17th March: First colour ringed Godwit

Yesterday I saw a Black-tailed Godwit with colour rings briefly at the back of the drained lagoon at Shapwick Heath, but couldn't see the combination as the legs were mostly under the water. Luckily the bird was still there this morning and showing off its bling nicely. A quick bit of googling reveals it to be  (unsurprisingly) from an Icelandic ringing project. I've sent the details off to the co-ordinator of the scheme, so hopefully will soon have the details of the birds life history. It was one of 12 Black-tailed Godwits on the scrape this morning, along with a Redshank, waders are clearly on the move now, and i'll be keeping a close eye on that lagoon to see what else drops in.

The colour-ringed Godwit

Colour ringing is a great method of discovering the life history of a bird. Unlike conventional ringing (where birds are fitted with a small single ring engraved with a unique code, which can only be read if the bird is retrapped by another ringer), birds are fitted with a unique combination of colour rings, which can be read by an observer in the field. This obviously allows for may more opportunities for the bird to be recorded. Mark Grantham of the British Trust for Ornithology has written an excellent piece on the subject here on the Birdguides website.

One of the ever-present Great White Egrets

I finally managed to catch up with the Black-necked Grebes that have moving around the Avalon Marshes reserves. It was a surprise to see 3 together though, I think theres only been 2 recorded so far this winter.

3 distant Black-necked Grebes

Over at Ham Wall RSPB, the Pied-billed Grebe was still showing well, a month after it first turned up. It was calling frequently, presumably desperately looking for a mate.

Pied-biled Grebe mid-call