ringers’ bulletin - british trust for ornithology

Ringers’ Bulletin

Centenary issue: 1909–2009

Max in the meadows

Leashing to cannons and central-locking

Ringing in the 40s and 50s

Ringing data: paperwork and

beyond

� – Ringers’ Bulletin: Centenary issue

First recovery: Lapwing AU32, ringed at Sands of Forvie, is recaptured and released close to where it was ringed.

First foreign recovery: Common Tern ringed in Cumbria found exhausted in northwest Spain.

First foreign-ringed bird found: Danish-ringed Pintail shot at Edderton, Highland, on 20 November.

Systematic ringing begins in Denmark: Hans Mortensen starts fitting uniquely numbered metal rings, with a return address, to Starlings.

Organised ringing begins in Britain: two schemes are started, by Harry Forbes Witherby (the British Birds Scheme) and Arthur Landsborough Thomson (Aberdeen University Bird Migration Inquiry). A third was also started by Country Life magazine, but didn’t use uniquely numbered rings.

First birds ringed in Britain: pulli Lapwing are the first birds to be ringed, on 8 May, at Sands of Forvie, Aberdeenshire. The first Witherby rings are issued to Miss Turner (left) to ring, amongst other species, terns on the north Norfolk coast.

1899 1909 1914–18 1932 1933 1938 1946

I was introduced to finding birds’ nests at an early age; my father was a keen birdwatcher and amateur photographer, with an

ambition to photograph the nests and eggs of every breeding bird in Essex. I would accompany my father on his expeditions, searching for nests and lugging heavy equipment about the countryside. Few people today would recognise what we were carrying back then – a plate camera mounted on a very heavy tripod – and developing the photos required a special craft. My father also hand-painted the prints to reproduce the colours of the nests and eggs.

My father’s photographs were all taken between 1920 and 1942 and if I list some of the species we failed to find it will give you an idea of how much our avian fauna has changed: Mallard, Starling, Carrion Crow and Magpie. Conversely, very common birds at that time included Skylark, Redshank, Lapwing and Corn Bunting.

Recalling my early nest-finding days elicits fond memories. I remember, at just six years of age, my father putting me in a Grey Heron nest in the middle of a huge colony of over a hundred breeding birds at Boreham House, Essex. The next summer, the whole woodland was felled to make way for the new UK headquarters of the Ford Motor Co. The heronry was broken up into smaller groups, never regaining its former breeding numbers at that site. At 12, I found my first Golden Oriole nest, with four young, at Purleigh, near Maldon; a delight I have not had the fortune to see since. Much later, I recall rescuing starving Tawny Owl chicks in the heavy snowfalls of 1963. At one time I had five owls in cages, and of these one pair went on to breed in a hole in a walnut tree in my garden.

In those early, innocent days, my father and I would take a small frying pan out into the field and if we got hungry we’d cook up some Moorhen eggs, which were actually very tasty. Not quite

so palatable were the eggs of Rook and Carrion Crow: the ‘white’ is not white but a transparent jelly that looks and tastes horrible. Gathering wild food for lunch is rightly viewed by many today as destructive and immoral, but we should remind ourselves that only a generation ago people relied on the wild harvest for their meals. During the war, pigeons were in short supply because everyone

Max in the meadows

There won’t be many ringers out there who can cast their minds back to 1909; the year that Robert Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole (and Ernest Shackleton almost reached the South Pole), Louis Bleriot flew the English Channel and Woolworth opened his first store. ‘Woolies’ has now closed down, but our Ringing Scheme still thrives, 100 years after it was ‘hatched’. It’s actually quite hard to imagine what we knew or, more importantly, didn’t know back then, and how much we have learned since. This special Centenary RB isn’t a complete history of the Scheme (though the Timeline

Timeline of ringing...

Ringers’ Bulletin: Centenary issue – �

Aberdeen Scheme comes to an end: set up by Arthur Landsborough Thomson (above).

First Bird Observatory opens: Skokholm Island opens as “a field station co-operatively manned for the purposes of making continuous observations on migrant birds, and for catching, examining and marking them.”

BTO founded: taking over the Ringing Scheme in 1937, running from the Bird Room at the British Museum.

Annual recovery total exceeds 1,000: this then tops 5,000 in 1957, 10,000 in 1962 and almost hits 15,000 in 1987.

1899 1909 1914–18 1932 1933 1938 1946

Bird Observatories Council formed: to co-ordinate the work of the growing network of Bird Observatories. The first members (above) include Richard Richardson, Ronald Lockley, George Ainsworth, Ralph Chislett, Hugh Boyd, Peter Scott, Ted Smith and W. B. Alexander.

wanted pigeon pie and there were not enough squabs to go round. I even ate sparrow pie and rook pie, though the latter is not to be recommended! Moorhen eggs were very popular and hen birds were very obliging – a typical clutch was eight to nine eggs and as soon as you took those she would build another nest and lay again. I was always intrigued by the wide variety of shapes and colours of Moorhen eggs. Nowadays, Moorhens are scarce in the mid-Essex area and clutch sizes never exceed six eggs. Mink predation keeps numbers low on the rivers and many ponds dry out before the Moorhens can attempt second broods.

I took early retirement from teaching in 1982 and thus had more time for ‘nesting’. Since then I’ve completed many nest record cards for the BTO – up to 500 in some years – but it was increasingly obvious that the birds were not as numerous as 30 years before. More and more sites became bereft of once common species, even when the habitat and food supply appeared unchanged. So what had happened to these birds? I have witnessed not only migratory species disappear; Greenfinch, Yellowhammer, Linnet and Bullfinch have all now gone.

I almost always do my nesting alone; I believe I see more that way. As expected, dawn is the best time for catching glimpses of parent birds; however, I’m not such an early riser now that I’m in my 80s! I have lived in Writtle all my life and although

I’m no longer so mobile, I still thoroughly enjoy my visits to the local farms and I still see many surprises. Only last year a Goldfinch nested in my pear tree – a new record for my garden.

This kind of dedication and knowledge is an increasingly rare commodity these days. In Max’s day, most nest recording was of open-nesting species and as recently as 1969, 83% of nest records were of open-nesters. This then declined to 68% in 1979, 54% in 1989, 44% in 1999 and just 32% in 2008. We hope Max’s experiences can inspire us all to make a little extra effort to pin down that Whitethroat or Chaffinch nest... Eds.

Max in the meadows

highlights some of the most notable events), but rather gives a flavour of the Scheme and what it is (and was) like to be a BTO volunteer. Max Meadows recounts his memories of nest finding, key to the early years of the Ringing Scheme in the absence of mist nets. This is followed by John Coulson’s early ringing memories, in the heyday of Bird Observatories and the excitement of mist nets. After a whistlestop tour of the RB of old, we take a look at how we deal with the �6 million records of ringed birds we’ve amassed over the years and catch up with catching methods.

Max Meadows (right) has been a nest finder for decades, submitting his first records to the BTO in 1985. In the last 10 years, he’s submitted 21 Green Woodpecker, three Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and 17 Turtle Dove records. The photographs here (Red-backed Shrike nest (below) and Max himself

(below left)) are scans of original, hand-painted plates taken by Max’s father in the 1930s.

4 – Ringers’ Bulletin: Centenary issue

1951 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1959 1960 1961

Ring production moves: Lambournes start supplying all metal rings, with the address shortened slightly to Brit. Museum.London SW7.

First mist nets arrived in Britain.

First permits introduced: block-issued to all current ringers, so early numbering doesn’t reflect date of joining, but rather the date of renewal in this year.

Annual ringing total exceeds 100,000: this is followed by totals of over 500,000 in 1965 and 750,000 in 1983. Nestling totals first exceed 50,000 in 1959 and 100,000 in 1966.

Grant funding received: from Nature Conservancy allowing employment of the first Ringing Officer.

The millionth bird is ringed: followed by the 10 millionth in 1975, topping 25 million in 1995. Continuing at the current rate, we should hit 50 million birds ringed in 2025.

In the 1940s, I was fascinated with the results of ringing and the way it elucidated the extent, speed and direction of migration in

birds. Sir Landsborough Thomson’s small book “Bird Migration” cost me two shillings (I still have my copy with the price on it) and it was a great revelation. Kittiwakes crossed the Atlantic, and while Continental Swallows moved to equatorial Africa, British Swallows went to South Africa (I remember one lady asking if this was because South Africa was [then] a British colony!). Further, David Lack’s book on “The Life of the Robin” showed how ringing could be used to measure the lifespan of the species.

So I wanted to ring birds, but how to achieve this? Sir Landsborough Thomson’s book said that the British Scheme was run from the British Museum (Natural History), so I wrote there, asking for information on how to obtain rings. I received a prompt response from Elsie Leach, who ran the Scheme at that time, saying I needed to supply a letter from a known ornithologist who could confirm my ability to identify birds. I was not asked for my age. Fortunately, Dr H.M.S. Blair (then an authority on the birds of Lapland) lived nearby and I had made him aware in the past of several rare birds in the area, which he subsequently saw and confirmed. So the letter from him was obtained and sent to the Ringing Office. Soon I received a letter saying that I could ring, and asking how many rings of what sizes did I need. An accompanying sheet gave the sizes of rings to use on each species and their prices. I no longer have the list, but the rings were cheap and readily afforded from my pocket money. I ringed my first bird, a Blue Tit, in November 1948 as I approached my 17th birthday. No training was required and few instructions were given, other than to fill in schedules and return an annual total of birds ringed. No pliers were used; the rings were aluminium and closed by hand, even in the case of overlapping size 1A rings when used on Greenfinches. I believe at this time a few ringers used ordinary pliers to overlap some of the larger ring sizes where this was required, but certainly most did not.

The schedules were amazing. Each consisted of a foolscap-sized brown card that had space to fill in the details of the use of six rings. The back of the sheet contained a few instructions, such as which species could or could not be ringed as nestlings. Later, when the sheet arrived in the Ringing Office, it was cut into six strips, one

for each ring used, so your name, the species, date and place of ringing had to written out for each bird ringed.

In those days, ringers concentrated heavily on ringing nestlings. Capture of adult birds was mainly restricted to traps in gardens, most of which caught one bird at a time, using a treadle at the entrance which, on being activated, dropped the door. Alternatively, a cage with a hinged door was propped up with a stick attached to a cord and was pulled away when a bird entered the trap. The few bird observatories had Helgoland traps, but otherwise catching adult birds was difficult and most species were ringed mainly as young birds prior to fledging.

In the late 1940s and 50s, there was considerable opposition to ringing and many (mostly unjustified) claims and complaints were made about adverse effects of rings on birds. I continued to encounter this opposition as late as 1975, though fortunately this opposition is no longer the case and conservation and protection bodies now appreciate the value of ringing.

I met Elsie Leach some years after starting ringing, when I visited the entomology section of the Natural History Museum. My recollection is of a stern-faced lady, but actually she was a very kindly person, dedicated to ringing. The Ringing Office was no more than a tiny room with a small desk at the end of the entomology section. There was also a small cupboard for storage across the

corridor! Elsie Leach retired in the early 1950s from what I believe was an honorary position organising bird ringing, and Bob Spencer took over running the Scheme.

I had met Bob before he took over the Scheme, and he knew of my interests in seabirds and of my concerns that aluminium rings were not lasting long o n s o m e s e a b i rd species. He repeatedly explored this problem, first allowing me to use double-inscribed rings


In those days, ringers concentrated heavily on ringing nestlings

The early pioneers of the Ringing Scheme on a scoping trip to Helgoland in 1930. Left to right: Harry Witherby, Bernard Tucker, Mrs Meiklejohn, Elsie Leach, Wilfred Alexander.

Ringers’ Bulletin: Centenary issue – 5

1951 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1959 1960 1961

Ringers’ Bulletin introduced.

Oldest BTO bird ringed: this Manx Shearwater, ringed on 22 May at Bardsey Bird Observatory, was last caught on 8 May 2008, nearly 51 years later. The photo here shows it at a mere 48 years old.

First ringing enquiry: Sand Martin enquiry begins, with free rings provided.

Free rings provided: for Razorbills, Guillemots and Manx Shearwaters ringed in Scotland.

New training standards introduced: minimum of 100 birds to be ringed for an ‘A’ permit! Pullus endorsement also introduced.

Moult enquiry begins.

First ringing conference is held: at Cober Hill Guest House, Scarborough. Followed by Hoddesdon (1963), Liverpool (1966), Nottingham (a combined ringing and migration conference in 1969) and finally Swanwick (1971 onwards). The first Scottish Ringers’ Conference was held in Perth in 1975.

Tethering of mist nets introduced.

(made originally for Manx Shearwaters). These wrapped twice around the bird’s leg, increasing the life span of the rings. Then came trials with aluminium–magnesium al loys (which only marginally increased the ring’s lifespan) and then we had the first monel rings made, which lasted over 20 years on Kittiwakes without the loss of the inscription or number. Bob sent me the first batch of monel rings for use on Kittiwakes. These had to be overlapped, and for the first time, ringing pliers were supplied, hand ground from commercial pliers to fit the ring sizes. At about this time, ring sizes changed and two types of pliers were produced (much the same as are used now) to cover large and small ring sizes in aluminium and hard metal.

Up to this point in time, the aluminium rings had been produced by A.J. Hughes, as a family business. Bob showed me a photo of the whole family sitting around a large table, hand punching the ring inscriptions and numbers onto aluminium blanks. But the move to monel and other hard metal rings required different manufacture, and Lambournes took over the production of rings. Coinciding with this, the cost of rings started to rise, and for the first time I heard ringers say they were limiting their ringing because of cost. I suspect that this contributed to the formation of ringing groups, where several people share ring costs.

I n t h e l a t e 1950s , I hea rd rumours that the Japanese made fine mesh nets to catch birds. Bob Spencer made enquir ies about these and one day, unsolicited, I received from Bob one of the first mist nets to be sent to


this country. A simple diagram accompanied it, showing the net supported by the cords attached to two poles. No one at that time knew how to remove birds from the net. No training, just put up the net and try to work out how to manage it! I started by watching the net and immediately removing any bird caught, with extraction methods developed from scratch. Gaining experience, I was then able to train some other ringers in NE England. Mist nets were a turning point in ringing and resulted in the numbers of adult birds ringed increasing rapidly.

Things have changed since those early days: better rings and forms, computerisation, compulsory training. But there are, of course, down sides: the costs of ringing have increased, in many species recovery rates have declined, ringers are less involved in the analysis of recovery data and are instead encouraged to ring this or that species.

John Coulson started ringing as a school boy, and used ringing as a tool to develop his interest in seabirds while on the teaching staff at Durham University. This resulted in major studies on survival, behaviour and breeding performance in Kittiwakes and Eiders, both extending over 50 years. John developed the use of

Darvic as a method of making colour-fast rings; still an essential tool in modern ecological studies.

Bird Observatories provided ringers with the chance to catch fully grown birds in large static traps, such as this Helgoland on Skokholm in the 1960s.

The great and good in the field at the Bird Observatory Conference at Dungeness in October 1954. Left to right: Eric Ennion, Kate Barham, A N Other, Barbara Snow, Richard Richardson, Bob Spencer (with pipe), E.R. Parrinder, W.D. Campbell.

In the absence of mist nets, the ringing of pulli (here Jackdaw) was the only option for most ringers.

So I was never trained as a ringer, or a mist-netter. I received a mist-netting endorsement automatically when it was introduced. Perhaps after ringing for some 60 years, my ability to ring should be checked?

Finally, I have been able to make comparisons with ‘bird banding’ in North America. Our own Scheme is so much further advanced in method and organisation. Ringing has proved to be a major asset in avian conservation and pest control, yet I feel its value has still not been fully appreciated by the Government nor financially supported on an adequate scale. It is getting a great deal of information, which otherwise would cost millions of pounds to obtain. The amount of valuable information made available through our Ringing Scheme is many times greater than that in the USA and its value to the Government should be better recognised.


1963 1964 1966 1967

EURING founded: Aims to promote and encourage:

Scientific and administrative co-operation between national ringing schemes

Development and maintenance of high standards in bird ringing

Scientific studies of birds, in particular those based on marked individuals

The use of data from bird ringing for the management and conservation of birds.

•

•

•

•

Ringing Scheme moves to Tring: joining the rest of BTO, which had been based with the EGI in Oxford.

Current sizes of rings (AA–M) become widely available.

First Ringers’ Manual introduced.

Colour-mark register set up: ensuring all projects are coordinated

by the BTO (though not Little Egrets at that time!).

“This bulletin is written by ringers for ringers, and if it is to thrive it will need a steady flow of contributions and as wide a circulation as possible. It takes as its scope the whole field of ringing practice – equipment, techniques, etc, and the simple tip, conveyed in a few lines, is as welcome as the elaborate original trap.”

So began the first Ringers’ Bulletin way back in 1957, beginning a long tradition of fact (and some fiction), anecdote, pleas and

downright begging. Digitally thumbing through all 116 numbers of RB, some recurring threads become apparent and just seem to run and run… Some are obviously more important than others, but in order of indexed appearances, we, as ringers, seem to be most interested in:

Scientific policy (nine mentions) – great news!Mist net poles, from bamboo to alloy to sectional (8 mentions).Sand Martins (seven mentions).High-level mist-netting (six mentions, versus only one for horizontal mist-netting).Ringing rarities – or not! (six mentions).To 3J or not to 3J (five mentions, but did run to 3½ pages by 2006!).

••

••

••

Interestingly though, after we started “This bulletin is written by ringers for ringers”, by 1978 Bob Hudson was forced to lament thus:

Sexing Redpolls (four mentions: “Sex and the Redpoll ringer” (1973); “Further thoughts on sexing Redpolls” (July 1975); “Sexing Redpolls: at last consensus” (December 1975); “Ageing and sexing Lesser Redpolls” (December 1979)).

•

As new ringers come into the Scheme (increasingly so in recent years!), it’s perhaps hard for them to understand what the Scheme was like ‘way back when’. However, we can chart how the Scheme has changed as seen through the ‘eyes’ of Ringers’ Bulletin. This has been made much easier now thanks to the sterling work of Kelvin Jones, with scanned is-sues all now available online. But here we’ve cherry-picked some of the best bits, the worst bits and the oddest bits from the last 52 years for your enjoyment. Not all are complete, so to get the most you’ll have to dig back into the archive yourself. There’s plenty we couldn’t fit in, as well, so do explore!

England win the World Cup.

1957–61 196�–71 197�–90 1991–94

Mark Grantham has worked in the Ringing Scheme for eight years, now organising the CES and RAS Schemes. Most of his early ringing was at Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory, where he still relishes the second week of September...


1963 1964 1966 1967

Standard EURING coding of recoveries adopted.

Cannon-netting introduced: Based on cannon-netting, rocket-netting was developed by Clive Minton of the Wash Wader Ringing Group.

Moult Guide published.

First recoveries put onto punch cards (early computerisation).

Protection of Birds Act revised: special protection also given to rare breeding birds. This was superseded by the Wildlife and Countryside Act in 1981.

1995–98 (in A4) 1999–�006 �007 onwards

From the very beginning, the so-called ‘new economics of ringing’ were close to everyone’s heart (and wallet). A sudden increase

in postal rates in 1957 was set to cost the Ringing Committee in the region of £50 every year. This increase was considered to be

that led to an increase in ring prices, which could be offset by savings on the £15 annual cost of ‘Requests for Ringing Details’ (the old blue cards).

1950s 1960s 1970s �009

100 size 1 (A) rings £8.30 £9.52 £16.50

100 16 mm (K) rings £16.61 £23.81 £16.50

100 19 mm (L) rings £31.74 £54.75

‘A’ permit £8.42 (inc free rings) £20.96 £25.07 (£14.40 for members) £25.50 (£21 for members)

‘C’ permit £10.48 £3.73 £25.50 (£21 for members)

�0’ net £24.20 (British) £21.40 (Japanese) £35.50 (Japanese)

4�’ net £32.26 (British) £29.96 (Japanese) £42.25 (Japanese)

Bird bags £4.89 (dozen) £13.00 (10)

RB on the ‘economics of ringing’

By 1961 some stark choices also had to be made following the increased use of mist nets and growth of the Scheme and the ringing totals. To allow staffing levels to keep up with the flow of recoveries, the choices were: cap the ringing total by prohibiting the ringing of certain species, stopping all recruitment of new ringers, or seeking funds elsewhere. It was decided that the last was the only viable option (to the sum of £500 annually) and would be raised by:

The abandoning of the 10/– of free rings with every ‘A’ permit (at that time costing 10/6).A price increase of 2/– per 100 rings.A small increase in the price of mist nets to remove subsidies.Prices continued to cause heated discussion and in December

1968 the Ringing Scheme was investigated by “an independent Visiting Group appointed by the Nature Conservancy”! Thankfully, their inspection resulted in a ten-year contract to subsidise the Scheme, alongside the introduction of a two-tiered pricing system: one for ordinary ringers (with Government support) and inflated prices for research bodies, covering “the full cost of the rings and their handling”.

1970 then saw the first restrictions on the ringing of certain species outside of pre-defined studies. Ringers who “still have an urge to ring these much-ringed species” could also pay a surcharge:

1d for House Sparrows and Sand Martins at roosts.2½d for colonial gulls (3½d for Lesser Black-backeds).1/6 for Mute Swans (other than pulli or breeding adults).

•

••

•••

Converted into modern money, we can see prices change over time. The first ‘A’ permits came with an allocation of free rings, but spiralling costs soon put an end to this. Some prices have remained rather static since the 1960s, but not ‘C’ permits,

which have fluctuated rather! Note that the 2009 ring prices exclude any subsidies; as much as 53p for a male Capercaillie, the ring then costing only 1.75p, or 1.25p if it is submitted electronically, or a profit of 9.75p if it was on a CES!

1969: The new economics of ringing were a frequent topic of conversation, and this cartoon (which appeared mysteriously on the lecture theatre notice board at Swanwick) might have been thought to reflect the prevailing mood.


1969 1970 1971 1975 1978 1979 1981 1982

Introduction of surcharges: on ringing pulli Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Restrictions on ringing House Sparrow, Black-headed Gull and Mute Swan introduced in 1970.

Ring address experiment starts: to investigate the effectiveness of using a “British Museum, London” address or a “BTO, Tring” address. By 1973 it was decided to continue to use the (very well-known) Museum address as it generated more recoveries.

Publication of first edition of ‘Svensson’: Brown was followed by orange (1975), blue (1984) and then green (1992).

Introduction of BRC19: this biometrics data form was eventually discontinued in 1988.

Introduction of EURING age codes.

New permit structure: introduction of ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘T’ permits.

1954: Private ringing schemes continue to flourish

1958: Ordering rings by telegraph is promoted

January 1956 saw the arrival of the first mist nets into the country. But it was immediately

recognised that ‘like motorcycles, in the hands of the inexperienced and the reckless they can be highly dangerous’. The concept of mist-netting was still quite new, and all new ‘C’ permit holders must sympathise with this early mist-netter from 1958 (right).

1999: Technical tips“Our present method requires very little extra equipment and is as follows: to start, you will need a standard full height four-shelf net and this should be erected in local woodland or even a reed bed… With luck and a good net position, you should be ready to proceed to the next stage in a few hours. Note that the set height of the net can be critical: set it too low and you may have to abandon the three-shelf net in favour of a two-shelf. In our experience, larger species of deer and other ruminants do not work as well. The next stage is to remove the holed bottom panel with a pair of scissors below the second shelf-string. We have found it is possible to take a short-cut and dispense with the Roe Deer altogether, although this requires greater boldness.”

RB on mist nets

RB on history

The first recovery of a British-ringed Swallow in South Africa was reported in British Birds in February 1913 (Vol 6 No 9). At

the time this was considered quite extraordinary, as the editorial penned by Harry Witherby accompanying the record shows (below left). The next year, a second recovery was reported from Orange Free State, of a bird ringed in the nest in Ayrshire. Along with observational evidence of Swallows crossing the Sahara, Witherby wrote “it may perhaps be presumed that these Swallows take a more direct line than one would previously have thought possible”.


1969 1970 1971 1975 1978 1979 1981 1982

First issue of Ringing & Migration journal.

Thresholds for reporting controls revised to reduce numbers reported.

Routine computerisation of recoveries starts.

Trainers and sponsors introduced.

Automated ring production starts.

Trapping Methods and Seasonal Movements of Summer Migrants published.

Unconventional Marks Panel set up: to monitor and regulate the use of new types of marks (and now also methods).

The introduction of mist nets forced stricter licensing, even if this was a little more lax than current standards! In 1959,

the first ‘qualifications’ were introduced, though no special permit was required, just a letter of recommendation from a qualified mist-netter, after having extracted a minimum of 20 birds of a variety of species.

The first revision of the rules then came in 1960, when the minimum was increased to 50 birds, of which at least 10 must be Starlings and/or tits. Minimum limits were also set for ‘A’ permits (100 fledged birds), ‘C’ permits (50 birds) and the new nestling permit (having ringed “50 or more nestlings of at least six species”). 1960 was also the year that it became possible to ring Mute Swans on the Thames, when the Lord Chamberlain kindly agreed to allow restricted swan-ringing, on the understanding that nothing would be done to make the birds wild and a menace to boats.

Times do change, and the 1970s saw massive improvements in training. In 1978, 200 experienced ringers were invited to join the new Sponsors panel, and permit standards were increasing rapidly! Since then the system has continued to evolve, via Full and Initial Trainers (the latter automatic for ringers holding an ‘A’ Permit for five years) to the modern Training Endorsement.

RB on permits

During the early years, the two Schemes (British Birds and Aberdeen University) using uniquely numbered rings ran

simultaneously, each with their own return address. Shortly after the First World War, the Aberdeen Scheme came to an end and the ring address on the British Birds Scheme rings changed. Further changes in the rings then came:

1929: No 3 clip introduced.1937: New address introduced (BRITISH MUSEUM NAT. HIST. LONDON) when the Scheme transferred to the BTO.1947: ‘DO’ (double ended or double overlap) rings were introduced following a period of testing on Skokholm.1955: First Lambourne-made rings issued, the first to be threaded in sequence rather than being supplied loose.1956: ‘A’ rings came into being, with 4,000 initially issued, made from the new magnesium–aluminium alloy, so strong that “they cannot be closed without the aid of specially adapted pliers” hence they weren’t widely issued until 1959.1964: Further new ring sizes (and better pliers) widely introduced for general use.

••

•

•

•

•

1973: Results of a ring address experiment published. Of the two experimental addresses (INFORM BTO TRING ENGLAND and INFORM BRIT. MUSEUM LONDON SW7) fitted to Starlings and Sandwich Terns, use of the Tring address resulted in an estimated ‘loss’ of 45.5% of reports.

•

The milestone of the 5,000th ringing permit was reached in August 2002, when Richard Billington was presented with his permit by Simon Cox, permit number 13. Looking on are Jacquie Clark (Head of Ringing) and Chris Thorne (Richard’s Trainer).

RB on rings


1983 1986 1988 1991 1996 1997 1998

CES Scheme starts: initially runs as a three-year trial, but the success of the Scheme guarantees its longevity. CES now monitors abundance, productivity and survival of 25 core species.

Introduction of B-RING: initially for BBC computers, with a PC version following in 1988.

“It sometimes happens that a ringer operates in a locality used by another ringer and that some

of the birds he catches are already carrying rings. If The Ringer’s Manual (note the original name, not a typo! – Eds) is taken literally, these must be regarded as controls… In practice it seems more sensible to regard them as a special form of retrap. We have accordingly modified our handling procedure… When BRC16s are received for such birds, we… endorse them with a rubber stamp ‘PLEASE INFORM RINGER OF RETRAP DETAILS’ and return them to the sender.”

“In the bad old days, when we had Summer Time and Winter Time, ringers were asked to stick to G.M.T. throughout the year… Then came British Standard Time, and we settled gladly for the same time (B.S.T.) all the year round. Now we are back to square one again… To provide what they hope is a lasting solution the Committee has decided to ignore these time changes… Henceforth the time entered on BRC19s and BRC16s should be the time on your watch.”

Anecdotal RB

“The term ‘controlled’ is widely used by Continental ringing schemes in their reports to indicate a ringed bird recaught by a ringer,

whether a retrap or recovery. We propose to adopt it for use on Recovery Forms.”

As the Scheme grew, so the growing network of ringers must have become increasingly hard to manage, and in 1960 the idea of the

‘Emergency call’ was born:“The Committee believe that many ringers would welcome

additional hands at times like these and that there are many ringers who would be willing to act as a reasonably mobile emergency reserve. We should be pleased to act as intermediaries, putting ‘situation vacant’ in touch with ‘situations required’.”

The rules and regulations also sometimes proved problematic and confusing, and even more so the terminology.

196�

1966

“It has come to our notice that a number of ringers are inter pret ing the

definition of ‘processed’ birds in a number of dubious ways. One example of this might be that a bird presenting itself for ringing is passed to a trainee, by the trainer, to be ringed, after which the trainee passes it on to another trainee who might age and sex the bird. After this it is given to yet another trainee to have its wing measured. This procedure might continue until all the details for that bird are collected, at which stage all trainees who handled the bird each record this as a ‘processing’... this method of processing birds is unethical and bad practice.”

1989

“We used to use G.M.T. when recording the weights of birds… Then came the parliamentary decision to keep B.S.T. all the year round. ‘Splendid’ we said, ‘this will simplify life for the ringer’: and promptly printed B.S.T. on stationery such as the BRC19. Now alas the country is reverting to changing clocks twice a year, but we have decided that on ringing forms we wish ringers to stick with B.S.T. all the year round.”

December 1971

1969

Pullus ringing reaches its highest level: a total of 200,095 nestlings ringed. The general ringing totals hit their highest level in 2004, at 881,920. Note the 2001 drop due to Foot and Mouth Disease.

Pulli

Grand total

July 1971

We’ve all faced various hazards over the years, but this is perhaps the most bizarre we’ve found to date:“The Blackbird roost that I work is a derelict orchard with high tension cables for 132,000 volts crossing directly over one of the net sites. On the 6th February, there was rain in the afternoon, giving way to a cold and clear evening, when I put up the nets. A trainee ringer discovered the effect first when taking a troublesome Great Tit out – it was electrically charged to an unpleasant degree. The net made the hairs on the back of our hands stand on end, and gave a sharp kick to the head and the back of the neck when we brushed against it. I tried to effect a discharge by grabbing a fistful of netting in one hand and sticking a finger of the other in the ground! The blackbirds caught in it were not in any way hurt, nor unduly alarmed; indeed the catch was better than usual.”


1983 1986 1988 1991 1996 1997 1998

Introduction of new paper schedule.

BTO moves to Thetford.

ORACLE database established: storage of ringing records joins the electronic age. The new A4 recovery sheet is also introduced.

Sponsors abolished and Initial and Full Trainers introduced.

Ring pricing changes: to take account of the conservation status of the species being ringed.

RAS: Retrapping Adults for Survival Scheme starts.

Accidental: Arrival at Dungeness of a visitor actually booked to stay at Calf of Man.

Clapnet: Cunning device for catching birds on the ground, usually powered (since female trainees no longer wear suspender belts) by elastic bands. Traditional British Sporting Instinct may be displayed by setting movement just fast enough to give birds an even chance of escape. (But NB trainees displaying same have a chance of ending up throttled by said elastic bands).

Description, Field: Game of wits with the Records Committee (qv).

“Falls”: Influx of birds scheduled for the Monday after you depart.

Grapevine: Intelligence network by which observers from the Midlands discover what they missed on Holy Island whilst on their way to Portland Bill.

Invisible migration: Movement of birds between midnight Sunday and 5 pm Friday.

197�

1978

Photographer: Strange solitary type, known to spend several days stalking a bird and erecting a hide, only to emerge within seconds in the last stages of hysteria merely because the bird has meanwhile been ringed.

Quick-un-pic: An aid to bird extraction enabling strands of mistnet to be cut if need be; a similar sensation may be obtained by snipping holes in five-pound notes.

Records Committee: Group of people chosen for their cynical disbelief in the powers of observation of most of mankind, not necessarily excluding other members of the group.

Sea-watch: A means of observing, in six hours, the birds you would have seen at Bempton in as many minutes. Excellent therapy for chronic depressives, insomniacs, and thinkers of deep thoughts, everyone else should carry a hip flask.

Warden: Rare coastal species of small islands and remote peninsulas. Plumage permanently abraded. Essential requirements are an eternal optimism, total lack of need for food or sleep, and a complete set of RSPB wall-charts.

Work on the Migration Atlas starts: it is finally published in 2002.

1� – Ringers’ Bulletin: Centenary issue

Ringers’ area of the BTO website created.

90% of ringing data now submitted electronically.

2000 2001 2002 2002 2003

IPMR becomes widely available.

Ring production moves: with the closure of Lambournes, machines (and man!) are moved to Dorset and then to Porzana in Sussex.

Web reporting: online recovery form goes live for use by members of the public.

Foot and Mouth Disease: ringing, along with other survey work, is massively disrupted.

Production of first colour ringing leaflet.

“Below is a list of scores for ringing activities… from the GRG training log with various categories…”

198�

1 (Light Air): Mist nets turn white on frosty mornings. Nets ripple sufficiently to deter rare vagrants.4 (Moderate Breeze): Shelf panels billow; only common birds remain pocketed.5 (Fresh Breeze): Shelf panels constantly billowed; local nature group due to arrive for ringing demonstration.8 (Gale): What mist net??10 (Storm): You must be on Fair Isle.11 (Violent Storm): You are on Fair Isle!

1991

�00�

SeabirdsGot puked on by Fulmar – went home –10Got puked on by Fulmar – carried on 10

DazzlingWore Armani sun glasses –10Carried battery on back without complaint until collapsed 10

Starry RoostsStayed until 10pm 5Stayed all night 15Survived roost without any nasty disease 15

MiscellaneousHave a nice teenage sister 5Took nice teenage sister along ringing 10

1995

From the Chairman’s Bunker

On sites: Potential net gaps on the other side of the site are always greener.

On nets: The most difficult birds to extract from nets are invariably the noisiest, too.

On equipment: The amount of net footage that can be erected is directly proportional to the number of poles one’s trainee can carry.

On birds: The nests which take longest to locate invariably contain young too big to ring.

On reference work compilers: Only its authors can understand the Wader Guide.

On rings: B2s are harder to close than a mother-in-law’s mouth.All ringers except trainees find a valid excuse for taking a ring from the wrong end of the string.

The great man revealed!Losing the first half of his beard to Barbara Young (then Chief Exec of the RSPB) one day and the remainder to Chris Packham the next, Chris’ stunt at the BirdFair raised over £2,500 for the BTO.

For the full list, see Vol 7 No 10

For the full scoresheet, see Vol 11 No 2

Time to Fly published: the ‘pocket sized’ Migration Atlas, written by Jim Flegg, summarises migration by habitat.

An “opportunity to peep warily over the parapet and write a few words of encouragement to us all! I say this because many believe that our Ringing Scheme is under fire from all sides.”

Ringers’ Bulletin: Centenary issue – 1�

First Beginners’ Ringing Course: runs at Flatford Mill Field Study Centre, Suffolk.

2000 2001 2002 2002 2003

Yahoo forum introduced: discussion groups created for IPMR, CES, RAS, Ringing and Nest Records.

Some stories even we couldn’t (or daren’t) reproduce in full…

“This may not be explicitly stated but a schoolmaster who can be drunk while bird ringing is not going to be sober in the classroom, especially

one containing Pied Wagtails. Further, and even worse if that be possible, he cavorts for no stated reason while doing so.” “Indeed, reading this shameful catalogue of vice one wonders how this ringer has been able to keep his permit… let alone serve on the Ringing and Migration Committee.”

1974

“I had to strip off, take a shower bath and then don a complete outfit provided by the management. This included a saucy little white cap which perched on my tousled head

like an albino Stonechat on a whin bush.”

1976

“Dear Dr O’ConnorI am a respected supplier to

the leading egg collectors and breeders of raptors. Having received a request for Short-eared Owls, I decided to pay a visit to the reserve at… After a fruitless hour or so of searching, my colleague and I suddenly noticed a man and his little girl getting out of a car… This had to be our nest! Sure enough both adult birds went up and the three people were at the nest for fully five minutes… Naturally we wished to avoid the distress of a moral debate about collecting, so we watched patiently for their disappearance before moving in. Incidentally I can recommend circlip pliers for removing rings from young Short-eared Owls.”

“As you may already have guessed, part of this is fiction: no, of course I am not connected in any way with this despicable business of nest theft… But I can assure you of two facts: that the ringer was well aware of our presence – and he’ll never know who we were.”

“No Comment required from the Ringing Office… but beware – even the Hills have eyes!”

1989

1972 : Mist -net Chal lenge (the ‘Naval Field Gun Race’ of the Ringing and Migration Conference, eliciting an entry fee of 50p).

...and ones we’d have reproduced but for the lack of space.

Traps, traps and more traps! Over the years we’ve seen designs and endless improvements for Moorhen nets, ‘Male’ automatic traps, Clap-nets, Spring traps, Sand Martin traps, ‘Church’ Fulmar nets, Drop-nets, Potter traps, Bat-fowling using mist nets, Frankfurt traps and many more besides…

PipititisIt is a pity that the Pipits haveNo diagnostic features.Specific’ly they are the leastDistinctive of God’s creatures.

For naming any one you needFive measurements, togetherWith a drawing of the wing tipAnd the length of every feather.

Count the spots on breast and neck,Be sure of which the sex is;Make a picture of the patternOf the one-but-outer rectrices.

Pay extravagant attention toThe hind claw’s conformation,Note “weak and long” or

“curved and strong”(Or “snapped in preservation”)

And when you’ve marshalled all the facts,No matter what their sense is,If the bird was caught in EuropeIt is, ten to one, pratensis.

B.P. Hall (Bird Room)

1960

1959

Swallow Roost Project starts: this Europe-wide project, investigating the breeding and migration of Swallows across 25 countries, runs until 2006.

The Scheme mourns the loss of the great Chris Mead: ”The shout ‘Alpine Swift’ came as I was getting into the shower – no I didn’t see it.”


2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Making and Mending Mist Nets published.

Online sales for ringers introduced.

Ringers’ Bulletin goes colour.

Web address on rings: the www.ring.ac address is added to ‘F’ and ‘G’ rings to investigate the effect on the reporting rate.

Introduction of electronic ‘blue cards’.

1965: The start of a lengthy communication on the boring of holes!

RB in pictures

1964 – Mead Warbler

H5N1 Avian Influenza: analyses of ring recoveries are used to highlight migration routes for Government. Leads to the development of the online Migration Mapping Tool.

1973: In the days before Making and

Mending of Mist Nets.

Swan Manual published.

Introduction of compulsory reporting of retraps.

�001 – RB art enters a technical age

1965 – The Ringer’s Mate

1965 – Season’s greetings


2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Updated Bird Ringing guide published.

‘Demog Blog’ launches: to celebrate the Centenary year, the blog follows the happenings in the newly formed Demography Team.

Trainers on the web: online application launches to help potential trainees find a trainer (accessed by 390 people in one week following a Centenary appearance on the BBC’s Springwatch).

RB on offers and promotions

1989

There’s always been a concerted effort to encourage greater involvement in the Scheme and the BTO, and rewards, financial or otherwise, seem to be most effective…

1999

1997

�000

1994

£6 Poyser Book Token for any existing member recruiting a New Member.

“All ringers who become new BTO members will automatically be entered in a free prize draw. The winner will receive a copy of Warblers of Europe, Asia & North Africa by Jeff Baker… Make your next ring one to the Membership Office!”

And whilst we’re talking of promotions, as far as we can tell, this is the one and only real commercial advert ever to grace RB:

A study of interactions between Cuckoos and their hosts required blood samples to be taken from young Cuckoos. Anyone finding a nestling was asked to call a special hotline, reversing the charges. The incentive? All those helping would be entered into a draw with a £150 first prize.

Migration Atlas competition, where the species had to be identified from their Atlas maps. The examples below show all recoveries of a warbler (left) and all recoveries of a winter visitor (right) – answers on back page.


Over the hundred years of bird ringing, we’ve grown from an initial group of 20 or so ringers to over 2,400 ringers in 2009,

together ringing 36 million birds. That’s a lot of data to record and store in some shape or form.

Of those records, we now hold over 11 million electronically, with an additional 1.7 million retrap records and 713,000 recoveries instantly available. My job at the BTO involves managing the data collected and submitted from all our ringing activities, ensuring that they are accurate, submitted on time and contain all the required information. So how these data are recorded, submitted and stored at BTO HQ is very important to me.

We ring birds because it is an amazing experience, from the anticipation of what we will find in the nets, to the excitement of ringing birds and releasing them, hopefully to be caught again by another ringer. All of this industrious ringing would be pointless if we did not have all the details recorded in a sensible form. Whilst ringing often relies on teamwork, by far the most important person within that team is the scribe! I hold this person in great esteem and they should be supplied with all the comforts necessary for their important role (an endless supply of tea, chocolate biscuits etc…). If ringing data are not recorded accurately in the field, then there are all sorts of repercussions and traumas down the line.

Ringing data: paperwork and beyond

The original ‘browns’ are still stored at BTO HQ but are not very accessible, being stored in the attic above the Communications Office. Amazingly they are still referred to occasionally...

‘Blue’ cards – a thing of the past?

Blue cards have evolved from polite and gentle reminders, via the more insistent blue/red format, to the electronic versions of today.

In the very early days of the Ringing Scheme, the ringing details of birds, or ‘marking details’, as they were commonly called then, were recorded on pale green ‘schedules’, with space for 20 birds per sheet. Even in those days, the importance of recording data accurately was stressed:

“It is above all necessary that those who undertake to help shall also undertake to use every care to fill in the schedule methodically and accurately, and to observe the directions given, otherwise endless confusion will be caused, and the objects desired will be defeated.” (British Birds, 1909).The first ‘Witherby’ schedules actually resembled the green and

white schedules some of you still use today, albeit with fewer columns to fill out. There was then a gap of some 40 years between these early schedules and the resumption of their use in the late 1950s, with a different style of recording sheet used in the interim.

From 1912 until the mid 1950s, ringing data were recorded on what we now call ‘Browns’: foolscap brown sheets (as the name implies), each pre-printed with six recording slips. Once completed and returned, these were cut up and filed as individual ‘Brown slips’. The change from the original green schedules to ‘Browns’ was probably due to the number of recoveries received and the time taken to copy the details from the schedules and the recovery letter into a recovery book. ‘Browns’ were designed with a top section for the ringing details, filled in by the ringer, and a section below this for any recovery details to be filled in by the office. This was on the, now naive, assumption that most ringed birds would be subsequently found!

The dreaded ‘blue card’, which many ringers may have received during their ringing career, has been a part of the Scheme for longer than you may think.

“It often happens that a ringed bird is reported before the schedules have been sent in. In such cases the ringer is applied to for ringing details and it is important to send them promptly, otherwise reporters are discouraged.” (British Birds, April 1932).There was never any excuse for rudeness though, with the

original ‘blue card’ being a rather polite affair (“we gather that you have used some of the above-mentioned rings”).

The earliest ringing schedules


Paper schedules are still regularly accessed in the new archive ‘Railex’ area below the library.

The ORACLE ringing database now stores over 10 million ringing records, neatly alongside 94 million records from the BTO’s online surveys

Ringing data: paperwork and beyond

It is often forgotten that the program had to be purchased from the Ringing Office: originally £20 (£41 in modern terms) it was later reduced to £10. For this, ringers also received the B-RING manual; a weighty tome which required will-power rather than computer power to digest (and seemed to be largely ignored)!

Originally, B-RING was used to submit computer-printed schedules to the BTO, but in July 1995 the BTO started to accept ringing data via floppy disc. By the end of 1995, 40% of ringing schedules submitted to BTO were computer printed. From 1998 the software was supplied free to ringers and Win-Ring was released, a Windows-based program to handle, report and analyse B-RING data files.

In 1999 a pilot Access-based program for handling ringing and recovery data was launched – Integrated Population Monitoring Reporter (IPMR, or IMPR as we often hear it called). The ‘Millennium bug’ (the change to the four-digit year in 2000) was the final nail in the coffin for B-RING, and IPMR grew from strength to strength. IPMR is now used by over 95% of ringers, submitting all their ringing, retrap and recovery records, biometrics, moult and colour-mark information, CES and RAS submissions and Nest Records, making all those paper forms (almost) obsolete!

So a big thank you from me to all the ringers who, despite Chris’s warning in 1982, have bravely taken on the task of computerising theircomputerising their their data – long may it continue! We are also indebted to the pioneers of the electronic age: the original members of the computerisationcomputerisation working group; Mark Cubitt, whose dedicated work with IPMR has transformed the data handling of the Ringing Scheme; our army of B-RING and IPMR advisors, ably assisting ringers through the occasional hiccup involved in digital records!

As to the future, watch this space. But, as with so many things, perhaps this will be an online future of web submissions and returns...

The late Chris Mead was a great visionary, ‘warning’ ringers that the computer revolution was about to happen back in June 1982. Interestingly, the idea originally was for ringers to input their data onto a home computer so that they could print off the schedules to submit to BTO HQ:

“Eventually, if good numbers of ringers can agree on the same system, it might even be possible for the BTO to accept schedules from ringers as f loppy discs which could then be printed at Beech Grove using a quality printer……………perhaps we may just store the ringing data on our own computer, calculate national and regional totals lists from it, and look up the ringing information for birds recovered by computer! It may never happen – but, in case it does, you have been warned.” (Ringers’ Bulletin, 1982).In 1983 the provisional coding scheme for recording

ringing data was published and a Working Group set up to develop a computer program for recording ringing and retrap data. Three years later, in January 1986, B-RING was launched.

As the Ringing Scheme developed and grew, more information was gathered during ringing sessions, including detailed biometrics and moult data. This required the design of new forms to collect the data, and the following are just a handful of examples:

BRC5a: retrap recording card (A5).BRC7: retrap form (A4).BRC10: weights and measurements.BRC12: request for schedules (pre ‘blue card’ days).BRC16: recovery reporting form (the yellow pads).BRC17: registration card for projects.BRC19: biometrics form.BRC21: ringing co-ordinates index form.All these data were, of course, being submitted on paper,

requiring storage at BTO. In paper form, the information isn’t immediately available for analyses and requires a great deal of time and financial input to be made available electronically.

Bridget Griffin has worked for the Ringing Scheme for 12 years and now manages the ringing and recovery database. She enjoys the challenge of managing such a large data set and has overseen

many of the changes that the late Chris Mead first dreamed of. Ringing since the early 1990s, Bridget has taken part in CES and RAS studies and is the secretary of the Thetford Forest Ringing Group.

The introduction of B-RING and latterly IPMR revolutionised data storage, giving instant access to data. The most recent advance has been to process recoveries using an online inputting and editing form.

A plethora of paper forms!

The computer age

Paper schedules have changed shape and size over time, and storing them is always an issue. Many paper records

have now been scanned to be available electronically on desktops and all paper

schedules since 2000 have been input by a very patient and dedicated volunteer.


Another common ‘by hand’ technique was grabbing ducks by the feet. Apparently this was achieved by swimming with a hollow pumpkin over the head as camouflage! This does seem an unlikely method, though, as once a bird was caught further catching would be rather difficult. An extension of this method (and even more dubious if you ask me) was to wear weights around the ankles to allow the catcher to walk along the bottom of a lagoon, again with

the head camouflaged at the surface (this is certainly not something we r e c o m m e n d ! ) . Catching waterfowl today thankfully uses much safer methods such as big funnel traps at WW T reser ves , themselves modern adaptations of the original decoys, and the increased use of cannon nets.

Trapping too can be simple, and some of the most basic walk-in or drop-down traps have evo lved in to numerous varieties, depending on the species to be caught

and the situation. Some of the simplest are a basic box or cage, where a propped stick is released with a pull chord, though others involve more complex pulley mechanisms.

Less portable, often static traps, such as Tunnel and Ottenby traps, are much larger, using funnels to guide birds in. Once in they are unable to find their way out, and gather in a catching box at one

end where several birds can be caught at once. Some much bigger, permanent traps are still used today, mainly at Ringing Stations and Bird Observatories, and are often fondly r e m e m b e r e d b y some of the more senior members of the Ringing Scheme. Helgoland traps have e n t r a n c e s s e ve r a l metres high allowing birds to fly into them, funnelling down to a catching box at the far end. The Ringing Station at Rybachy, i n B a l t i c Ru s s i a ,

Many of the trapping techniques now commonly used owe their origins to hunting. Hans Bub’s ‘Bird Trapping and Bird

Banding’ guide, arguably the most complete reference on the history of trapping methods, makes reference to trapping literature dating from 1492 printed in Flemish, and to 1876 about ‘netting of seabirds on the Wash’. More recent literature shows how the fundamental design of many simple traps has remained unchanged since ringing began.

In the early days o f r ing ing , when materials were limited and costs high, the simplest technique involved catching by hand. Seabird catching today has its origins in seabird hunting, when birds were noosed around the neck or legs with hooks, or just grabbed off the nest by hand. Then came hand nets, pioneered by Icelandic, Faeroese and St Kildan hunters for trapping Puffins for food. This method is now common practice a m o n g s t s e a b i r d ringers, hiding behind rocks and ‘fleyging’ Puffins out of the sky – this can be frustrating, but also a great deal of fun!

In the 1970s, Eddie Fritz became famous (or infamous) for catching Herring Gulls by hand on a refuse tip in Copenhagen. He caught over 3,500 by dressing in packaging material with a plastic hood over his head, with just a small opening for his mouth, eyes and nose, then lying motionless in the rubbish. He grabbed birds as they were feeding on the rubbish and walking over his arms! However, the biggest surprise came to two men scavenging on the tip, when they moved some rubbish and noticed two arms and a hand, which suddenly started to move! Black-headed Gulls can also be ‘plucked’ out of the air if two ringers stand close together, one feeding bread, though I have heard that cheese works even better…

Leashing to cannons and central-locking

The early technique of ‘leashing’ involved a net being held one side of a bush whilst birds were ‘encouraged’ into it from the opposite side.

In the days before mist nets, the only option for many ringers to handle fully grown birds in numbers was to visit a Bird Observatory, using large static traps, such as this one on Skokholm.


h a s a n e n o r m o u s t r a p , k n ow n a s a ‘ F y ke n e t ’ , wi th an entrance 15 m high (mature t ree he ight ) , 30 m wide and 100 m long. This is so big that it easily catches passage Hen Harriers, completely unaware they are entering a trap until they near the far end.

Sadly, some of these traditional trapping methods are now a bit of a dying art following the introduction of mist nets in the 1950s. Originating in Japan, mist nets have been used for over 300 years.This led to an instant, dramatic increase in the ringing totals for full-grown birds. Most ringers now rely on mist-netting for most of their activities. Many different types of nets are now available (or can be custom made) giving more flexibility for different situations. The ‘standard’ method of setting between bamboo poles soon evolved, with ringers now setting canopy nets using pulley systems and ‘flick’ netting, where the net is manually raised by one or two ringers and is the best method for catching adult Swifts (though requires practice!).

Some t r app ing methods are more effective when using live decoys, a much more common practice ab road . Howeve r, d u m m y d e c o y s have proved equally successful in many s i tuat ions . P last i c corvids, wildfowl and waders, amongst other species, attract birds into traps or netting areas, though stuffed birds are generally more successful. Looking like the real thing is very important, even to the extent of placement of decoys facing directly into the wind: a couple

of degrees off and birds will steer well clear. Cannon-netting groups targeting waders have found that several decoys quickly attract birds into relatively small catching areas on vast fields during high-tide

roosts, though they can also (to the ringers’ annoyance) attract local Marsh Harriers, which have been known to carry the well-crafted decoys off over the marsh!

Stuffed owls can a l so at tract b irds , who attack this new predator. This works well with harriers, which can then be caught in a ‘Dho-Gaza’ style net: a loosely tied mist net that folds in on itself when a bird is caught, ensuring it becomes well pocketed and unable to escape.

Rapid advances in technology and the availability of relatively cheap electronic devices has also allowed decoys to be more life-like and modified so they are remotely controlled and appear to move; either along a wire, up or down, or even to flap their wings! Similar adaptations can be made

to the conventional pull-cord mechanism on whoosh or clap nets, where radio-controlled car sets or car central-locking systems can allow the quick, remote-release of a trigger from different positions and at a greater distance. However both can be prone to failure at just the wrong moment.

What is important to remember is that many trapping methods are specific to the species being targeted, and particularly those that are not easily caught in mist nets. Many of these species are of increasing conservation importance, so let’s keep designing, using and modifying traps for another 100 years!

Jez Blackburn is the Licensing and Sales Manager in the BTO Demography Team, having joined the Ringing Unit 15 years ago. Originally trained by his father from a young

age, he now organises seabird expeditions, cannon nets gulls and wildfowl and monitors owls, herons, Cormorants and Little Egrets and enjoys training ringers for the future.

The development of rocket-netting on the Wash, and latterly cannon-netting (above), revolutionised the catching of wildfowl and waders, and is now a vital conservation tool.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and this is no truer than for the traps developed over the decades. The basic designs of many have changed very little, whilst simple innovations are always being developed: whoosh nets now have electronic triggers and spring traps now have industrial springs to catch Buzzards!

�0 – Ringers’ Bulletin: Centenary issue

Editors: Mark Grantham and Jacquie Clark.BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PUPhone: 01842 750050 Email: [email protected] publishing: Jane Waters.

Printed by Page Bros, Norwich.

Registered Charity: No 216652 (England & Wales), No SC039193 (Scotland)

Ringers’ BulletinThanks to the proof readers for all their efforts: Carl Barimore, Liz Coiffait, Emily Coleman, John Marchant, Dorian Moss.

The views expressed by the contributors to this newsletter are not those of the Editors, and not necessarily those of the Council of the BTO or its Committees.

196� – Binocular visions

Thanks from all of us here at BTO HQ to everyone who has ever penned an anecdote, sketched a cartoon or in some other way contributed to the last 52 years of RB. Bob Hudson’s comment still stands though (page 6 if your memory is as bad as mine is), and our Bulletin will only thrive if it continues to be written by ringers, for ringers.

Thanks to all of the following for the photos we’ve used to chart this history:

Cover: Mark Breaks

Charles Meadows’ images: courtesy of the Writtle Archives

Ringing in the 40s and 50s: BTO Collection, Mark Grantham

Ringing data: Mark Grantham

Catching methods: Alyn Walsh, Steve Huddleston (www.wheatear.biz), BTO Collection

Timeline: Country Life magazine, Peter Wilkinson, Aberdeen University, Bird Observatories Council, Dawn Balmer, Steve Stansfield, Mark Grantham, Jez Blackburn, Nigel Clark, Dave Sowter, Rob Robinson, BTO Collection

British Birds

1960 – A more constructive ringing policy

Migration Atlas answers: Lesser Whitethroat and Redwing.

And finally...

ringers’ bulletin - british trust for ornithology

Documents