Snippets fro Demon.......

 'Demon' is the name for the database on which all our ringing records are stored by the BTO--and also where any already ringed birds are reported if they are found again. This type of record has been the mainstay of the ringing scheme since it started just over 100 years ago; and from it we have built up a picture of the migration patters on our birds. Each record is a tiny bit of info--but by pooling lots of records we can find patters.

I've selected a few from the recent batch of reports--just to try to illustrate the kinds of ideas we can derive even from individual records--these are in no particular order of significance.

I've reported regularly on the big numbers of Siskin and lower but significant numbers of Redpoll ringed in Pats garden in mid Wales. These birds move around a lot and are relatively easy to catch so as expected we get lots of reports. For example, from the birds Pat ringed in March and April 2021, he has had Siskins retrapped by ringers in.....Wirrall, Cumbria, Gwynedd and Angus and Bute--mostly in April 2022. This clearly shows a complex dispersal of these birds which can turn up anywhere. It feels like this is an area ripe for someone to study in more depth to try and get to the bottom of why these birds find the need to disperse in such a way.

Beautiful male Siskin-- but where will it be headed??

We ring several hundred Chiffchaffs at Belvide each year, such as a bird ringed in September 2020, which was retrapped by a ringer last month ( April 2022) in North Yorkshire. Now was this a bird which bred in Yorkshire and we caught it en route to it's winter quarters; which has now found its way back to the breeding area--or is it a random event??

A Chiffchaff

Our new project at Patshull is already starting to generate some recoveries such as:-

A Fieldfare ringed in November '20 recovered in Mons, France in October '21--this bird will have returned to breed in northern Europe/Asia in Spring '21, after which it will have joined a migrating flock which decided to avoid crossing the North Sea and spent the winter in France. This is quite typical for this species and the other northern thrush we get, Redwing.

The Robins we see in winter are mostly British bred birds, but there are also some visitors from the continent; which are more prone to wandering than out own fairly static birds. This could be the Robin we caught at Patshull in March '21 which was recaught in N. Nidely, Glos.in December '21

A Robin--British or Continental....??

Just to prove that Pat's Siskins aren't the only wanderers, a Siskin caught in Abi's garden at

 Patshull April '21, was recaught in Cumbria in January '22.

Sometimes it can also be very useful to record birds again, showing that they DON'T move. This helps us build a picture of good breeding areas among other things.

So the Yellowhammer ringed at Brewood Park Farm in November '18 and recaught in March '22 at the same site clearly demonstrates the success the bird is having at the farm, and pleases the farm owners that they are helping such endangered species.

One of our regular Yellowhammers at BP Farm

Finally--a matter of chance always plays a part in such matters. What are the chances of this happening?

Paul ringed ( among other things) 2 juvenile Blue tits and an adult male Chaffinch at Brewood Park on 14th December 2018--nothing particularly remarkable about that....until last week on 27th April 2022, when the same three birds turned up in the same net almost 3.5 years later!! Isn't birding great......

Thanks mainly to Sam for his regular reports from Demon--and other team members who feed me the data to generate these blogs.