Ringing report

In a post on 8th August I mentioned a ring found in an Eagle Owl's nest. I heard back from the BTO and this too was an Oystercatcher tjeld ringed in the UK.

Here is an extract from the report I received from the BTO:

Ringing Scheme: London         Ring Number: FV04446         Species of bird: Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus

This bird was ringed by Wash Wader RG as age 2nd year , sex unknown on 12-Aug-1975 at Friskney New Marsh, Lincolnshire OS Map reference TF4954, co-ordinates 53deg 4min N 0deg 13min E As the nest was "new" to me I have no idea how long the ring had been there - but this bird could certainly have been pretty old when it was taken. An amazing parellel with the previous ring I found in an Eagle Owl's nest! For details of the previous find see this post

Øygarden 11 November 2010 - oldest ringed Oystercatcher?

A number of birds with pale rumps like the left hand birds kept things pretty frustrating....
Top bird just a pale rumped Mealy Redpoll gråsisik?

Swarms of Mealy Redpoll gråsisik poured passed until around 10:00

Fieldfare gråtrost flock heading south

Fewer Mink around these days - but still too many

SE winds and a hard frost today - much freshwater frozen.

Tried an hour or so of "vis-mig" today at Herdlevær. During the first hour almost 1000 Mealy Redpoll gråsisik headed south. No doubt it would have been a lot more had I started an hour earlier. Passage dropped off rapidly after 10:00. Small numbers of Siskin grønnsisik and Fieldfare gråtrost also on the move.

Not a lot else passing but a Sparrowhawk spurvehauk headed south, at least one Goshawk hønsehauk hunting and up to five White-tailed Eagle havørn visible simultaneously.

FINALLY received details back on the ring I found in an Eagle Owl nest earlier in the autumn. As I had suspected the ring belonged to a wader. In fact it was an Oytercatcher tjeld that was ringed on the south coast of England over 29 years ago - this puts the bird at over 32 when it died - longer than the longest ever lived Oystercatcher in the UK!!

Details were as follows:

"Ringing Scheme: London Ring Number: FV61419 Species of bird: Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus

This bird was ringed by Devon & Cornwall Wader Group as age 3 years +, sex Unknown on 31-May-1981 at Dawlish Warren, Exe Estuary, Devon, OS Map reference SX9880, co-ordinates 50deg 37min N 3deg 26min W.

It was found on 25-Aug-2010 at Exact Location Unknown, Hordaland, Norway.

It was found 10678 days after it was ringed, 1230 km from the ringing site, direction NNE."