A BUMPER SUNDAY
- Anton Foreman
- Dec 3
- 2 min read
A Bumper Sunday: Recovery Signs and a New Species for the Trust
What a session! This past Sunday’s CES (Constant Effort Sites) ringing session was one for the books. It was a high-intensity morning that challenged our team but rewarded us with fantastic data and some very special avian visitors.
The Numbers at a Glance
It was an incredibly busy morning right from the start. We found ourselves with over 50 birds in the first round alone!
Total Birds Processed: 169
Same-Day Retraps: 12 (Birds caught twice in the session)
Total Unique Birds: 157
Total Species Count: 14
Blue Tit Recovery
The bulk of the work came from the 74 Blue Tits processed. While they can be "challenging" characters in the hand (as any ringer knows!), the data tells a promising story. The numbers suggest a strong recovery compared to last year's figures.
Notably, we had one Blue Tit recorded over 5 years old, ringed, bred and constantly returning to the Glade, giving us "hope" and indicating good survival rates among the adult population.
Star of the Day: The Mistle Thrush
The highlight of the session was undoubtedly a new species for the Glade Trust ringing records.
We successfully extracted and ringed a Mistle Thrush—a first for the reserve! This individual had been spotted acting territorially around the Rowan trees, likely guarding the berries. A massive congratulations to Ran, who extracted and ringed this beautiful bird.
Welfare First
With such high volume, the pressure was on. The intensity of the session—particularly that massive first round—required us to make quick, welfare-focused decisions.
To ensure the birds were processed and released as quickly as possible, we made the call to close a net early and skipped weighing a chunk of the birds. In ringing, the safety of the bird always comes before data collection, and getting them away safely was the priority.
Thank You!
A huge thank you to Ran, Lauren, and Tom. It was a demanding shift that required focus and hard work, but the team handled the pressure brilliantly to deliver a successful monitoring session.
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