"Roll up, roll up". Bird ringing at the fair.

All over the country, qualified bird ringers run demonstrations for individuals, groups or anyone coming to a particular site, such as a nature reserve or a farm. These can be fantastic events for engaging non-ringers, highlighting the scientific importance of ringing and explaining what we can learn from monitoring birds.

One of the biggest ringing demonstrations in the country is at Birdfair (17-19 August). Every year, thousands of people stop by to see how ringing works and to view birds close-up, without the need for binoculars.

Guy Anderson showing the crowd

The Birdfair ringing demonstration runs for the duration of the fair (weather permitting) and, if previous years are anything to go by, should provide visitors with views of some great species. Last year, a Sparrowhawk was caught and really drew in the crowds. The more commonly-caught species include Blackcap, Reed and Sedge Warbler and a whole host of tits and finches.

Anyone want to see a Sparrowhawk?

This site, and locations nearby, are usually ringed by the Rutland Water Ringing Group, and this demo helps to increase the effort on the site and adds to the data already collected from their other projects, including their CES.

And if we don't have any birds to ring, we are usually able to 'ring' people with specially-designed rings... If you are going to the fair this year, do come along and find out what it's all about!

How to get up close to a ringer

Gary Clewley writes:

Another year and another Birdfair at Rutland Water has come and gone. The bird ringing demonstration proved to be very popular again with people (and especially families) regularly able to get up close and see the process of ringing first hand. In total, around 175 birds from over 20 species were ringed or recaptured over the course of the weekend. This gave us the opportunity to show people how ringers are able to identify and age birds in the hand as well as explaining why ringing and nest recording are essential for monitoring how and why populations are changing.
 

Great way to get close and learn about our 'British' birds - Stephen McAvoy

Some species do tend to steal the show however, and the Lesser Whitethroats were particularly popular and also quite relevant to this year’s theme at Birdfair; protecting species in the Eastern Mediterranean. With their easterly migration route, there could be a good chance the Lesser Whitethroats which were ringed could be passing through the Eastern Mediterranean soon.

Lesser Whitethroat taken by Morris Rendall

There was a promising start to the event, when at 8:55 am on the Friday morning, the very first bird in the nets was actually a Sparrowhawk! Unfortunately in this case the bird proved too quick for the ringers and managed to free itself within seconds. So it was an especially pleasant surprise when another adult male Sparrowhawk found its way into the nets on the Sunday morning and even better it already had a ring on. This bird was originally ringed at Rutland Water in 2012 and we now know it is still going strong. A very lucky crowd were able to watch the ringers process the bird.

Adult male Sparrowhawk - Dawn Balmer

Sparrowhawk getting efficiently processed while a lucky crowd watch on - Dawn Balmer

Perhaps the most unexpected bird of the weekend was a House Sparrow (and perhaps a sign of the times since this species has seen a substantial decline in recent years) which is the first ever caught during the Birdfair ringing demonstrations.

Unfortunately, we also had our fair share of unfavourable weather over the weekend so there were times when we were unable to safely catch birds. But nonetheless there were ringers on hand to answer questions and even ‘ring’ some people with the wristbands we had available (if you were ringed you can find out your story here).

The ringing demonstration stand. You can tell where the bird is by the crowd - Stephen McAvoy

It is always a privilege to be able to ring birds and even more so at an event like this. It requires a lot of planning and I would just like to thank all those ringers who volunteered their time to help with the demonstration again for all their hard work, in particular the Rutland Water Ringing Group, as well as everyone who came along to see us.

Eds - There are ringing demonstrations run at various sites across the UK by individual ringers or groups however the BTO, in collaboration with the RSPB, are running their next event on Sunday 30 August at the BTO headquarters from 10 am until 3 pm (catching weather dependent).

Minsmere mega demo

Steve Piotrowski writes:

Waveney Bird Club operate regular ringing demonstrations to the public at Minsmere RSPB, Suffolk. This is the BTO’s second biggest annual ringing demonstration event of the year, with the Bird Fair at Rutland Water perhaps commanding a greater audience. The purpose of our demo is to explain bird migration and to allow Minsmere's visitors (especially children) to see birds in the hand. The Minsmere demonstrations have proven to be extremely popular with hundreds of people attending each session, some staying for the whole day. 

Collecting valuable data while educating the next generation - Jez Blackburn

The demos are managed by Waveney Bird Club (WBC), which has been responsible for ringing studies on the reserve’s birds for over ten years. The trapping areas are set in different habitats; woodland, reedbed and scrub, to produce a great diversity of species. Carl Powell is WBC’s principal demonstrator and he explains to his audience the migration habits of each bird species, how and why birds are ringed and the benefits of ringing as a conservation tool. The audience is both invited and encouraged to ask questions.

Steve Piotrowski - Jez Blackburn

This year has been exceptional, with record numbers of birds being processed at the ringing table.  With this summer’s final demonstration and training session event on the 4th September still to come, we have already processed over 1,400 birds. This summer’s highlight was a reasonable passage of migrants at the end of August. Many warbler species passed through Minsmere and a proportion were trapped and ringed to determine their destination, stopping off points, longevity and causes of mortality.

Young male Sparrowhawk and a young male Thomas Barthorpe - photo by Ian Barthorpe

The list of warbler species encountered was most impressive and included: Chiffchaffs, Willow, Reed and Sedge Warblers, Common Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and Blackcaps.  The icing on the cake were two Wrynecks (a small migrant woodpecker that formerly bred in Suffolk) that were trapped (two of the four on site). However, it was the bigger birds, such as the three Sparrowhawks, a Kingfisher and seven Green and three Great Spotted Woodpeckers, that caused the most excitement at the ringing table. We also became reacquainted with some old friends, such as a Marsh Tit and a Blue Tit, that were first trapped at Minsmere in 2009 and are still going strong today. Small birds rarely live more than three years so these “old-timers” are doing well.

Wryneck - Chris McIntyre

Last Thursday, we were delighted to welcome Ellie Zantboer from Ipswich to the ringing demonstrations. Ellie is 11-years old and has been ringing under close supervision since she was eight. As children form most of the audience, Ellie was invited to give a ringing demonstration, which she did with confidence and a great deal of skill. Ellie said "I ringed twelve birds including two Long-Tailed Tits and a Chiffchaff and I loved showing the other children how it was all done!". What was really amazing was how the children immediately communicated with her, asking her questions that they may have been reluctant to ask an adult.

Ellie Zantboer (right) demonstrating ringing to visitors - Paula Zantboer

If you would like to see a ringing demo, the next ringing session will be at Minsmere on 04 September.

Real birds at the Birdfair

Things are now getting back to normal here at the BTO, after the long weekend at the Birdfair (posted previously). There was a nice buzz around the BTO stand in Marquee 3, with lots of people coming to find out more about the work of the BTO and in particular the Nest Record Scheme.

The mystery nest competition went down well. The nests were from Song Thrush, Goldfinch, Willow Warbler, Wren, Blackcap, Long-tailed Tit, Dunnock and Robin. Of all the correct answers Mick Sherwin from Sheffield was first out of the hat. Your Field Guide to Monitoring Nests is on it's way.

Mystery nest competition

The ringing demonstration attracted a lot of visitors again this year. A total of 232 birds of 20 species were processed. Some of the notable species being Bullfinch, Reed Bunting, Song Thrush and Whitethroat. There were several Reed Warblers caught that had been ringed in previous years, and now have clocked up quite a few miles during their life by going to Africa and back. Once we had processed all the birds, our attention was then switched to ringing people. If you were 'ringed' with one of our wrist bands, check our website to see what happened to you.

Chris Hughes showing the process of ringing a bird

The theme of the Birdfair this year was protecting the world's seas and oceans, so we also had some of our new technologies like geolocators and satellite tags which can be used to study seabirds whilst out at sea.

Thanks to all the volunteer ringers who helped on the ringing demonstration and to everyone who came to say 'Hi' at the demo or the main BTO stand. Looking forward to seeing you next year.

The future’s bright - the future’s green

I remember the exact day that I became hooked on birds. I was four years old and my family had just moved to North Norfolk. My Dad, Tony, a biology teacher who is interested in all things natural history, went with a colleague to see a male Hen Harrier that had been roosting on Kelling Heath and I tagged along. I’d been looking at birds in the garden for a year or two previously (and have the check-list, full of terrible spelling mistakes and even more horrendous misidentifications to prove it), but this was definitely the point of no return; fast forward 35 years and I am now a qualified ringer and keen nest recorder who has the privilege of working on birds for a living as a BTO staff member.

Male Hen Harrier - the species responsible for Dave writing this post. Copyright Martin Bennett

  

The path from hobby to career was fuelled by many things. The proximity of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Cley reserve, just four miles north of my home, did no harm in terms of reinforcing my interest, as did the endless streams of high quality documentaries, particularly those featuring the soporific tones of David Attenborough, which were compulsory viewing in my house. It was people who made the real difference, though – parents (my Mum, Barbara, still collects Blackbird colour-ring resighting data for me), teachers (Dave Horsley and Ralph Wiggins deserve special mention) and friends (Gav Horsley and Nick Acheson in particular) who tutored me and, equally importantly, transported me to the local hotspots. OK, so I didn’t have access to the wonders of the internet, but then I didn’t have the distractions of it either.

Dave's Mum Barbara has been collecting colour-ring resighting data on individually marked Blackbirds in her garden almost every day since March 2007

But this post isn’t about me as I’m rapidly becoming the past; it’s about the future, and that future is looking a little greener. A few days ago, Lorraine Miller directed me to an article on the wonderful A Focus On Nature website, an essential networking tool for any aspiring young conservationist. The piece was a focus feature on five naturalists, aged between 9 and 13, including Lorraine’s daughters Abby and Evie. I already knew that Team Miller were contributing to the BTO’s Nest Record Scheme, but I was still amazed at the wealth of other surveys that were mentioned. Four of the five folk highlighted are already training to ring, including prolific bloggers Toby Carter and Findlay Wilde, or seeking trainers (and the photo of the fifth, Harley Wilde, sees him holding a bird at a ringing demo) while Garden BirdWatch, BirdTrack and the Winter Thrush Survey all feature.

Ringing demonstrations are a great way of sparking the conservation interest of the next generation, whether they go on to be ringers or not

This makes me a bit of a late-starter. While I was birding at four, I twitched away my teens and it wasn’t until I hit my mid-twenties that I started actually making a real contribution to conservation by participating in surveys. These guys have got a decade on me already, and most of them didn’t have the luxury of doorstep nature reserves or teachers with time to spend on after-hours activities. These are fast-tracked conservationists and, with green issues seemingly at their lowest ebb on the political agenda, we need them now more than ever.
Dave Leech
Head of BTO Nest Record Scheme

BTO at the Birdfair

Described as a birdwatchers' Glastonbury, the Birdfair celebrates its 25th Anniversary year. It continues to raise awareness and funds for declining species and habitats. This year it will support Birdlife International's Flyway Programme, focusing specifically on the Americas.

From Friday 16 - Sunday 18 August at Rutland Water, there will be hundreds of stands covering all aspects of birdwatching. The BTO will be there again this year in marquee 3 (stands 36, 37, 38), and are looking forward to seeing you, so come over and have a chat.

BTO stand - Marquee 3

As well as this, we will of course be at the Ringing Demonstration near Marquee 7, so please come over to say hello and find out all about ringing. There is usually lots to see including the regular Reed and Sedge Warblers, Blue and Great Tits but there have been some more unusual birds including Kingfisher, Turtle Dove, Sparrowhawk and Tawny Owl.

Ringing demonstration - Valuable data is collected on a Sedge Warbler

Come and say hello at BirdFair

Its the British BirdWatching Fair at Rutland Water this weekend (Friday to Sunday), and we'll be running a ringing demonstration on all three days. So why not come along and say hello and see some birds up close and personal?


The main BTO stand (in Marquee 3) will also have a nifty little application to produce a personalised Migration Atlas of birds from your home postcode, so give this a try too. There are masses of other things to do and see at BirdFair, so do come along.