Toby Spall has long been a dedicated nest-finder and pullus-ringer - you may have read his article in the recent issue of BTO News. But he still finds great pleasure in small rewards from this activity, as he explains here.
Ringing highlights included 10 Little Grebes, 3 Great Crested Grebes, Nightingale and Tree Pipit, and records for Black-headed Gull, Blue Tit, Chiffchaff and Goldfinch.
Here are some of the more informative bird movements to and from Rye Meads reported in the past year as identified by ringing, covering eight countries and two continents!
After a record year for ringing Chiffchaffs, we await the arrival of wintering birds. Rye Meads is one of the best places in Hertfordshire for wintering Chiffchaffs, but they are not our breeding birds; so where do they come from?
A summary of the more interesting recoveries and controls of the birds of Rye Meads as notified to us during 2016.
Ringing highlights included Pochard, Firecrest, Redstart and a Greenland Wheatear, as well as a rehab Bittern.
Some indications of the origins of our wintering Black-headed Gulls and Chiffchaffs and some controls from our hirundine roost netting
Some recoveries from our Black-headed Gull colony, our celebrity Bearded Tit controlled again, and various warblers in Europe
Teal and Gadwall are two of the commonest ducks which occur at Rye Meads. Ringing recoveries show that the two species show very different strategies when it comes to migration.
