LifeCycle is the magazine of the British and Irish Ringing Scheme and the Nest Record Scheme (NRS), published twice a year, in the spring and autumn. It replaces the scheme newsletters that were previously sent to ringers and nest recorders (Ringing News, NRS News and CES & RAS News).
Issue 16, Autumn 2025
Issue 16 contains articles on monitoring Blackbirds, including their susceptibility to a newly emerging disease, urban ringing in Glasgow, and a raptor monitoring project in Wales. It has guides to ageing Dipper chicks, separating Little and Cattle Egret pulli and what to do if you catch a rare bird.
It also features an article about a RAS project on Rock Doves and the genetic research being carried out on the species, as well as a Bird Observatory article, the next in the series about how different ringing groups work and much more.
About LifeCycle
A newsletter for volunteers ...
LifeCycle is primarily a magazine for the dedicated ringers and nest recorders who contribute so much time and effort to collecting essential data on the breeding success, survival and movements of Britain & Ireland’s birds.
As such, it includes practical ringing and nest finding tips, details of novel techniques and summaries of successful monitoring projects that demonstrate the initiative, hard work and skill of existing volunteers, while hopefully inspiring others to set up their own studies.
Many of the articles are written by ringers and nest recorders, the people with the field expertise, and we would welcome ideas and contributions for future editions.
... and also a magazine for those interested in birds
While there are some articles of a technical nature in LifeCycle, you certainly don’t have to be a ringer or nest recorder to enjoy them – but be warned, once you’ve read it, you may find it difficult to resist signing up for a survey!
If you are interested in birds, bird behaviour and conservation you will enjoy the articles, not least because they include summaries of the annual results generated from the wide range of BTO demographic surveys, including the Constant Effort Site (CES) and Retrapping Adults for Survival (RAS) schemes.
Back issues
LifeCycle replaces the scheme newsletters that were previously sent to ringers and nest recorders (Ringing News, NRS News and CES & RAS News). Archive editions of the previous newsletters NRS News and CES & RAS News can be downloaded from the CES, RAS and NRS web pages.
Contact the editors
Please send ideas and contributions for future editions to:
- Ruth Walker, Ringing and Nest Recording Communications Officer at ruth.walker@bto.org
- Lee Barber, Demographic Surveys Organiser at nrs@bto.org
Acknowledgements
The Ringing and Nest Record Schemes are funded by a partnership of the BTO and the JNCC on behalf of the statutory nature conservation bodies (Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Department of the Environment Northern Ireland).
Ringing is also funded by The National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) and the ringers themselves. The BTO supports ringing and nest recording for scientific purposes and is licensed by the statutory nature conservation bodies to permit bird ringing and some aspects of nest recording.
All activities described are undertaken with appropriate licenses and following codes of conduct designed to ensure the welfare of birds and their nests is not adversely affected.