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Colour ringing

 The study of bird migration has long fascinated ornithologists all over the world. With the start of bird marking with metal rings engraved with a unique code, it was possible to determine the distance travelled by a given individual and the life span of migratory birds.

For specific research based on the individual decisions made by birds, colour rings were fitted alongside the metal ring, producing a combination of colours (or characters) that is unique to each individual. The huge advantage of colour-ringing over traditional ringing is that while birds wearing solely metal rings have to be re-captured to record information, colour-ringed birds only have to be caught once. After being fitted with colour-rings they can be identified from distance with the aid of a telescope.

At the heart of the Icelandic Godwit research is the marking and tracking of individual Godwits with colour-rings. Birds have been caught and marked on the breeding grounds (both as chicks and adults) on autumn migration, at winter sites throughout the range and on arrival in Iceland. This allowed Project Jaðrakan to embrace the contribution of keen bird-watchers over the species distribution range.

Icelandic Godwits are marked with light-weight plastic coloured rings and flags. The combinations vary according to the scheme in which they were ringed (see Colour-schemes). The first colour-ringing projects began in 1993 and some of these birds are still alive today. The long legs of Icelandic Godwits make them an ideal species for colour-ringing studies, as the quite large (c. 15mm) rings can be seen at considerable distances.

 So far, around 2,000 Icelandic Godwits have been colour-ringed as part of Project Jağrakan, which translates to approximately 3% of the whole population being individually marked.

Adults
Chicks
UK
774
-
774
Iceland
544
302
846
France
136
-
126
Ireland
2
-
2
Portugal
99
-
99
Totals
1545
302
1847

 Thanks to the tremendous efforts and contribution of a vast network of volunteer observers across the species range, we are in the unique position of being able to track large numbers of birds throughout their annual migration. Our sightings databases already contain tens of thousands of sightings and our understanding of this migratory system grows with each new sighting. Everyone is invited to contribute sightings and all observers receive details of the previous sightings of the birds they have observed.


 
 

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