Ringing wildfowl involves safely catching birds, taking key measurements, ageing and sexing them where possible, and fitting a uniquely coded metal ring to the leg. Each ringed bird contributes to a long‑term dataset that helps us understand population structure, breeding success, movements and survival.
Ringing of wildfowl has declined in recent years due to limited access to suitable sites, fewer trained ringers, and resource constraints. To support our sustainable shooting strategy, BASC is exploring whether our membership can help remove some of these barriers as well as enhance overall understanding of our wildfowl. BASC members can do this by training as wildfowl ringers, offering access to land, or assisting with trap building, feeding and monitoring.
For wildfowling sites, ringing and the resulting recovery of rings from re-trapped or shot birds can provide valuable insights, including:
- Where birds using your site originate (if previously ringed),
- How long individuals stay and how quickly the population turns over,
- Whether birds return to the same site each year,
- Where birds ringed on your site travel to,
- The age and sex structure of your local population,
- How your ringing data compares with your harvest and BASC Wing Survey submissions
Working with organisations such as the BTO on research initiatives like this helps strengthen local and national relationships and demonstrates the positive contribution the shooting community can make to conservation and scientific research.
We would be grateful if you could answer a few short questions to help us understand the level of interest and opportunities surrounding wildfowl ringing within the membership. The survey will take
approximately 3 minutes to complete and will
close on 30th of July 2026. Please be assured all the answers you provide will be treated in confidence.
