Pipits that Rock!

Rock Pipits are worthy of respect; not only breeding on rocky coastal habitats, but in winter they are probably the only passerine capable of remaining on the rocks in all weathers.

Last week we received details of a colour ringed Rock Pipit from Norway that had been ringed on 12 August 2011 as a 2nd calendar year male in Makkevika, Møre and Romsdal , Norway.
This bird was identified from its colour rings on the 8 and the 13 November 2011 in Margate, Kent, after having travelled more than 1200 km.
This represents the 9th record of a Norwegian ringed Rock Pipit to be seen in the UK. Many Scandinavian Pock Pipits of the littoralis subspecies winter in the east of Great Britain, as is shown by the 15 or so recoveries of birds from Sweden and the 9 from Norway.

This particular bird was ringed as part of a colour ringing project in Norway coordinated by Sunnmøre Ringing Group that started in February 2011, which also involves colour ringing of Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Purple Sandpiper, Curlew and Dunlin. Watch out for this birds!

Thank you to Kjell Mork Soot for supplying the photograph of a colour ringed Rock Pipit and details of this bird.