Report on bird ringing in Britain and Ireland for 1994

Abstract

This is the 58th annual report of the British Trust for Ornithology's Ringing Scheme and provides information on the data received in 1994. Research using retraps from Constant Effort Scheme (CES) Sites showed that the decline of Willow Warbler populations in southern Britain was due to a large increase in adult mortality. A wide‐ranging review of the uses of ringing data for conservation‐oriented research was prepared for the EURING 1994 Technical Conference. An atlas of recoveries of Guillemots from Scotland was commissioned and completed for SNH because of the need for detailed information on this conservationally important population. Ringing data were supplied to 42 ornithologists to assist with a wide variety of projects, ranging from studies of individual species to the production of county avifauna. Data were received from 117 CES sites in 1994. Catches of adult birds increased for a second year, catches of juvenile birds were average, but were lower than in 1993. Concern was raised about continuing declines in catches of adult Reed Buntings at CES sites. The number of birds ringed in 1994 (853,371) was the fourth highest annual total ‐only exceeded in 1988, 1989 and 1993. The recovery total (13,224) was higher than in the last two years but remained at a fairly low level reflecting a series of relatively mild winters. The report provides information on 286 notable recoveries received during 1994 and includes a summary map of Swallow recoveries in Africa and a map of all Dotterel recoveries from BTO‐ringing.