Montagu's Harrier. You wait for a bus, and then .............

We don't normally blog about "non LRGp" ringing, but thought this was worth it.  Way back in 2004, Jerry ringed a brood of four Montagu's Harrier (in a corn crop in Dorset).  The ringing was filmed, with a young Chris Packham, for BBC West.  The brood was lucky to fledge, as the combine arrived during ringing, and a quick bit of negotiating was necessary to identify an area around the nest to remain uncut.  Had the crop been harvested a couple of weeks later, the young might have been dispersed through the crop, and liable to be killed if the machinery passed over them.  Fast forward to this year, and RSPB researchers trapped, and radio tagged, a female Mont on 10 July, and it was ringed.  She was one of the 2004 brood, and was now breeding very close to the natal site.  The time span is almost double the current British longevity record for Mont - at 7 years 11 months 10 days.  Another female Mont, breeding nearby, has been recognised from some distinctive features - a slightly bent right leg, a ring on the left leg, and a white panel on the underwing (along the inner primaries).  The trapped female also has this white panel, and it was thought the two birds could be related.  On 21 July, she was also trapped, and amazingly, turned out to be from the same brood. And it gets better, because of her distinctive features, she is known to have previously bred in Oxford, The Humber and Wiltshire.  Who would have thought that ringing just one brood, could provide so much useful information, and the radio tags will opefully continue their story.  Have a look at the two pictures, and note the eye colours, no one would that thought two birds (of the same age) would be so different.

Monty F****29

Monty F****31