The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Note from Irene Boston about stonechats;

I’m a survey volunteer at Dersingham Bog [a few miles north of King's Lynn, Norfolk] and since 2012, I’ve been involved in the colour-ringing project for Stonechats based at the reserve, which is run in collaboration with Natural England, the BTO and NNRG, along with other site volunteers. The project aims to survey and colour ring breeding Stonechats on Dersingham Bog and record adults and juveniles seen outside the breeding season, both on the reserve and elsewhere in Norfolk.

We’re conscious that as birds disperse from Dersingham Bog, they are just as likely to turn left along the Wash coast into Lincolnshire as they are to head north up the Wash. We’ve already had reports of our ringed birds inland as far as Thetford as well so they have already shown they can turn up at considerable distances from their natal site.

The number of breeding pairs of Stonechats on the reserve has risen dramatically in recent years, resulting in high numbers of ringed birds dispersing from the site. 2016 was a very successful season with 13 pairs producing 95 juveniles, all of which were ringed. This follows on from 2015 with 10 pairs producing 51 ringed juveniles.

The colour-ring combination used on all Stonechat nestlings at Dersingham Bog is a grey plastic ring over a metal ring on the right leg, with two colour rings on the left leg. Since breeding numbers have increased, so many young Stonechats have been ringed that the order of the rings on the right leg had to be changed in order to give us more options. So from 2016 onwards, some broods sport a metal ring over a grey plastic ring on the right leg, a reverse of the original order, as well as a variable two colour combination on the left leg.

A new website has just been launched which gives further details of the project and provides an easy way of reporting sightings of colour-ringed birds. https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/1d2dBTRlvXSk

Another avenue for reporting sightings is via the Twitter feed - https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/VANABSYAvKTa

or direct via email - mailto: northwestnorfolkstonechats@gmail.com

Many thanks.

Regards,
Irene Boston

_________________
-------------------------------


Contact: recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

Anyone else going to post this!!