bird ringing

Bird ringing
Matthew Roach
9311265012080
2013-03-26

Ringing of the birds started at an early start of 4:00 am in the morning. The first thing that we had to go when we went out for the bird catching was to get to our location that we set up for the previous day and then split up in to different teams. How we did this was 2-3 students went with the qualified bird catchers and then walked and planned the format that the net would be put up in. When we finished with our planning then we put the mist nets up which were 2.5m high and 12m long.
How it worked was you have to put the nets up with cover around (tree’s) so that the birds don’t see the nets when they fly. So the trick to bird catching is to put the nets close in between the tree’s but not to close so that the nets get caught in the tree’s otherwise the nets get caught in the tree’s and the net tears. How the nets work is at each pole where you connect the net to the pole you have
⦁ 2 long poles
⦁ 1 short pole
⦁ Ropes
⦁ Hook
⦁ Peg
⦁ Stump
What you have to do is hit the stump into the ground and the weave the nets on to the poles. Then you connect the 2 long poles together with the net on it and then place the short pole on the stump to make one long pole about 3m high. Then if you need more support on the structure then you attach the hook on to the pole and then attach the rope to the hook and on the other side then you can knock the peg into the ground and tighten the structure. Then when your structure is up then you have to sit and wait for the birds to fly into the net. W=once the nets are set up then you should regularly petrol your nets to ensure that the birds don’t over stress or hurt themselves in the net. How the net works is the net has five pockets of levels from the top to the bottom. Then the bird will fly into the net and drop into the pocket just below it. Then the ringers will come and get the bird out with it so that it doesn’t hurt itself. Then you have to identify the bird and put it into a sack for transportation. Then you can hang the bags up so that you can ring the birds at a later stage.




















Once you have the birds in the bags then you can take out the bird and first thing you need to do is correctly identify the bird for the registration. Then you have to measure the bird’s specific’s (wings, tail) and right down all the information for when you register the bird. Then after that you get a specific ring with a unique bar code that fits on to the bird’s leg. Then after you have attached the ring on to the bird’s leg and all the work has been done then you can let the bird free again unharmed. Once we done with the bird catching at the end of the day then we would go out in the afternoon then we would go out again and look for a new place to hold the next day’s events. This would all depend on the type of birds that the ringers were after that you determine the location and area.
5W’s
Who was involved?
The Members of the South African ringers, Arno and the second year volunteers
What did the second years do?
We as second years volunteered just went with the team to learn about bird ringing and improving our own education. We went with the team in the morning and helped set up the equipment and helped catch the birds and ring them.
When did this take place?
18th of March till the 22nd of March every morning at 4:00 am
Where did this take place?
Sondela Nature Reserve
Why did we do this?
We did this for educational purposes and for the exposure to the unique experience. We did it to help the ringers so that they can keep track of the birds flight patterns for if they migrate north or south towards us.