How to Become a Trained Bird Ringer

Bird ringing has been a fundamental element of ornithology for conservation purposes, since Danish teacher and Ornithologist Christian Cornelius Mortensen utilized it in 1899 for scientific purposes.

Chris Davis Conservation Officer for the Sussex Ornithological Society explains what bird ringing does for the bird population here and abroad and the importance of it all in the scheme of things.

“The initial “driving factor behind the Ringing Scheme was the desire to find out about movements and migrations of birds". Many other countries have ringing schemes and recoveries of ringed birds were used to compile the BTO Migration Atlas. "The Scheme aims to promote research that contributes to conservation and to advancing scientific knowledge of birds,” he explained.
Popularity of bird ringing

As numbers of volunteers for bird ringing rose in the UK in 2006, the importance for bird ringing as an integral part of learning about bird migration patterns, and effects of changes in global warming to the survival of certain species, grew and grew in importance.

As a chance to work closely with birds, Fraser Bell, a 2^nd year student studying Conservation Biology and Ecology at Exeter University, first experienced bird ringing before university at the age of 17.

“It was an opportunity to see them in the hand - understand the plumage and study what the differences between closely related species are,” he said. “It was also good for a future job - many experiments require birds to be individually marked to stop repeating them,” he added.

As universities and ornithological societies across the country are deeply involved in the process of ringing and of learning more research for scientific purposes; the central body for bird ringing is regulated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

Conservation Officer Chris Davis of the Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) says, “Potential ringers will normally have been put in touch with a local trainer by enquiring through the BTO. It is advisable to visit a ringing site as an observer several times before committing to training, as it requires early mornings and consistency in participation - also a trainer is a volunteer his/herself and may not have a vacancy at that particular time,” he added.

Bird ringing has become attainable for the volunteering public as well as students doing research for university projects.

BTO’s Stringent Regulations

Chris Davis clarifies how stringent the regulations and practices that are in place issued by the BTO to become an expert bird ringer, “Unless someone wishes to ring in a particularly narrow field i.e. just one species for research purposes, it is recommended that training continues for at least two years, to build up knowledge of a range of species, skills in extracting and handling live birds, identifying birds in the hand, understand aging and sexing techniques and moult sequences etc,” Chris explained. “It is necessary to obtain a trainee licence from the BTO, and it is the decision of the trainer when that person is judged competent enough to ring independently,” Chris added.

Three years in the making

Fraser Bell is now on his way to becoming a fully trained bird ringer: “I’m a licensed T, (trainee) then C (trained) A (can train others) - it costs about £20 a year. I’ve still got a long way to go as I’ve only been doing it a year and on average it takes three years to be trained. You get them through the BTO - everything is done via them, i.e. you buy the rings then send them your data,” he explained.

There is hundreds of bird ringing schemes throughout Europe and around the globe as far reaching as Australia and Pakistan, that efficiently keep track of birds on the ‘Red List’. As Chris states worries over plundering numbers of certain species of birds in the UK have become frequent. In Sussex “trends will usually tend to follow the national pattern with Red List species causing the most concern with regard to declining populations,” Chris commented, perhaps a growing effect of global warming?

Fraser Bell believes global warming is happening, whether this has had an effect on bird species dwindling in the UK, he remains dubious. “Yes climate change is happening: just now I’ve seen my first Swift – early. However the Warblers was in general on time, but was there a mismatch with the food source - I don’t know? Also with only this year’s trends (as I’ve only been doing it a while) I can’t say anything - in my opinion as it’s far too subjective,” he said.

Younger generations welcomed

Chris Davis explained how younger generations are more than welcome in Sussex to get involved in bird watching and eventually bird ringing, “Young people are welcome to join SOS and contribute to surveys or come on field outings, but we have no specific scheme to engage with younger people. All our fieldworkers and outings leaders are volunteers; whereas organisations such as Sussex Wildlife Trust and RSPB have greater resources to encourage interest in wildlife among children. SWT run school visits, holiday clubs and produce a special magazine and events for young people under the name "Watch” and the RSPB have youth groups called "Wildlife Explorers" and run local events - in our area at their Pulborough Brooks reserve,” he explained.

SOS’s role contributing to national statistics

A prominent ornithological society in the UK the SOS and their individual members of the BTO have contributed to scientific research, “Sussex fieldwork for many BTO surveys is carried out through the SOS, and over the last four years our members have been heavily involved in carrying out fieldwork for the new Atlas of Birds of the British Isles SOS volunteers also carry the Breeding Bird Survey, WeBs (Wetland Bird Survey). SOS was also involved in fieldwork for the previous BTO Atlas of Breeding Birds,” he explained.