Scotland And A Manchester Connection

Our ringing of migrant Siskins at Oakenclough paid off with an interesting recapture of ring number Z470850, a second year male Andy and I caught and ringed on 23 March 2016. This bird was recaptured by other ringers just 21 days later on 13 April 2016 near Fortrose, adjacent to the Moray Firth in the highlands of Scotland. This was a distance of 416kms. 

Google Earth shows this part of Scotland to be eminently suitable for breeding Siskins but it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the Siskin had further to go to its final destination, perhaps even Norway. 

Siskin - Oakenclough to Moray Firth

 

Siskin

We recently received information that a ringed Lesser Redpoll caught at Oakenclough had been ringed earlier in the same month of 2016 near Manchester. Details of this were published here on Another Bird Blog.

Now comes a similar recovery, a Lesser Redpoll with ring number D700694, another one ringed in the Manchester metropolis, this one on 11 Jan 2014 in a Walkden, Manchester garden. We recaptured D700694 more than 2 years later on 18 March 2016 at Oakenclough, 50 kms from Walkden. 

Lesser Redpoll - Manchester to Oakenclough

Lesser Redpoll

This recapture shows how ringing often provides clues as to what an individual bird may be up to but cannot always tell the full story. Where had this redpoll travelled to and from in the intervening two and a bit years? 

There is yet another outstanding Lesser Redpoll recovery beginning D948, details of which will reach us soon.  What’s the betting that this will prove to be another Manchester ringed bird? Ringers often buy in their rings in amounts of a thousand or more at a time, especially if they anticipate ringing lots of birds or if the price of rings is due to increase!

It’s staying cold with northerly winds here “Ooop North”, conditions which aren’t favourable to ringing but I’m hoping to get out birding tomorrow. If so read about it here on Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to World Bird Wednesday.