Migration is very much in evidence in the LDV at present
as the first of the incoming winter visitors start to arrive. Our ringing
studies have already shown a link between the valley and 25 other countries as
well as information on movements within the UK. Recent recoveries include
a young Reed Warbler that was ringed at Wheldrake Ings on the 5th August,
moving 381 Km to the south to Fleet, Dorset in just 11 days on the first leg of
its migration. A Lesser Redpoll ringed near Melbourne in November 2015 was
re-trapped by ringers in Scotland, at Carluke, South Lanarkshire, 277 Km to the
north just a couple of weeks ago.
We’ve also just heard that one of the Herring
Gulls colour-ringed at the local landfill site in February this year, was
re-sighted off a trawler in the Barents Sea, Arctic Ocean, 2500 Km away,
showing that our ‘local’ birds aren’t quite as local as we might
think.

We’ve been fortunate over the last 20 years to ring 40
Ruff, the results of which have revealed much about their complex lifestyles
and movements, and this week we received another such movement. An adult
male, ringed in January 2015 as part of the resident wintering population at
North Duffield Carrs, was unfortunately found dead on the breeding grounds at
Tranøya, Senja, Tranøy, Troms, Norway, 1950 Km to the north-east of the valley. This
is the eighth international exchange we’ve recorded, and our second movement
between Norway, with a single bird from Sweden and five exchanges between the
Netherlands also recorded, showing just how international our ‘local’ birds
are. Up to 27 individuals are back in the valley now with numbers often peaking
around January and February with over 100 birds.
Please let us know if you come across any colour-ringed birds in
the valley on here or by leaving sightings in the hide log books provided,
thank you.