Bird Ringing at Treswell

     Spearheaded by John McMeeking, ringing in the wood commenced in December 1972. A throughout-the-year, constant-effort programme was subsequently developed and has run continuously from 1978. Seven  ‘standard sites’ are each visited five times a year. At each visit 10 mist nets of total length 180 meters are set.  These nets are always set in exactly same location each time. Additional nets may be set during visits in non-standard places according to opportunity. Every net location is recorded to a resolution of 60 metres. 
    Treswell Wood enjoys a very high recapture rate of its ringed birds. Recaptures are particularly valuable: indeed the whole purpose of ringing is to be able to follow the lives of individual birds. Each recapture tells us more about the bird's survival and movement (or, very often, extremely sedentary behaviour). Recaptures are also vital in helping to improve knowledge of ageing and sexing techniques. By looking at the history of recaptured birds we can check that we are ageing adults as adult and determining sex consistently. But there are always some birds which have display aberrant features: the Great Spotted Woodpecker captured with 'two unmoulted, red-tipped, juvenile crown feathers' had, in fact, been ringed 10 years previously. Ringers (even experienced ones) beware.