She noticed that it was ringed, and with eagle eyes (and binoculars), took a note of the colour and numbers/letters on the ring! She sent this info, along with details of where the bird was spotted to Dr Larry Griffin at WWT Caerlaverock.
This bird was last seen in January 2016 at a similar location on Nith and at Lantonside, so it’s been a couple of years. It was ringed 24/7/98 as a juvenile female at Ny Aalesund.
1. It is important that people only record codes of which they are 100% certain.
2. Colour and code is all that’s needed, plus date, time and a grid ref and approximate flock size.
He explains that it is far better to record one ring that is 100% than 10 rings that are only 95% sure, as the latter are not useful and devalue the observations of others who have taken the time to get the code correct.
If we can report the details to Larry on this email address at the end of the winter, e.g. April (when it still feels like winter!) that would be useful as it concentrates the reporting into one period.
If you don’t have an OS map handy, here are a couple of grid reference finders on the web that we have used:
https://gridreferencefinder.com/
And do let us know if you spot any interesting wildlife (or something with a story)! Contact us at caerlaverockcommunity@gmail.com or through our Facebook Page