The History of Sorby Breck Ringing Group

Ringing first began in our area over fifty years ago under the auspices of Sorby Natural History Society. The extensive area studied by the Sorby NHS was matched by the early group's ringing activities, ranging from Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire.

Before mist nets were widely available, most ringing involved ringing nestlings with adult birds caught by traps or clap nets. In the fifties Norman Barker and Ray Hawley were amongst the first to use mist nets in the area and this changed the nature of bird study both locally and nationally. Norman was the first to describe 'flick' netting Swifts at Hackenthorpe in an article for BTO. In the sixties a new generation of young ringers joined the group, including myself, and their use of mist nets moved the ringing of full grown birds to a new level.

At the same time this expansion of ringing saw the establishment of new ringing groups and ringing partnerships in the wider area. Amongst the new groups was Breck Ringing Group whose base was at Breck Farm near Staveley, under the leadership of Mike Wareing. A ringer in those days would be a member of a number of groups. Ringers would also gain wider experience by ringing at Bird Observatories and ringing seabird colonies. Spurn and Gibraltar Point were regular autumn haunts with island ringing taking place in Scotland on Foula, Colonsay and Oransay. The 'older' ringers were exceptional nest finders and they continued to search out chicks to ring. The first Goshawk, Red-backed Shrike and Honey Buzzard were amongst the rarer birds ringed at this time.

SBRG members relaxing on a ringing trip to Gibraltar Point, Lincs. From left to right they are Oly Biddulph, Tony Sinnott, Alan Peachey, Geoff Mawson, Ken (Gibraltar Point ringer), Mike Wareing and Ian Hartley.

In the early seventies the ringers in the Sorby NHS had the wider area to ring in but the ringers at Breck Farm RG were the more active ringers. With ringers being members of both groups it became a natural progression to amalgamate them and to rename the new group 'Sorby Breck Ringing Group'. I remember the BTO being a little reluctant to accept the name at first saying it sounded like a 'breakfast cereal!' Despite this, the Group went on from strength to strength consolidating their ringing in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire to the present day with over 14,000 birds ringed during 2009.

Today the group has over thirty ringers with different licences to ring birds. Ringers still travel to gain experience of birds from further afield and this now includes ringing overseas. In addition to ringing in Europe, ringers have ringed in Canada, USA, South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Their experiences have added to the knowledge available to those training to ring wild birds. At a recent meeting of the senior ringers within the group I asked, "Should we change the name of our group?" We agreed that we often had to tell the story of the group to explain its name, but, the general feeling was that the 'breakfast cereal' name had its place in history and suited us well.

Geoff Mawson

Why ring birds

Much has been discovered about birds by watching and counting them, but such methods rarely allow birds to be identified as individuals. This is essential if we are to learn about how long they live and when and where they move, questions that are vital for bird conservation. Placing a lightweight, uniquely numbered, metal ring around a bird’s leg provides a reliable and harmless method of identifying birds as individuals. Each ring also has an address so that anyone finding a ringed bird can help by reporting where and when it was found and what happened to it. Some ringing projects also use colour rings to allow individual birds to be identified without being caught.

Although we have been ringing birds in Britain and Ireland for nearly 100 years, we are still discovering new facts about migration routes and wintering areas. However, the main focus of the Ringing Scheme today is monitoring bird populations. Ringing allows us to study how many young birds leave the nest and survive to become adults, as well as how many adults survive the stresses of breeding, migration and severe weather. Changes in survival rates and other aspects of birds’ biology help us to understand the causes of population declines.

Are you interested in training to become a bird ringer?

Training those interested to ring is part of what we do. The group has several trainers and a wide range of ringing sites covering a variety of different habitats. We ring in the Sheffield and Chesterfield areas, with ringing sites throughout the area and into the Peak District. One of the trainers is semi-retired and rings frequently, from 3 to 5 times each week, so there is an opportunity for a trainee/s to ring to suit their work/life pattern.

Training takes from one to two years, shorter if specific projects are intended. Realistically, some 30 to 50 ringing occasions each year. The more ringing you do the shorter the training. There are no exclusions, just a starting age of 16+yrs. and being comfortable with early starts. If after reading this you are interested in training to become a ringer then email Geoff Mawson, the group secretary and one of the group's trainers, at moonpenny@talktalk.net