Outlaw Pete 2,224 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Willow Warbler! How mental's That though?! Trap baited with a pinch of bird seed! Boss reckons it was probably just that he saw an insect go in there and went after that. Makes sense. Oh, bless! Just sat and watched the little wren come hopping through my hedge and then have a crafty dust bath under my gate! Robins are out there too. But, I'm not after them. It's house sparrows I want. And, do you think I've seen them, since I got the license to catch the bloody things?! It's as if they said; " Look out! He's after us now! We'd better stay off his patch. " Bloody typical Devious little sods. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hot Meat 3,109 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 pete any chance of a bit of info on how you got licence to trap an ring birds, its something i have always been intrested in. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unlacedgecko 1,466 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Outlaw Pete, are you Ditchshitter? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
moxy 617 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Outlaw Pete, are you Ditchshitter? That's a bit personal isn't it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paulus 26 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Willow Warbler! How mental's That though?! Trap baited with a pinch of bird seed! Boss reckons it was probably just that he saw an insect go in there and went after that. Makes sense. Oh, bless! Just sat and watched the little wren come hopping through my hedge and then have a crafty dust bath under my gate! Robins are out there too. But, I'm not after them. It's house sparrows I want. And, do you think I've seen them, since I got the license to catch the bloody things?! It's as if they said; " Look out! He's after us now! We'd better stay off his patch. " Bloody typical Devious little sods. here you go Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fireman 11,003 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 I have dozens of sparrows in the ivy on my house and the greedy little buggers empty 2 hanging feeders twice a day,they cost more to feed than my own birds do .Another grand post OP and like geko am interested in the ringing side of things but can see lots of conflict with my chosen hobby and my own birds having hassle from those in authority with constant ring checks and i ain't catching all my birds up on a regular basis for no one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Outlaw Pete 2,224 Posted July 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Oh Meat! How I wish you could be in this room! I'd enthuse ye f**king head off! Go Here and follow the link in my second post. Everything's there For a bit of one to one though? What happens is; Ye ask them if there's a Trainer available in your neck of the woods. My boss is a nutter! He drives across a couple of counties to get to me! And it was hard work forcing him to accept the petrol money! Anyway; I'll use my case to illustrate ..... He turned up and put up a Mist Net. I'm taking it anyone here would know what that's all about? Caught some birds and he took them out and showed me how to hold and ring them. By the time he left, I'd ringed a bunch of birds. Of course, there's more to it than just catching birds and popping rings on them. We measure their wings and weigh them. Study esoteric shit about their feathers, to discern their age and gender. It all gets recorded and, eventually, fed into HQ. That's what we do. And, because I have shit loads of nest boxes up, I also got to ring all the chicks in those. And he's also an unbelievable nest finder! So we've spent a couple of seasons with him showing me the right code of conduct around an active nest. Yep. Checking my records book, we kicked off in April 2011. I got my license at the end of last year. I'm now allowed to ring any passerines in my nest boxes. Any whose nests I can find. And I'm allowed to set traps for house sparrows. But, I can also ring what ever else gets in there. Which is handy, because you hardly expect bloody blackbirds and willow warblers to turn up! Now, for the record; I don't use mist nets, because I can't use them. That's to say, I don't consider myself capable. My eyesight isn't what it used to be. And my fingers aren't so nimble. Wait till you're actually stood at a net and see what you think. Doesn't bother me. I have plenty of traps. One more thing I'd point out; Ringing isn't a cheap hobby! Once it's established that you like it and you and your Trainer can see it's kicking off for ye? Then you'll start wanting to get your own bits and pieces. And here we go ....! Pliers are about £40.00! That's just the One pair! (You'll end up with Three!) Then there's all the other little bits you feel you want your own of. Scales. Wing rule(s). There's a couple of books you simply Must Have. Even bird bags can become an obsession But, looking back? It's really down to you. Rings you can't buy. Can't have them till you have a license. Ye sit down with ye Trainer and figure out what you're likely to encounter in ye first season going it alone. How many of what species you predict ringing. Then, you pay your Trainer and He pays the BTO and gets you your own stock of rings. Once you have the license, of course. My rings are my pride and joy! I'm allowed to have them and I f**king well Earned that right! I'm A Ringer! Now, get through that link and get started down that road. I really do wish you absolutely all the very best with it. The pleasure I've got out of all this, since April '11 is indescribable. And it all started with me finding that link 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hot Meat 3,109 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 (edited) cheers for that pete, a well written out reply, iv run out of likes for today but ill be back to give you a well deserved 1. im away to look at your link an hopefully make some enquiries, i know where i am we get a lot of not so common birds an i also know there are a few little nature reserves which are run by a local bird club, so ill see if anybody that is involved there has a licence. i was shown mist nets in operation as a kid. i was a bit of a twitcher an egg collector whilst my mates were buzzing glue an drinking cider and was lucky enough to have a friend of family that travelled all over for rarities aswell as spend most his time local keeping his eye on the birds as he used to say. we visited a place in south wales called kenfig and got to watch the mist nets get set up an spent the day/dusk watching the catch being dealt with. iv kept loads of diffrent types of birds in cages aswell as pigeons, but none a them compare to watching the wild birds do what they do. thanks again ill let you know how i get on in future Edited July 7, 2013 by Hot Meat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Outlaw Pete 2,224 Posted July 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Paul; I imagine it's just a fluke 'trick of the light' or something. But, that hen bird? She doesn't half look ringed, doesn't she?! Fireman; Exactly, mate. Being involved in native birds in aviculture doesn't preclude one from being a ringer. But, as you can see for yourself, it could lead to aggro. Now, I must reiterate ~ because I've said it before ~ the BTO licenses ringing. And we're 'scientists'. Well; 'Bird Counters', to be brutally honest! We record shit and crunch the numbers we generate. What we don't do is run nature reserves. And we most certainly won't come round demanding to inspect your aviaries. That's simply not in our remit. That'd be another body altogether. Not us. But, yes; There's the simple possibility of some member of the public finding out that you catch birds to ring them. And you have aviaries full of the same birds ..... Gonna be a phone call, isn't there 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paulus 26 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Paul; I imagine it's just a fluke 'trick of the light' or something. But, that hen bird? She doesn't half look ringed, doesn't she?! Fireman; Exactly, mate. Being involved in native birds in aviculture doesn't preclude one from being a ringer. But, as you can see for yourself, it could lead to aggro. Now, I must reiterate ~ because I've said it before ~ the BTO licenses ringing. And we're 'scientists'. Well; 'Bird Counters', to be brutally honest! We record shit and crunch the numbers we generate. What we don't do is run nature reserves. And we most certainly won't come round demanding to inspect your aviaries. That's simply not in our remit. That'd be another body altogether. Not us. But, yes; There's the simple possibility of some member of the public finding out that you catch birds to ring them. And you have aviaries full of the same birds ..... Gonna be a phone call, isn't there more likely my skill with the camera is lacking a bit we have a hen here with white wing patches, she had reared young for the last 3 seasons that i know off, this is her last season, some of her offspring have the same trait Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Phil Lloyd 10,738 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 I love to see men exuding a genuine passion,.. about their chosen sport, pastime....etc For me, this is what truly separates the talkers ,... from the walkers.... 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
the_stig 6,614 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 pete got to say you came along at a time when thl needed some fresh input --I love reading your threads/posts don't be in a hurry to rush off this time 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unlacedgecko 1,466 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Outlaw Pete, are you Ditchshitter? That's a bit personal isn't it? Apologies, no offence meant. 'I withdraw the question your Honour.' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
moxy 617 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Lol. Atb Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hot Meat 3,109 Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 turns out there is a local bird ringing group and they operate in some pretty local places, thanks again pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.