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Ring ouzel migration (1 Viewer)

gareth_blockley

gareth_blockley

Smile people
Is it me or is this year a very good year for Ring ouzels?
There seem to be a lot being reported, especially more quite close to me (oxon, bucks) in places they weren't last year. Some of these sites are fairly small too.

Has any one else noticed a difference? Do we as a country experience peaks and troughs in numbers over the years?


Gareth
 
I've seen 5 or six different birds in the last two days, so yes it seems like a very good spring in Wirral at least. There has been a general decline in early Spring records and a slight increase later sping in autumn records which I took to be as a result of a reduction in UK breeding birds.
 
gareth_blockley said:
Is it me or is this year a very good year for Ring ouzels?
There seem to be a lot being reported, especially more quite close to me (oxon, bucks) in places they weren't last year. Some of these sites are fairly small too.

Has any one else noticed a difference? Do we as a country experience peaks and troughs in numbers over the years?


Gareth
Click to expand...


Hi Gareth

I will watch this thread. I saw my first UK ring ouzel last week in inland Sussex. I was really chuffed! They are listed as a scarce passage spring migrant in Sussex and I saw it in a completely unexpected place.

Joanne
 
I counted 9 Ring Ouzels on a walk I did in North Yorkshire. 6 males, 2 I could not sex and 1 female were noted. So if any one knows of any ouzel totty send them up here the ladies are in short supply. Gareth W.
 
gareth_blockley said:
Is it me or is this year a very good year for Ring ouzels?
There seem to be a lot being reported, especially more quite close to me (oxon, bucks) in places they weren't last year. Some of these sites are fairly small too.
Click to expand...

Hi Gareth,

In Bucks we're having a good year - above average but nothing too out of the ordinary.

We're recording birds from two sites - the Ivinghoe Hills (a traditional stop-off), and Quainton Hill. The Rouzel records from the latter are more a reflection of the great efforts of one observer than anything else - they may have been using the site for years).

Birds were seen at both sites last year, too.

Hope that's of interest,

Ben
 
Do Ring Ouzels tend to stop off at the same migration staging posts each year? I had my first pair last year at a local headland, on the 23rd April, and have been making early morning trips up there this year, hoping against hope to see them again. Thought I was a bit barmy, reckoned the chances must be a million to one (they´re very rare in Ireland now). But if they really use the same regular stop-offs then I might keep on getting up at 6am for another week or two!
 
There was one on my local patch both yesterday and today, in a large field used for grazing horses.

After failing to find one, recently, in a more traditional stop-over area a few miles away, it was nice to have one just around the corner from where I live
 
First 2 males on territory on 4th april (Central Perthshire) at a site which had no singing males last year -hope they stay & find females.
 
Sancho said:
Do Ring Ouzels tend to stop off at the same migration staging posts each year?
Click to expand...


They certainly seem to. The same locations are mentioned every year on the various bird information systems.

I'm not sure if it's the same birds choosing traditional sites, though, or whether particular spots just appear good for any passing Ouzel that happens to be in the area.

One thing for certain, once a site turns up a bird on more than one occasion, then birders will concentrate on that particular area and inevitably find even more!

Several years ago our county ornithological society published an article on finding Ring Ouzels in Leicestershire and Rutland and horse paddocks in April were identified as a prime site to search. Since then, most (though not all) records seem to have come from prominent hilly areas in the county, so the one near to me over this weekend was 'back to form' for the species.
 
Sancho said:
Do Ring Ouzels tend to stop off at the same migration staging posts each year?
Click to expand...

I think they probably do, Sancho (but whether they are the same birds?!;) ) - they are a fairly common passage migrant in Sussex, particularly to the east of Brighton where I live, in the Autumn months when Ive seen them in the past, and commonly within a few miles of the coast. In Spring, over the past few years, numbers are up and this year seems a particularly good influx by all accounts. Of course, one can never be sure if these 'regular' sites are the result of the same coverage of observers or indeed, increases are due to better coverage/reporting overall but judging by the reports and comments from other birders in the local area, this seems to be a 'good year'. It will be interested to observe the return passage in the Autumn as this could be indicative of the larger picture this year in the UK.

Out of interest, does anyone know the various migration/movement of their locally sighted non-residential ouzels? We caught a few arrivals that were presumably on Autumn passage a last year in Scotland - so it seems our British ones are both from continental Europe and from Scandinavia?
 
Last edited:
deborah4 said:
I think they probably do, Sancho (but whether they are the same birds?!;) ) - they are a fairly common passage migrant in Sussex, particularly to the east of Brighton where I live, in the Autumn months when Ive seen them in the past, and commonly within a few miles of the coast. In Spring, over the past few years, numbers are up and this year seems a particularly good influx by all accounts. Of course, one can never be sure if these 'regular' sites are the result of the same coverage of observers or indeed, increases are due to better coverage/reporting overall but judging by the reports and comments from other birders in the local area, this seems to be a 'good year'. It will be interested to observe the return passage in the Autumn as this could be indicative of the larger picture this year in the UK.

Out of interest, does anyone know the various migration/movement of their locally sighted non-residential ouzels? We caught a few arrivals that were presumably on Autumn passage a last year in Scotland - so it seems our British ones are both from continental Europe and from Scandinavia?
Click to expand...


Got my first this morning, Beddington SF. Been there for a few days.
 
Hi Gareth,
Seems a great year to me... found my first local bird today -& it is NOT a usual place -just the opposite. This is the first for my patch, which gets a thorough grilling every spring. See "My Birding Day" thread.
Maybe they'll be annual from now on, like the Wheatears.
H
 
Ouzel info

Sancho said:
Do Ring Ouzels tend to stop off at the same migration staging posts each year?
Click to expand...
Hi All

As a Ring Ouzel is one of my bogey birds does any one know of any showing
I am travelling from Birmingham to London tomorrow with time for a detour if any one has any good tips
(or if not is there any other spots i could stop for a break at) B :)

Obe
 
obestevens said:
Hi All

As a Ring Ouzel is one of my bogey birds does any one know of any showing
I am travelling from Birmingham to London tomorrow with time for a detour if any one has any good tips
(or if not is there any other spots i could stop for a break at) B :)

Obe
Click to expand...
Check out the LROS website - there were six at a site yesterday and three seem still to be there. The site is quite close to the M1 so en route for you.
 
deborah4 said:
I think they probably do, Sancho (but whether they are the same birds?!;) ) - they are a fairly common passage migrant in Sussex, particularly to the east of Brighton where I live, in the Autumn months when Ive seen them in the past, and commonly within a few miles of the coast. In Spring, over the past few years, numbers are up and this year seems a particularly good influx by all accounts. Of course, one can never be sure if these 'regular' sites are the result of the same coverage of observers or indeed, increases are due to better coverage/reporting overall but judging by the reports and comments from other birders in the local area, this seems to be a 'good year'. It will be interested to observe the return passage in the Autumn as this could be indicative of the larger picture this year in the UK.

Out of interest, does anyone know the various migration/movement of their locally sighted non-residential ouzels? We caught a few arrivals that were presumably on Autumn passage a last year in Scotland - so it seems our British ones are both from continental Europe and from Scandinavia?
Click to expand...


Hi Deborah,
I've had a look in The Migration Atlas. The Ring Ouzels we see in the UK all winter in the Mediterranean Basin. Scandinavian breeders often turn up along our east coast en route to, or from their breeding grounds. BTW, it's a fascinating book, well worth getting. Using it will build up your biceps as well as your knowledge! It's huge, and heavy.
 
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