The recent posts have explored an exciting period where we have received word of birds we have ringed which have been found elsewhere--always an intriguing time. The Willow Warbler controlled in France was a new record for us, and just yesterday another new record was established when a Common Whitethroat ringed at Belvide was also controlled in France- our first Whitethroat control in 40 years!!
As you can see it's not a great distance from here, but it is consistent with the known migratory path of Common Whitethroat. They tend to fly in a south south westerly direction and spend the winter just south of the western Sahara in a region of semi desert called the Sahel. Birders and ringers in the late 60s noted a big decline in the number of Whitethroats in the UK and after some research it was found that the Sahel had suffered a series of drought years which was having a significant effect on the winter survival of those birds wintering there and hence the numbers returning to breed. I'm not sure if the conditions in the area have improved since then, or that the species has evolved to use a different wintering area, but their numbers are gradually increasing, and this year with over 70 birds ringed at Belvide we had a record year for Common Whitethroat--long may that continue.
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