Bird ringing

By Rosie Hutchings, Ranger

Bird ringing is a surveying method used to give us valuable data on birds and their migration patterns. The process involves catching birds in various types of nets or even ringing straight from the nest. The methods we use have minimal impact on the birds and the rings are so light in weight that it doesn’t affect the birds’ flight. Each tiny ring holds a unique combination of numbers and letters that can be used to identify the bird, especially important if you re-trap it later on in its life.

The ringing scheme is run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), with a primary focus of monitoring bird populations, along with their migration patterns and productivity. We use set ringing sites where we create net rides which will ideally be used over a number of years to gather beneficial data. The scheme uses a standardised method to calculate survival rates by monitoring returning birds and looking at breeding populations by monitoring how many juveniles we catch in comparison to the amount of adult birds.

With over a hundred years of ringing data collected, this can be used to anticipate trends and guide habitat management for the benefit of bird populations. Ringing at a specific site over a number of years provides valuable information about which species are in a particular habitat and whether they are thriving or in decline. This allows us to potentially work on managing the habitat in a different way to encourage more diversity, or maintaining the site if it is flourishing.

I have held my Trainee permit (T permit) for about 10 months now. I’ve ringed close to 250 birds of varying species across Sussex and, under close supervision from my trainer, have been developing my handling and extracting skills. I have gained so much through this training; not only does it help me with my bird ID, it also allows me to learn more about how we can further improve the habitat on our reserves, encouraging rare species and working towards improving the sites for bird populations across the county.

In the pictures I am ringing nestling Great Tits, there were four chicks in this particular brood.