Axe Estuary Ringing Group

As you probably know, the Society supports work by other local societies and groups that is of benefit to conservation. One of the groups that your Society supported in 2007 was the Axe Estuary Ringing Group. Bird ringing has now been going on in Britain for nearly 100 years and we now know a great deal about local and long distance movements of our bird species, as well as much about such matters as life span and age at first breeding. However, ringing is still a valuable tool in the study of our birds. The Group, led by Mike Tyler, and with Neil Croton as Secretary, operates on the Colyford Common and Seaton Marshes Local Nature Reserves, as well as elsewhere.

In 2007 the Group ringed 284 birds at Seaton Marshes and 443 at Colyford Common (as well as many birds elsewhere). Birds of 43 species were ringed. The birds most often ringed at Colyford Common were Chaffinch, Dunnock, Goldfinch and Blue Tit, and at Seaton Marshes, Mallard, Wigeon, Shelduck and Carrion Crow. The differences reflect the methods used; at Colyford Common almost all birds were caught in mist nets (nets so fine that the birds do not see them and are trapped when they fly in), while at Seaton Marshes most were caught by cannon netting. When the birds are in position the cannons are fired, and projectiles pull the net in an arc over the birds, so that it settles gently and entraps them.

Some of the other species caught included 8 Kingfishers – of course one rarely sees more than one or two from the hides, so this gives some idea of how many individuals there are in the area. Water Pipits have long been known to winter at Colyford Common, and now three have been caught; the Report of the Group for 2007 includes a fine picture of a Water Pipit and a Meadow Pipit side by side in the hand, clearly showing the difference in leg colour and general plumage tones. 

The autumn’s catch included a Little Stint – only the third ever ringed in Devon, and a Green Sandpiper. At Seaton Marshes, 75 Shelduck were caught and ringed. Very few have previously been ringed in Devon and these birds may help us to know where our birds go in July-September. Many British Shelduck move to Europe, particularly to the Helgoland Bight for their annual moult (when they are flightless and vulnerable), but there are also moulting sites in such places as Bridgewater Bay. If our birds go there, will they be affected by the proposed Severn Barrage? 60 Wigeon were caught at Seaton Marshes in 2007; in 2006 one was caught bearing a Russian ring, placed on it some 4,700 km from Seaton, and in October 2007 another Wigeon ringed at Seaton was found shot at Satholm, Sjaelland, Denmark, 1,187 km. away.

Even though ringing has not been going on for very long, some surprisingly long-lived birds have been recaptured. A Wren ringed as an adult in June 2004 was recaptured in October 2007, just under 3½ years later, and a Dunnock ringed as an adult in May 2004 was recaptured in August 2007, again a bit less that 3½ years later. Shelduck, Mallard and Wigeon have all been retrapped in the year after they were ringed, showing that they are faithful to the Estuary, using it in successive years. Always check any dead bird that you may find for a ring. You can report ringed birds through the British Trust for Ornithology’s website (www.bto.org.uk) or Mike Tyler (mike@mwtyler.freeserve.co.uk). Be patient – it may take several weeks for a reply to come through from the BTO.

Finally, if you want to see what goes on at a ringing session, and to find out more about it, membership of the Axe Estuary Ringing Group is open to anyone interested on payment of a membership fee of £10. You will then be informed when ringing sessions are being held, be able to join in as an observer, and receive the Annual Report.