Nature Watch, with Ron Freethy

WE were discussing several points in the office the other day on the subject of bird biology.

Two questions were asked which may be of interest to readers.

Firstly, how long do birds live?

Secondly, do birds which migrate always spend their summers and winters in the same place?

The answer to both questions can be found by reference to scientists who are called "ringers" in Britain, while in America they are called "banders."

I have never been a "ringer" myself but I have worked with these skilful people for many years.

What they do is to place a ring on the leg of a bird which carries a date and an address. If the bird is later found dead or trapped by another ringer then the ring can be sent to the address shown.

If you ever find such a ring you should send it back giving details of where the bird was found and (if you know) how it may have died. Bird ringers often catch young birds before they can fly and place a ring on their leg without hurting them. Some ringers catch birds in traps or nets but they do this very carefully and cause the birds no harm.

The information provided by the ringers shows that birds live longer than you think.

Robins and blue tits for example, often fall victim to predators almost as soon as they leave their nest.

Once they become experienced, however, they can live for as long as 10 years.

It is known that some parrots can live more than 100 years and so the lesson is clear -- don't buy a parrot without getting permission from your grandchildren.

Owls can live for more than 40 years and so can some ravens and seabirds, including puffins, fulmars and gannets.

Ringing can also show us that swallows, for example, remain faithful not only to their breeding sites but also winter in the same place.

The late John Nuttall, who ringed swallows in Towneley Hall, Burnley, recorded the same female for four successive years while in Cape Town, South Africa, the same female was caught in a net for three successive years. I watched an oyster catcher being ringed as a young bird in Cumbria in 1987 and it returned to the same area to breed from 1991 to 1997.

It proves that it is not only "good to talk" to ringers but it puts a whole new meaning to the phrase "give us a ring sometime."