First juvenile #Siskin of the spring, a few weeks later than average appearance date for Thetford Forest. Ringed as part of BTO longterm #RAS project. No sign that any/many of the big winter influx have stopped to breed. BTO Suffolk Forestry England FOTF.ORG.UK

Ringing has its ups & downs and today we had both... The session got off to a cracking start when we caught our 1st Grasshopper Warbler (out of 2 reeling) at a site where they're now less than annual! But we had to leave shortly after, as a herd of cows broke into the field 🐮

Most years we catch one to two Green Woodpeckers, so it was great to catch our first for 2024 last week. Even better, this is the first Green Woodpecker we've re-trapped! She was originally ringed by us in September 2023, and was caught in exactly the same net ride!

Wet and windy weather has prevented much ringing recently, so it was great to finally get out and catch migrants on a beautiful spring morning! Highlights included the first willow warblers of the year, as well as a blackcap with a spectacular pollen horn from the continent.

We are currently looking for Oxfordshire-based birders who are interested in contributing to our landscape-scale surveys of Corn Buntings. If you’re keen to join our team and help cover our farmland study sites looking for colour-ringed birds please leave a comment or send a DM

Great Age!!! Redpoll originally ringed Dungeness Bird Observatory on 30/09/2020, then caught by us on 19/01/2024 at Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, which is a distance of 281km.

It was great to be able to get out while the weather was so nice last week, and confirm wintering Cetti's warbler at one of our sites ☀️ Looking forward to the next opportunity to continue monitoring, when it's a bit less wet and windy!

Our next Thermal Birding episode will be out soon, with our friend Karoliina from Finland on how they use Thermal Technology to catch & ring Great Snipe. WOW! Catch up on previous episodes here: youtu.be/oVhjC8c2Wqk?si…

While surveying the waders, herons and ducks along the Thames this morning, we were also able to check a wild bird seed crop provided by the farmer and recorded over 100 Reed Buntings all feeding on the millet and quinoa seed. Of this flock we were able to catch and ring 38 birds

The extensive flooding has created some temporary opportunities to catch waders at our ringing sites. This jack snipe was one of two ringed on a small pool where snipe and golden plover were flying in after dark to feed Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment

With most of our ringing sites currently underwater, we've started the year targeting the linnet flock in one of the few dry(ish) fields in Oxford. 49 ringed over two afternoons is a promising start, given we ringed 46 total in 2023!

What a year for South Essex Ringing Group 😎

Our birds have travelled to or from as far as Spain and Russia.

Our ringers have travelled as far as The Gambia, Canada & Israel.

…and we have ringed a record 2,673 birds!

Wishing all of our followers a very Happy New Year! 💫

PhD studentships currently advertised (deadline 8th Jan) on spatial cognition in birds: One fully funded on Manx shearwater and one competition funded on European nightjar. More details here: liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgrad…; liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgrad…

BTO Bird ringers, if you have been collecting flat flies for the Mapping the UK's Flat Flies Project, please can you send them to me in the next few weeks.
I'm hoping to complete the IDs over Xmas and to analyse the data in early January and it would be a pity to miss any.
@_bto

The bushes seemed to be full of birds this morning after a relatively quiet period. We ringed a Siberian tristis chiffchaff (only the second caught at our Oxford sites) as well as 9 colybitta. Also amongst the 99 birds processed were 8 redwing, a fieldfare and a magpie!

Another successful morning setting nets for thrushes with only the second fieldfare we have ringed at the site. Cold snap over the weekend has brought a few more redwings in to the berry bushes Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre

Redwings have been trickling through our ringing sites over the past month - probably not cold enough to bring in large numbers yet, but we are catching a few each session, many of which are clearly new arrivals with very little fat stored Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre

Finch numbers starting to build up at our winter feeding site where greenfinch is pleasingly still the dominant species. We very rarely retrap individuals out of several hundred ringed, indicating the high turnover of birds benefitting from the seed over the winter Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment

The past week has felt like the first proper visming in Oxford this autumn. This morning hundreds of skylarks over SW in small groups, together with mipits and lower numbers of siskin and alba wags. I was pleased to catch 2 redpoll amongst the 40 birds processed

Wonderful autumnal morning at our Oxford site catching 115 birds, a large proportion being passerine migrants such as chiffchaffs, blackcaps and meadow pipits. Excited to see what else passes through this site over the next few weeks!