The New Forest Biodiversity Forum is supporting the long-term monitoring of breeding raptors through sponsorship of the New Forest Raptor Monitoring Group (NFRMG). Further details about the programme can be found here, and a summary of the 2024 season can be found here. Below, the team provides details of how observers can contribute to a new Goshawk colour-ringing project.
2024 is the first year of our project to colour ring Goshawk chicks to go alongside our contribution to a long-standing national colour ringing project of Honey Buzzard. In summer 2024 we colour ringed a total of 70 Goshawk chicks, using red colour rings with individual codes comprising combinations of three white capital letters.
Goshawk chick with red colour ring 'CLB'
With the surge in popularity of digital wildlife photography, and bird photography in particular, there are many images out there where the quality of the photographer and their equipment makes it possible to read colour ring combinations; this helps us to understand the movements of individual birds without the considerable expense of GPS tracking of individuals. While there are inevitable limitations to the data we can gather, the rings are fitted during our nest monitoring work at the same time as the birds are fitted with their unique BTO ring, so doesn't add to our workload or create additional disturbance of the birds. The image below, taken by one of our team, provides a nice example of what can be achieved.
Digital image showing juvenile Goshawk photographed on 01 Aug 2024; the image was of sufficient quality that the colour ring code could be read, revealing that this bird was one of a brood of three chicks ringed on 01 June 2024 at a nest about 15 km away.
We are therefore asking all local birders and bird photographers to look out for colour ringed Goshawks and to send us any responsibly taken images where the three letter combination can be read. We are also keen to receive reports and images of any dead or injured Goshawks found in and around the New Forest that are carrying metal BTO rings, as these may relate to birds ringed locally in previous years. Reports and images of ringed Goshawks can be submitted direct to Tommy Saunders, who is leading on the colour ringing project, at the following e-mail address:
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