Bird Ringing and Not-So-Common-Gulls

On Saturday the 25th March we had another successful bird ringing drop in where we caught 35 wild birds! 

Five of these birds were 'retraps' - birds we have previously fitted with a ring with a unique number and have caught again in one of our mist nets.  One of the retraps was Blue Tit which we discovered was at least 3 years old - not bad for a small bird in the wild!

For the Woodpecker fans we also re-caught a male Greater Spotted Woodpecker which was looking in great shape for the breeding season.

Of the new birds, we had a surprising catch in the woodland at the Visitor Centre, of three Common Gulls (see photo).  Unlike their name suggests, they are not that common these days.  Common Gull's are fitted with bigger E size rings, so if you spot a Gull with a metal ring on it in Lochaber, please try and get a photo as you might be able to read the ring number.  You can then feed this information to the BTO Ringing scheme, here!

Keep an eye out here and on our Facebook page for more bird ringing dates coming out in the next few weeks!