Colour-ringed Birds?

Kane Brides · Status: Offline

RE: Colour-ringed Birds?

Ian McKerchar · Status: Offline

I take it your Goldfinch had no metal ring either Kane? If not it perhaps strengthens the case for illegal ringing of (wild?) birds, I can't see someone releasing, either accidentally or not, such captive bred birds almost all at once? Then again whaddu I know

Kane Brides · Status: Offline

Hi Nick,

I actually know Rodney Parry and he does live just round the corner! Next time I see him I will ask.

With regards to the colour ringed Goldfinch in my garden the combination was - Left Leg: Light Blue
- Right Leg: Pink.

Cheers Kane

Ian McKerchar · Status: Offline

Thanks for your replies guys, I will post a photo of the bird (complete with leg ring) if and when I ever get the photos recovered from my knackered old hard drive, food for thought there though, keep 'em coming!

Nick Hilton · Status: Offline

Ian,

I appreciate this may be difficult but if you can establish the coloured ring is a complete ring (and it is not obviously oversize) then it would be a fair assumption to suggest it was put on shorly after the bird hatched and thus more likely to have been bred in captivity. If the ring is a "split ring" ie the ring is not a complete ring then this could have been put on the birds leg any time during its life. This would suggest it has been trapped and ringed.

As I understood it British Bird keepers still have to legally close ring any birds they breed (or keep).

Have a look at the following website www.britishbirdcouncil.com

You will note on the affiliates page that the Lancashire Club secretary lives around the corner from you in Atherton, if he's decent and honest I'm sure he wouldn't mind advising you as the the current legal situation. He will probably know of all the local breeders as well (and know if anybody has had birds stolen or escaped). I see also the Club meet at the Edington Arms in Hindley every third Wednesday in the month. Not too far away from you, you could pop in !!!!

cheers

Kane Brides · Status: Offline

Hi Ian,

Last year I did have a Goldfinch on the feeders that had a combination of 2 or 3 colour rings but no BTO metal. The bird hit the window and stunned its self and as I approached it, it went over the hedge. I will have to look around in my note books to get the combination and dates etc.

Incidentally Steve Christmas has had one or two colour ringed Siskins in his garden (Swinton) that he has never been able to trace.

I have heard of Greenfinches and Goldfinches taking their BTO rings off, but its very rare!

Cheers Kane (Atherton)

-- Edited by Kane Brides at 17:58, 2007-03-29

Steve Suttill · Status: Offline

I would support your theory that someone is illegally trapping birds and colour ringing them. I only have hearsay evidence for it, but understand that illegal trapping of songbirds does go on around your area.

Ian McKerchar · Status: Offline

In early February whilst watching about 30 or so Goldfinch feeding in my garden, I noticed one bird had an orange ring on one of it's legs, but not the expected metal BTO ring on the other. I investigated it's potential origins but found no colour ringing programs that fitted my sighting and left it at that, rather bemused

In early March, Pete Berry invited me to his house (which is only around a mile as the bird flies from mine) to see and photograph a group of upto approximately a dozen Lesser Redpolls which were feeding regularly in his garden. After a while of watching and photographing the birds I noticed one of the birds sported an obvious pink ring on one of the legs but again not the expected metal BTO ring on the other. I contacted the BTO with the sighting and not surprisingly was informed it was not one of theirs, nor any other project they were aware of and that the bird must be an escape!

Has anyone else seen such instances of colour-ringed birds recently? Whilst the escape theory is entirely plausible (I was informed of a colour-ringed Siskin in Thetford that had escpaed from captivity, met up with other Siskins and then continued to live out a normal Siskin existance!) is it possible, given the close proximity of Pete and mine's house, that someone could be colour-ringing illegally? Unlikely I know, but colour-rings are not hard to get hold of via the cage bird trade, whereas BTO rings are only distributed to licensed ringers. Does anyone know of anything that may be relevant to this, someone who perhaps keeps Goldfinches and Redpolls...........anything

I was happy to pass off the original Goldfinch, but two birds in one month, less than a mile apart bearing colour-rings only, coincidence