Wiltshire Ornithological Society
Bird Ringing In Wiltshire
Bird ringing in Wiltshire is very much on the up. The West Wilts Ringing Group and The Cotswold Water Park Ringing Group are the largest ringing groups covering the area though we are blessed with some very dedicated and active ringers who are not members of groups.
Across the county particular focus is paid to species of conservation concern such as Barn Owl, Willow Tit, Tree Sparrow, Reed Bunting and Corn Bunting.
If you are interested in becoming a bird ringer please contact the British Trust for Ornithology for further details but please note that to succeed requires much dedication involving early mornings, late nights and many long hours in between. The rewards however are tremendous and one can learn far more about the intimate lives of birds than before.
Colour Ringing Projects
Colour ringing means that we can identify individuals or birds from a site or particular year simply by reading the colour ring combination in the field, eliminating the need to catch the bird again. Colour ringing increases the chances of recoveries for those studying these species and can enable us to compile life histories of individuals.
Please report any sightings of colour-ringed birds to the people named under each project. All reports will be acknowledged and we will provide more information wherever possible.
Tree Sparrows
All Tree Sparrows ringed in the county are fitted with colour rings. They are ringed with a combination of two colour rings on either leg. It is crucial to note which ring is above the other and whether it is on the right or left leg.
We are trying to learn of their survival rate and how they are moving around the countryside. If you see a flock of Tree Sparrows please try to note the where the flock was, flock size, how many are ringed and also what combinations you can read. We can then advise you of the age structure of the flock and if any of the birds have moved very far. We are currently ringing over 1000 Tree Sparrows per year so there is a great chance of finding colour-ringed birds.
We are extremely grateful to the North Wiltshire RSPB Local Members Group, English Nature and Wiltshire County Council for their support on this project.
Please report all sightings to matt.prior@tiscali.co.uk
Corn Buntings
In the winter of 2004/5 we ringed over 80 Corn Buntings working in partnership with the RSPB. Over a quarter of these were re-sighted on summer territories by the RSPB. We hope to find some of these back in their winter flocks this year.
English Nature and Wiltshire County Council have provided invaluable support for this project.
These birds are ringed with a colour ring over the metal on the right leg with two colour rings on the left leg.
Please report any sightings to matt.prior@tiscali.co.uk detailing the ring positions and where the bird was seen.
Chiff Chaffs
As part of a national project we are individually marking wintering Chiff Chaffs in the Cotswold Water Park, Swindon and Marlborough. These birds are fitted with three colour rings and a metal ring.
If you see wintering Chiff Chaffs please have a look to see if they are ringed or not.
Please report any sightings to matt.prior@tiscali.co.uk
Reed Buntings
The Cotswold Water Park Society is sponsoring a project to study Reed Buntings in and around the Cotswold Water Park. As a small part of this project Reed Buntings in the area are being fitted with colour rings to identify individuals. On the right leg they will have a single or two colour rings over a metal ring and on the left leg they will have two colour rings.
Please report all sightings to gareth.harris@waterpark.org
Grey Herons
Grey Herons ringed as nestlings around The Cotswold Water Park have been fitted with wing tags for a number of years. Please forward any sightings of these birds noting when and where you saw it and the colour of the tag and the writing on it to rich_hearn@yahoo.co.uk