colour ringed Greenshank

In my last blog (Sunday 25 January) I mentioned the colour ringed Greenshank and promised to post details of it. So, thanks to the marvels of modern communications (ie. internet) and rapid replies from the UK (thanks to Pete Potts and Anne de Potier of the Farlington Ringing Group; for more information on their Greenshank project, go to http://www.greenshank.info/index.asp).

So, herewith the life story, which is quite a long and interesting one, YL-NY (yellow over green on the left tibia, black over yellow on the right tibia, above the leg joint, as can be seen from the photo taken when it was ringed in September 2005, and there is a photo composite of the bird where both rings and radio tracking antenna can be seen, which was taken by Teo on 21 January 2008 when he saw it up-river.

8.9.2005 Ringed Thorney Island, Chichester Harbour, Sussex, UK as a juvenile.

3.1.2006 Sighting at Peñon de Zapata, c 3km inland from mouth of R Guadalhorce, Malaga, Spain by Angel García López (reported as YG NY but subsequently confirmed as YL NY), reported by Andy Paterson. Noted as having deformed lower mandible.

12.4.2006 Sighting at Guadalhorce ponds, by Andy Paterson. Andy said it was one of 5 that arrived night of 11/12 April, 3 very tired including this one. Moved out by the following morning.

10.8.2006-2.11.2006 Reported on several occasions at Thorney Island by Barry Collins (all Thorney sightings are his.)

12.9.2007 First autumn record of the season at Thorney (UK).

28.10.2007 It was retrapped and radiotagged at Thorney. It was in and around the area regularly from 29.10.07 to 21.11.2007 (last detection; the last sighting was 16.11.07).

21.1.2008 Sighting at Rio Grande, near Pizarra, Malaga province by Teo Todorov

26.2.2008 Sighting at Guadalhorce ponds, by Andy Paterson. It was asleep, with 4 other birds.

17.4.2008 Sighting at Thorney Island (UK).

31.7.2008, 20.8.2008, 31.8.08 Sightings at Thorney Island (UK).

24 & 25.1.2009 Sighting at Guadalhorce ponds, by Andy Paterson and Antonio Tamayo.

If that isn't an incredible series of sightings, what is? It really does illustrate beautifully the information that can be obtained from ringing, and in this case colour ringing. On a romantic side, one could even make a decent attempt to construct a story around it and make a decent guess as to where it had been in the gaps in time.

So, if you see any colour ringed birds of any species, try to note what the colours were,. their position, read the code if there is one and, if possible, take a photograph of the bird. You will be helping science!