|
Using ringing to study migration
| For
over 100 years bird ringing has been used to study migration
around the world. In Britain and Ireland ringing started in
1909 by a small band of ringers and now ringing involves over
2000 people. Ringing involves carefully placing a lightweight
metal ring on the leg of each bird. Each ring has a unique
number so the bird can be individually identified if it is subsequently
caught by a ringer or found by a member of the public. Also
on each ring is an address, in Britain and Ireland we use the
British Museum address in London because it is a well-known
and important place. |
 |
 |
| Cuckoo |
|
The BTO is responsible
for running the Ringing Scheme in Britain and Ireland and issues
licences to trained ringers. Volunteers that have received special
training and can safely handle birds can only carry out ringing.
For more information about how to become a ringer visit the ringing
web pages.
Each year around
700,000 birds are ringed covering a broad range of species. Many
of these birds are spring migrants that will undertake long journeys
to their wintering grounds. We can gather information through ringing
in a number of ways.
- Ringers in
Britain and Ireland recapture birds that have previously been
ringed elsewhere. These might be birds that have only moved a
few miles from the place of ringing or they might have travelled
hundreds of miles. Sometimes birds ringed in other countries
are caught as they pass through Britain and Ireland on their migration.
- There are
ringing schemes in many countries in the world, so ringers abroad
can catch birds that were previously ringed in Britain and Ireland.
- Sometimes
birds die through misadventure; they may be hit by a car, caught
by the neighbours cat or fly into a window. Members of the public
who find these birds can send the ring and the finding circumstances
to the address shown on the ring.
Each year the
BTO receives about 14,000 reports of birds that have been ringed.
When you think that the scheme has been running since 1909 this
adds up to an awful lot of information about the movements and survival
of birds! The BTO are in the final stages of producing an exciting
new book called The
Migration Atlas. The book uses information generated by
ringing to shed light on migration routes and strategies and other
amazing facts about migration.
|
