A population study of Wheatears on Lundy.
Help us by reporting sightings & submitting photos of colour-ringed Wheatears.
https://www.facebook.com/LundyWheatears/
Adult Wheatears, in a study area stretching from the Castle to Half-way wall, have been colour ringed to enable observation without the need to re-capture birds. Please report any sightings of colour ringed Wheatears with as much detail as possible, including:
Location
Ring combination right leg
Ring combination left leg
Sex
Behaviour (eg singing / carrying food / entering nest site)
Photos would be very much appreciated too!
NB Over time some of the colour rings start to fade, eg red becomes orange, and some of the banded rings lose the definition of the bands. If you see a bird but are unsure of the exact details, please still report it describing the colours as accurately as they appear at the time of the observation.
Tony Taylor. 2019 Northern Wheatears on Lundy: the impact of rat eradication. British Birds, 112, 231-236
Abstract Data on the breeding population of Northern Wheatears Oenanthe oenanthe on Lundy, Devon, are presented, including recent surveys of the whole island and a Retrapping Adults for Survival (RAS) project. The results suggest a marked increase in breeding Wheatears since the successful rat eradication project on the island, in 2003/04. Potential reasons for these results are discussed.
https://britishbirds.co.uk/article/wheatears-on-lundy-the-impact-of-rat-eradication/
Tony Taylor.
Bird Ringing on Lundy in 2018. 86--90.
Tony Taylor.
Bird Ringing on Lundy in 2017. Annual Report of the Lundy Field Society, 66--69. View online.
Tony Taylor.
Bird Ringing on Lundy in 2016. Annual Report of the Lundy Field Society, 63--66. View online.
Tony Taylor.
Bird Ringing in 2015. Annual Report of the Lundy Field Society, 58--61. View online.
Tony Taylor. 2015 Lundy's Breeding Wheatears in 2014. Annual Report of the Lundy Field Society, 64, 92--97.
This paper gives the results of the 2014 RAS work. The colour-ringed population also allowed us to estimate the total number of Wheatears breeding on Lundy. Further observations are recorded, where these extend or modify the general information given in Taylor (2014), on Wheatear breeding biology on the Island. View online.
Tony Taylor. 2014 Lundy's Wheatear Population in 2013. Annual Report of the Lundy Field Society, 63, 80--84.
During a visit to Lundy at the end of May 2012, 34 Wheatears were caught and ringed in five days, using traps baited with mealworms. In view of this success, it was decided that Lundy would make a good RAS study site: it has a comparatively large, dense population of Wheatears and is a well-defined area in which individuals should be easy to relocate, even if they change their precise breeding sites between years. (Studies elsewhere suggest that first-time breeders sometimes set up territories away from their natal area, but that established breeders very rarely move significant distances.) View online.
