A combination of cold weather and lockdown meant that no birds were ringed this month. There were a few sightings of ringed birds, including a near-20-year-old Polish Black-headed Gull and two sibling Mute Swans from Bedfont near Staines.
The Danish Black-headed Gull was seen again on 7th and details of a Polish Black-headed Gull (below) on 18th were received, approaching 20 years since it was ringed as a pullus.
With ringing restricted to private properties just eight birds of six species were ringed, at two gardens.
Some members took the brief time between lockdowns to check out the three Tundra Bean Geese at Laleham and a Siberian Chiffchaff was reported at Dorney. Otherwise, there was the Garden Birdwatch from 29th to 31st - and a couple of recoveries to make us envious of travel without restrictions! One, a Blackcap ringed at Bedfont in August last year was recaptured, thirty-one days later, in Faro, Portugal, 1,700km SSW. This is a common route to Africa for British Blackcaps, but a marvel nonetheless.
Nocturnal recordings continued in the New Year: there were small numbers of Redwing on each night, but totalling just eleven for the month (compared to the hundreds passing over in autumn), and a very clear Coot over on 1st.
River Thames colour-ring sightings at Windsor increased to 131 from 36 Mute Swan, two Canada Geese and four Black-headed Gulls. From only four gulls we get ringing sites in Essex, Denmark, The Netherlands and Poland. That's certainly encouragment to keep recording; though photographing metal rings is certainly more challenging than reading colour-rings!
