Brit abroad causing a stir

The species, or subspecies, of the Redpoll complex has long been something that birders and ringers have debated; the use of new advances in technology, like sonograms and DNA studies, have only fueled the discussions. There are currently three recognised species, Lesser, Common (Mealy) and Arctic Redpoll, with subspecies also acknowledged (depending on which criteria you use). Identification of these species can be difficult; however, ringers are in the privilaged position of being able to collect detailed data on size (wing length) and plumage to help inform the decision.

Since 2010, the average number of Lesser Redpoll ringed by the BTO Ringing Scheme is 21,000 birds per year. The number of these that are later relocated is quite high in comparison to similar species. They have become increasingly common in gardens (as recorded through Garden BirdWatch) possibly due to garden bird feeding; this also offers additional opportunities for ringers to catch these birds.



Colour of location: Ringed in Britain and Ireland, Found Here; Ringed Here, Found in Britain and Ireland

The map above shows the ringing and finding locations for all the Lesser Redpolls that have been ringed or reported in Britain and Ireland. This map will have to be redrawn later this year however, as we have now received details of a bird that had its metal ring read in Spain! During 2017, there were only two sightings of Redpoll in the whole of Spain, so 20 January 2018, when a flock of 15-17 birds turned up, was an exciting day; it was made even more exciting by the fact that one of the birds was wearing a ring!

Adult male Lesser Redpoll. Photo by Jesús Mari Lekuona

Unfortuantely, as the rings on Redpoll are very small, it is very difficult to read the ring number in the field; however, Jesús Mari Lekuona managed to read all but the last number. This narrowed the options down to 10 possible birds, and all of them were Lesser Redpolls of various ages (adult or juvenile), ringed on 14 October 2017 near Cinderford, Gloucestershire by Robin Husbands. As you can see from the photo, this bird is an adult male... and this matched a single bird, ringed at 12.30!

This is the most-southerly recovery of a Lesser Redpoll, although there is a report of a 'Redpoll species' recorded in Portugal (before they were split into three species). In countries where certain species rarely occur, finding a bird with a ring can be really helpful, not only to increase our understanding of bird movements, but also to help validate such an unusual movement.

Thanks to Jesús Mari Lekuona, Ricardo Rodríguez, Jorge Nubla, Oscar Guindano and Jose Ardaiz for getting the ring number and Rare Birds In Spain for letting us know.

Predictable migration - not!

The great Chris Mead described bird migration as "a regular movement between areas inhabited at different times of the year", but perhaps a more complete description might be "movements occurring at predictable times of each year, between breeding and one or more non-breeding areas, and therefore involving flights in predictable directions." But life isn't always quite so simple and there will always be birds that break (or rewrite) the rules. Lesser Redpolls are being caught with increasing frequency at feeders and some of the movements they make are... interesting!

Two birds ringed within a couple of days of each other in early April 2013 in New Clipstone, Nottinghamshire (in red below), were then recaught by ringers in early November, but at rather opposite compass points. One made it a short way south to Stanford Reservoir, Northamptonshire, whilst another made a rather lengthier trip up to Barra, Western Isles (both in blue below).

View Unusual migrations in a larger map

Whilst this is a little unusual, Stanford Reservoir seems to be the centre of such unusual movements, with two birds ringed there on 6th October 2012 making equally diverse movements. Both of these birds were recaught on 27th April 2013, but one in Lockerbie, Dumfries & Galloway, and the other in Brandon, Suffolk (both shown in green above).

So answers on a postcard please as to what these birds are up to!

Redpoll... but which one?

Winter is a good time for ringers to be catching Redpoll, as you an tell from the previous post.

The plumage and biometrics of Redpoll are looked at very closely by ringers which need to separate them into the current 3 species, Lesser (the most commonly caught Redpoll), Common Redpoll and Arctic Redpoll. Sorby Breck Ringing Group were out ringing and they came across something very interesting.


This is actually a Lesser Redpoll that had already been ringed by the group. Interestingly when it was ringed it looked like any other Lesser Redpoll and lacked all this white. This condition is likely to be Vitiligo, which means this bird could get whiter with every moult but start out looking like a normal brown Redpoll. This condition is most commonly seen in Blackbirds and Jackdaws but has also been recorded in Redpoll.

The graph below shows the number of Redpoll ringed in 2009 by month.

Many thanks to Geoff Mawson (for the photo as well), David Williams and John Wint for letting us know.

A first for a Common Redpoll

The Redpoll complex has always provided a few challenges with identification for birdwatchers but being able to take measurements and ring individual birds provides much more quantitative information.


Pete Smith from Wintersett Ringing Group was ringing at Wintersett Reservoir, Wakefield on 15th November and had a great ringing session. He caught 53 Lesser Redpoll (above) and 14 Common Redpoll, 2 of which were already ringed! One was ringed at Kilnsea, East Yorkshire on 21/10/10 (104km in 26 days) and the other was wearing a Norwegian ring!

We have had very few recoveries of Common Redpoll (5 from the UK and 2 from The Netherlands) so this is the first from Norway!

Thanks to John Wint and Pete Smith for letting us know and Tommy Holden for the photo.