Bird Ringing
Bird ringing has been an important tool for tracking bird movements and monitoring bird populations ovew the last century. Historically ringing was mainly used for tracking bird migration routes and has added greatly to our knowledge of many species. In recent years the focus has moved towards ringing as a tool for population monitoring and modelling. The British Trust for Ornithology run the ringing scheme in the UK and Ireland and have developed a system of Integrated Population Monitoring (IPM) which combines survey data, nest data and ringing data to provide measures of bird population changes and their reasons.
Ringing does not just cover using aluminium rings but colour rings too. Using colour rings means that the bird does not need to be recaprtured but can be observed in the field. Today technological advance are allowing more and more detailed tracking of birds using GPS and satellites.
If you would like to learn to ring Kerry Leonard is a qualified 'A' ringer and trainer, please get in touch to learn more.