Value of ringing information for bird conservation in Europe

Abstract

After a century of existence, scientific bird ringing is still a highly versatile and extremely useful research technique. It allows information on bird ecology and behaviour that is critical for conservation strategies to be gathered. EURING has now existed for more than 30 years, so that the availability of ring recovery data for scientific and conservation purposes is ensured through a network of National Ringing Schemes and a unique central computerised Data Bank. So far, around 115 million birds have been ringed in Europe, producing recoveries that have enabled ornithologists to unravel migration routes, wintering areas and the network of staging areas used by populations of European birds. Aspects of stopover ecology have been investigated using data on the physical condition of staging migrants collected by ringers, providing crucial information on habitats and sites of conservation priority. Bird movements between sites in response to cold spells within the same winter have suggested the need for the creation of networks of protected wetlands. Analyses of the survival rates of long‐distance migrants have indicated that ecological conditions experienced in the African winter quarters are the main factors limiting European breeding populations. Long‐term ringing projects greatly contribute to population monitoring, including the provision of data for species originating from remote breeding areas from where only scanty information is available. With the increasing need for accurate monitoring of European bird populations, ringing represents the best way to obtain estimates of critical demographic parameters (eg annual productivity and survival rates). These are also of the utmost importance for improved internationally co‐ordinated management policies for game species. The ever increasing standards of more than 10,000 European ringers are ensured through EURING. Large‐scale ringing projects in Europe will provide unique and crucial information for future integrated conservation policies.