Ringing? So, You Want To Be A Ringer ....?

[J Darcy 5,871]

totally awesome thread........

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Do you get allocated a certain amount of rings per year ? do you have to pay for the rings or does the bto pay ?.

 

 

Initially, you'll be using the rings your Trainer gets out of that amazing case. My boss always refused to accept a cent off me, towards his rings. Even though I soon worked out that my starling boxes colony alone was eating up a couple of euros worth a session!

 

I think I've read that some of the bigger, group sessions ~ at nature reserves, eg. Where there may be quite a crowd of people and swarms of birds may be expected ..... I think they may accept some token donation towards the cost of the rings.

 

Point being; Yes. The owner of the rings had to pay for them out of their own pocket.

 

Now, as a Trainee, you're not allowed to hold any rings at home, let alone buy them. Your Trainer brings them and takes them away again.

 

When you get ye C Permit ....? You go weak! Because that's when ye get to sit down and drool over those delicious price lists of All those lovely rings and decide how many of which ye reckon you'll need to be getting on with!

 

But, even then, You can't actually buy them. No. You write up your shopping list. Hand that to ye Trainer. Give them the money and They tack your wants onto their own order. BTO doesn't even know which ones are yours. Because it doesn't matter to them.

 

Your Trainer is held responsible for the rings They ordered. He gives them over to you, to use when he's not there. But He's still liable for them.

 

Remember that. You f**k up and it's your Trainer who feels the heat. Don't Ever let them down!

[Mr Wilkes 3,026]

Feck me im going to use up all my "likes" on this thread.. cheers pete im getting a list together of bird ringing questions

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

I see a bird, I take a pic and if its say a x bill my knickers get wet i suppose the same as when you find something "exotic" in one of your traps,

 

 

 

I'd be a liar if I didn't openly admit that, yes; Some (perhaps many?) birds would be sexier to catch and handle than others. Hmm. Just sat and thought about it for a bit there. Damned if I could come up with a single species that I'd call particularly 'sexy'!

 

Ooh! Song Thrush! Would ye believe that? See, I have this song thrush gets about in my 'garden' here. I'm not allowed to go after it (My own endorsement permits only the deliberate effort to catch sparrows, remember) But, I'm gagging to see it in my bosses mist net!

 

Funny that, isn't it? I thought about sparrow hawks, ravens, even swans. But, no. It's actually that gorgeous, endearing little song thrush that really gets my juices flowing. Goes to show .....

[jeppi26 1,855]

Absolute cracking topic hat off to you pete

[Mr Wilkes 3,026]

Pete, do the traps you use have to be approved by the bto or could you make your own ?.

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Mr Wilkes; There's really no hard and fast rules regarding our traps and nets. Except for those which state such and such needs an Endorsement. Mist nets require an endorsement.

 

Just to refresh; An Endorsement is, basically, where your Trainer teaches you how to do something. You demonstrate your proficiency at it, to him. He tells HQ you're proficient. HQ adds that aspect to your Permit. A bit like getting different quarry or calibres added to a FAC.

 

But traps? Bit more subjective, isn't it? My permit endorsement states " Small traps for sparrows ". Thinking about it? I suppose the Ringing Committee would happily accept that that pretty well means any trap I can pick up and walk around with?

 

At the moment, the stuff I set on a daily basis are my Potter traps and that rather exquisite little Trap Cage our Dean made for me. They're all under a foot square so, obviously, are well inside my remit.

 

I do have various other, small, traps here. Stuff deemed perfectly acceptable. But, to me? Naah. I'm not comfortable with the potential levels of discomfort they may cause a captive bird.

 

That said? My own ones are virtual antiques. Made to take sparrows as pests (or ferret food). Same thing, made with much smaller, welded mesh? Yes.I'd be happy with that.

 

Anyway; Just occurred to me I'd completely forgotten what the original bloody question was! I was lost in a world of bird traps there ~ a warm and lovely place!

 

Yes. The BTO doesn't actually make and sell Any traps or nets. They buy in and retail Mist Nets. But, traps? It's down to us to seek out the people making them and buy what we want. Or make them ourselves. I buy mine in. I could never hope to achieve the quality of craftsmanship of the stuff I can buy.

 

And, yes; I'll more than happily entertain PM's from anyone out there who makes and sells top quality bird traps!

 

[Mr Wilkes 3,026]

Cmon guys aint there no-one got any questions for pete ?..

 

Another for you pete, im a long netter/netsman and we use different types of twine and mesh sizes for different situations/species does this also apply to mist netting or any other style of net to catch birds for ringing ?.

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

No need to canvass for questions. I'm explaining all I'm asked, to the best of my ability. I'm quite sure anyone wanting to enquire as to another aspect will.

 

Nets? Oh, most certainly, yes. Mist nets alone are used in a variety of forms. Obviously, as I don't personally have much to do with them, I can't give any deeply authoritative answer. But, yes, I see people talking ~ in the private places Ringers discuss all and sundry ~ about various types.

 

There are different numbers of 'shelves'. Different meshes. Different materials. (Shelves, by the way, for anyone who can't visualise this, are horizontal areas of 'bag'. Delineated by the running cords stretched between the anchoring poles)

 

Generally speaking then, Mist nets are made of small meshed, black, very fine material. Silk or nylon, I believe. Horrible things! I'd pull a bird apart, trying to get it out of one! I'm just so butter fingered and blind now.

 

In the hands of a competent operator though? Amazing! Bird flies into one. Drops into the 'bag'. Most often just lays there. Like it's having a snooze in a hammock.

 

They don't tend to panic, strangely enough. Just go completely limp and lay there, in the folds of mesh. Ye'd think they'd struggle, like a fly in a spiders web, wouldn't ye? Well, they don't. Not as a rule.

 

That's mist nets, anyway. Made of thread so thin it's like sewing cotton. Apart from them though? Yeppers. There's all manner of other nets we might use.

 

Now, at this point, I must apologise and explain something: The BTO, not that long ago, sent every ringer an email. It concerned our use of 'social media' and, basically, wagged the big finger at us! We were warned, as a whole, to watch what we said. Because, even ringing attracts its Anti's and, as we know, those wankers will try Anything to slate us.

 

Well, if anyone can take my own, all consuming passion for what I do, out of context, and use it to smear ringing? They should be in politics! But, no way am I going to play into Anybody's bad hands by disclosing information which unauthorised people simply should have no use for.

 

You with me? You Tube is full of instructions on how to catch birds. I can't stop that. But, I'll certainly not upset HQ by disclosing stuff they wouldn't even tell me, till I qualified for my C Permit.

 

This is why I'll only ever refer to the mechanisms and details of traps / nets here in the most basic terms.

 

But, yeah. Nets can, as You'd know, Mr Wilkes, be made of anything from silken thread to tow rope. Personally? I like a 'Throw' type net. One that covers the bird against the ground. And I like it made of strong, maybe 1mm or so, twisted nylon type thread.

 

I'm happier with a bird being eased downwards and lightly encumbered there. Then, I can just hold him where he is, beneath the net, with one hand. Reach under with the other hand. Ringers Grip. Job's a good'n.

 

[KittleRox 2,147]

anti ringers ffs

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

You better believe it, KR!!! I'm still a registered member of a Birders forum ~ as in, 'Bird Watchers'. And they have a board there for discussion of ringing. ('Banding', as it's known in USA).

 

I was quietly reading there, one day, when this f**king Lunatic launched into the thread! Foaming at the mouth. Screaming like a loon. Shrieking about " Bird Fondler's " and christ knows what.

 

But, here's the best bit ..... This idiot hadn't posted in Years, on that forum. He just popped up, screeching like a scalded terrier, when we mentioned bird ringing.

 

And, ye wanna know the Very Best bit ....?

 

He was a f**king Moderator!!! :icon_eek:

 

Never heard of him before or since. Don't go there any more. No point.

 

[KittleRox 2,147]

you already know this pete but I'll say it anyway, you guys are doing your bit to "conserve" species and to have anti ringers is frankly mental, I would've said "unbelievable" but we know these antis aren't right

 

ps not wanting to spoil the thread talking about anti types

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Whooooahhh!!!! Just this minute come into my Mailer. A heads up from head quarters! Get a load of This, people ....!

 

" A series of apparent ‘ringing groups’ set up on Twitter with a link to easygiving (a fundraising site) have been drawn to our attention. These groups also appear on Facebook. They appear to have been set up to raise money. The straplines of these groups are either:

Originally:

We monitor the population and movement of birds for scientific study, in order to conserve species.

OR

More recently:

A virtual Group supporting ringing in your historic County. Conserving species and their habitat through scientific study.

They use vice county or county names. None of them are BTO ringing groups.

Please note that there are some BTO ringing groups on Twitter with a link to easygiving, but the wording used for them is different. There are also BTO ringing groups on Facebook. If you are in doubt about any group, please contact me.

These apparent ‘ringing groups’ are currently being investigated. In the mean time we suggest that you do not communicate with any of them, or sign up to donate. "

b*****ds!!!

[stealthy1 3,964]

Well its gone a bit quiet on here

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Gone quiet with me, mate. Retrapped a couple of Great Tits, the other day. Other than that? Bugger all moving.

 

Time of year. Moult, coupled with tons of natural foods. Why should they come to my traps?