Ringing
The Group has since its formation undertaken the safe capture and ringing of both full-grown birds and nestlings. We take biometrics on all birds ringed, as well as on retraps and controls (birds ringed elsewhere and captured at Rye Meads). This information can be made available to anyone engaged in genuine scientific research.
The table shows the totals of birds ringed at Rye Meads by species, covering the last two complete calendar years and the grand totals for the Group. This is presented in the sequence recommended by the British Ornithologists Union.
To keep in touch with ringing totals throughout the year, you can become a Friend of RMRG and receive our two-monthly Bulletin. This includes details of observations, recoveries and controls and all ringing totals to date. See our page Help to support us for details of how to subscribe.
Species | 1960-2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Grand Total | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mute Swan | 282 | 2 | 9 | 293 | |
Canada Goose | 184 | 3 | 1 | 188 | |
Egyptian Goose | 13 | 13 | |||
Shelduck | 41 | 41 | |||
Gadwall | 562 | 21 | 15 | 598 | |
Teal | 462 | 5 | 13 | 480 | |
Mallard | 2,050 | 24 | 24 | 2,098 | |
Pintail | 1 | 1 | |||
Garganey | 1 | 1 | |||
Shoveler | 42 | 42 | |||
Pochard | 35 | 2 | 6 | 43 | Equals our best year |
Tufted Duck | 923 | 8 | 34 | 965 | |
Ruddy Duck | 8 | 8 | |||
Red-legged Partridge | 2 | 2 | |||
Grey Partridge | 3 | 3 | |||
Manx Shearwater | 1 | 1 | |||
Gannet | 1 | 1 | |||
Cormorant | 4 | 4 | |||
Shag | 1 | 1 | |||
Bittern | 1 | 1 | 2 | Our second Bittern was a rehab bird | |
Little Egret | 1 | 1 | |||
Grey Heron | 17 | 17 | |||
Little Grebe | 140 | 3 | 4 | 147 | |
Great Crested Grebe | 13 | 1 | 14 | ||
Sparrowhawk | 88 | 3 | 3 | 94 | |
Water Rail | 142 | 142 | |||
Moorhen | 2,026 | 15 | 4 | 2,045 | |
Coot | 1,184 | 4 | 63 | 1,251 | |
Ringed Plover | 16 | 16 | |||
Little Ringed Plover | 211 | 211 | |||
Lapwing | 104 | 3 | 107 | 3 pulli from the Scrape gave best total for 9 years | |
Bar-tailed Godwit | 1 | 1 | |||
Ruff | 1 | 1 | |||
Dunlin | 15 | 15 | |||
Little Stint | 1 | 1 | |||
Common Sandpiper | 269 | 1 | 270 | ||
Green Sandpiper | 83 | 1 | 1 | 85 | |
Solitary Sandpiper | 1 | 1 | |||
Greenshank | 3 | 3 | |||
Wood Sandpiper | 2 | 2 | |||
Redshank | 24 | 24 | |||
Jack Snipe | 75 | 5 | 6 | 86 | |
Woodcock | 5 | 5 | |||
Snipe | 262 | 4 | 14 | 280 | |
Common Tern | 2,542 | 10 | 36 | 2,588 | Best for 9 years - better timing of tern raft deployment! |
Black-headed Gull | 851 | 147 | 39 | 1,037 | Low total as unable to approach unfenced rafts to ring chicks |
Common Gull | 1 | 1 | |||
Stock Dove | 109 | 3 | 7 | 119 | |
Woodpigeon | 321 | 1 | 2 | 324 | |
Collared Dove | 67 | 2 | 69 | ||
Turtle Dove | 78 | 78 | |||
Cuckoo | 95 | 1 | 96 | First pullus ringed since 2009 | |
Barn Owl | 7 | 7 | |||
Little Owl | 10 | 10 | |||
Tawny Owl | 17 | 2 | 19 | ||
Long-eared Owl | 4 | 4 | |||
Short-eared Owl | 1 | 1 | |||
Swift | 6,901 | 6,901 | |||
Kingfisher | 1,307 | 20 | 19 | 1,346 | |
Wryneck | 5 | 5 | |||
Green Woodpecker | 89 | 3 | 3 | 95 | |
Great Spotted Woodpecker | 156 | 2 | 6 | 164 | |
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 27 | 1 | 28 | ||
Kestrel | 106 | 2 | 5 | 113 | |
Hobby | 1 | 1 | |||
Great Grey Shrike | 2 | 2 | |||
Magpie | 403 | 27 | 14 | 444 | |
Jay | 131 | 3 | 2 | 136 | |
Jackdaw | 1 | 1 | |||
Carrion Crow | 187 | 2 | 189 | ||
Goldcrest | 767 | 36 | 46 | 849 | |
Firecrest | 9 | 2 | 11 | First since 2008 and equals best annual total | |
Blue Tit | 10,252 | 294 | 166 | 10,712 | Drops in Blue and Great Tit due to poor breeding season |
Great Tit | 8,166 | 330 | 257 | 8,753 | |
Coal Tit | 20 | 1 | 1 | 22 | |
Willow Tit | 430 | 430 | |||
Marsh Tit | 6 | 6 | |||
Bearded Tit | 160 | 160 | |||
Skylark | 268 | 268 | |||
Sand Martin | 7,169 | 71 | 58 | 7,298 | Fewer hirundines at autumn roosts this year |
Swallow | 5,565 | 488 | 386 | 6,439 | |
House Martin | 7,751 | 10 | 7,761 | ||
Cetti's Warbler | 231 | 71 | 46 | 348 | |
Long-tailed Tit | 3,433 | 142 | 88 | 3,663 | |
Wood Warbler | 2 | 2 | |||
Chiffchaff | 7,485 | 351 | 383 | 8,219 | |
Willow Warbler | 8,596 | 40 | 35 | 8,671 | |
Blackcap | 10,445 | 540 | 410 | 11,395 | |
Garden Warbler | 3,250 | 71 | 55 | 3,376 | |
Barred Warbler | 2 | 2 | |||
Lesser Whitethroat | 2,715 | 28 | 33 | 2,776 | |
Whitethroat | 4,679 | 122 | 110 | 4,911 | |
Grasshopper Warbler | 101 | 4 | 105 | ||
Savi's Warbler | 1 | 1 | |||
Sedge Warbler | 22,704 | 462 | 340 | 23,506 | |
Reed Warbler | 15,279 | 607 | 626 | 16,512 | |
Nuthatch | 11 | 1 | 12 | ||
Treecreeper | 384 | 9 | 6 | 399 | |
Wren | 6,208 | 140 | 150 | 6,498 | |
Starling | 3,195 | 15 | 25 | 3,235 | |
Dipper | 1 | 1 | |||
Ring Ouzel | 1 | 1 | |||
Blackbird | 7,550 | 80 | 106 | 7,736 | |
Fieldfare | 564 | 8 | 572 | ||
Song Thrush | 4,553 | 36 | 21 | 4,610 | |
Redwing | 991 | 5 | 29 | 1,025 | |
Mistle Thrush | 20 | 20 | |||
Spotted Flycatcher | 106 | 106 | |||
Robin | 3,515 | 105 | 89 | 3,709 | |
Nightingale | 13 | 13 | |||
Bluethroat | 1 | 1 | |||
Pied Flycatcher | 7 | 7 | |||
Black Redstart | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
Redstart | 13 | 1 | 14 | Our 14th Redstart and the first since 2010 | |
Whinchat | 57 | 57 | |||
Stonechat | 63 | 4 | 67 | ||
Wheatear | 40 | 1 | 41 | Greenland subspecies | |
Dunnock | 7,214 | 137 | 130 | 7,481 | |
House Sparrow | 3,873 | 3,873 | |||
Tree Sparrow | 4,958 | 4,958 | |||
Yellow Wagtail | 1,541 | 1,541 | |||
Grey Wagtail | 346 | 9 | 11 | 366 | |
Pied Wagtail | 4,076 | 2 | 1 | 4,079 | |
Tree Pipit | 2 | 2 | |||
Meadow Pipit | 1,342 | 26 | 1,368 | ||
Rock Pipit | 2 | 2 | |||
Water Pipit | 39 | 39 | |||
Brambling | 162 | 162 | |||
Chaffinch | 3,487 | 22 | 18 | 3,527 | |
Hawfinch | 2 | 2 | |||
Bullfinch | 3,167 | 28 | 19 | 3,214 | |
Greenfinch | 11,162 | 12 | 21 | 11,195 | |
Linnet | 5,624 | 5,624 | |||
Lesser Redpoll | 790 | 22 | 4 | 816 | |
Goldfinch | 2,760 | 45 | 46 | 2,851 | |
Siskin | 83 | 83 | |||
Corn Bunting | 231 | 231 | |||
Yellowhammer | 1,629 | 2 | 1,631 | ||
Reed Bunting | 9,045 | 84 | 39 | 9,168 | |
Little Bunting | 1 | 1 | |||
Total ringed | 231,037 | 4,745 | 4,138 | 239,920 | |
Number of species | 139 | 64 | 69 | 140 |