Bird ringing is a type of ornithological monitoring. It generates information on the survival, productivity and movements of birds, helping us to understand why their populations are changing.
Ringing involves placing a lightweight, uniquely numbered metal ring around a bird’s leg. This ring is a reliable and harmless method of identifying individual birds. When these individuals are caught again, we gain essential information about how long they live, and how they move and migrate through the landscape. This knowledge is vital for bird conservation.
- The British and Irish Ringing Scheme is organised by BTO.
- Over 900,000 birds are ringed in Britain and Ireland each year by over 2,600 trained ringers, most of whom are volunteers.
- You can help by reporting any ringed bird you find. The annual report on bird ringing is published in the Ringing Scheme journal Ringing & Migration.
Monitoring bird populations
Although we have been ringing birds in Britain and Ireland for over 100 years, we are still discovering new facts about migration routes and wintering areas. However, the main focus of the Ringing Scheme today is monitoring bird populations.
Ringing allows us to study how many young birds leave the nest and survive to become adults, as well as how many adults survive the stresses of breeding, migration and severe weather. Changes in survival rates and other aspects of birds’ biology help us to understand the causes of population declines.
Such information is so important for conservation that BTO runs two special ringing projects to collect it:
- The Constant Effort Sites (CES) scheme provides information on population size, breeding success and survival of bird species living in scrub and wetland habitats.
- The Retrapping Adults for Survival (RAS) project gathers survival data for a wide range of species, particularly those of current conservation concern.
Learn more about why we ring birds.
How you can help
If you would like to help, you can:
- Look out for ringed birds and report them to us
- Consider training to become a ringer
Funding
The Ringing Scheme is funded by a partnership of the BTO and the JNCC on behalf of the statutory nature conservation bodies (Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, NatureScot and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland). Ringing is also funded by The National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) and the ringers themselves.
Buying rings and other ringing equipment
- Please visit the BTO Ringing Sales Shop to purchase all rings and other ringing equipment.