Welcome to the LDV NNR ringing blog, this blog is designed to share the experiences, findings and tales from a group of dedicated ringers. We specialise in conservation orientated research projects, largely focusing on wildfowl, waders, owls and birds of conservation concern, in and around the Vale of York NNR's.

NB - Whilst the purpose of this blog was initially designed to cover our nationally important wildfowl ringing activities, it now also features wildlife and work posts, explaining how we manage the NNR for both wildlife and people.

For daily sightings please visit our Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ldv_nnr (@LDV_NNR)

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Thursday 17 January 2019

11/01/19 - Winter visitors

Our wintering population of Whooper Swans has increased recently with up to 97 birds counted in the wintering herd over the last week or two, including 34 young, suggesting a relatively successful breeding season in Iceland. It’s always nice to welcome them back each winter, and this year we’ve been fortunate to spot two old friends – C3S and G5F – both ringed here in 2007. However, unfortunately, we have recently picked up four sick and dying immature birds, which as part of our contribution to the Avian Flu monitoring scheme have been tested, but as of yet, have come back clear. Last week we sadly picked up another sick youngster which unfortunately died on the way to the vets. However, Mark and the fantastic team at Battle Flatts Vets at Stamford Bridge very kindly, and at no cost, x-rayed the bird for us, revealing the cause for its demise. As can be seen from the x-ray, the bird has over 70 pieces of lead shot in its gizzard – picked up with grit in order help grind up and digest its food. Lead shot has been banned in England since 1999 for the shooting of waterfowl and over wetlands – so this lead may have recently been illegally used, or it may be locked in the sediment at the bottom of ponds, the river or other areas – we’ll be investigating in the valley and trying to take action to address old deposits if we can locate them. Many thanks to Jean Thorpe and Battle Flatts for their expert help and advice.



If you fancy a real life ‘wild goose chase’ then why not get yourself down to the valley and see what you can find? The flocks of familiar Greylags and Canada Geese are often joined by scarcer relatives, and so careful searching of these flocks is essential to unearth one of these globe-trotting visitors. Pink-feet, Bean, Barnacle and Brent can all occur (along with the odd Egyptian Goose which breed near-by), and at present we have a flock of European White-fronted Geese present at Bank Island. The White-fronted Goose is most easily distinguished from other geese by the white flash on its forehead and around its bill, the dark stripes on its belly and its rather bright orange legs, being somewhat darker and smaller than our similar Greylags. White-fronted Geese are another of our winter visitors, coming to the UK from Greenland and Siberia, for the ‘warmer’ climate. Birds that breed in Greenland winter in Ireland and the west coast of Scotland, whilst birds from northern Europe and Siberia winter in southern England. We are on the very western edge of the population’s wintering range hence only small numbers occur in the country; though numbers can vary considerably particularly in relation to severity of winter weather. It’s likely that the present influx which has also seen several flocks along the north east coast is in response to birds moving out of these countries.


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