helping to keep our wildlife the way we want it. I will be posting photos of my ringing days, info etc so keep an eye out!
Thank you again everyone
best regards
Robin