The highlights of the latest batch of recoveries were four in France and one from Latvia.
The Latvia one was extraordinary, a Black-headed gull ringed as a nestling in 1995. When I first looked at the recovery sheet I thought we had a record long liver, only to find that it was one that we read the ring of in the field three times in the winters of 1996 and 97! Someone must have been searching the archives.
The French recoveries were three Sedge Warblers in August and a Reed Warbler in early September all along the French west coast. The Reed Warbler and one of the Sedge Warblers being caught by French ringers at the same site. This brings the total of Sedge Warblers ringed by the group and reported from France to 47 along with 18 Reed Warblers. Interesting difference in the recovery rate of these two warblers. We have ringed to date 17,371 Reed Warblers and 13,046 Sedge Warblers but have foreign recoveries of 59 Sedge Warblers against 36 Reed Warblers. However we have 14 Reed Warblers reported in Iberia and North Africa but only five Sedge Warblers there, reflecting the different migration strategies of these two wetland warblers.
Other recoveries included a Lesser Redpoll ringed on spring passage on May Ist and reported 216 km south in Northants on October 31. Fits in nicely with many other recoveries showing Redpolls wintering in southern England. A juvenile Reed Bunting moved 109 km SE by mid October.
John
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