The Channel Rail

British and Irish ringers usually ring more House Martins in one year than the total number of Water Rail that have ever been ringed in Britain or Ireland since 1909. With a grand total of just 6,036 ringing records, the BTO database shows a recapture rate of only 430 different birds, and 137 reports of dead birds found.

Water Rail by John Harding

Having said that, we have had some exchange with our other Euring colleagues, particularly Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands and from as far away as Belarus. Recoveries of foreign ringed birds show an autumn immigration into Britain and Ireland from central and northwestern Europe, and then hint at movement further south into France.

In 2009, we received a report from a a member of the public in Truro, Cornwall, who had found a dead Water Rail that had been killed by his cat. It was wearing a French ring, making it the first French ringed Water Rail to be found on our shores (not shown on map).

We have just received the ringing details back from the French Ringing Scheme on another Water Rail that was found in Ivybridge, Devon, in November 2012. This bird was found fresh dead after hitting powerlines. This bird had only been ringed 49 days previously at Dune de Slack, Wimereux, Pas-de-Calais (390km).

Quail surprise!

Ringer Greg Conway writes:

When one of my trainee ringers, mentioned that he had a 'good number' of Quail on a local farm in south Norfolk, and recalling the apparent ease with which this species is caught in Belgium and the Netherlands, I decide to give it a try. However, given the low success rate when attempting to catch in the autumn, I didn't expect to to catch any. Just another exercise in put nets up and taking down again.


So on 11th June, just as the sun was setting, we carefully put up a triangle in a cereal crop. By the time the nets were set, up to 4 males were calling nearby and we got the impression that something was watching us! As I made a final check of the net I was totally amazed to watch a male pop up from within the triangle of nets and jump into the net. It was immediately extracted and processed, then I started the tape lure (having the appropriate tape luring licence) and a female immediately flew into the net and again was promptly extracted. It was an hour later though before the third and final Quail of the evening was caught.

If that wasn't reward enough, I was amazed to receive notification recently that one of the three was shot in September at Montegut-Arros, Midi-Pyrenees, France.

Four Quail were ringed in Britain & Ireland in 2010 and we are up to 7 so far this year. It will be interesting to see how many were ringed this year, once all the data is in our database.

Thanks to John Secker for the photo.