Second Netherhall visit for Herons
We did a second visit to the Heron colony at Netherhall today and ringed another 7 young. The Egrets were too small but there were seven other nests with eggs which will probably be ready towards the end of May.
| Species | Ringed | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|
| Grey Heron | 7 | 7 |
| Little Egret | 0 | 0 |
Netherhall Grey Heron Session 27th March 2021
We took a very small team out to count the Heron colony on Netherhall and see if there were some early chicks to ring. A slick operation which we put back an hour due to the chilly temperatures first thing. All went well with 25 active nests and a sample of 8 Herons ringed and colour ringed. As with Walthamstow there are already some early Egrets getting going and one nest with five eggs already.
| Species | Ringed | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|
| Grey Heron | 8 | 8 |
| Little Egret | 0 | 0 |
Out of Lockdown! Herons at Walthamstow Wetlands 24th March 2021
Under the Governement guidance that scientific monitoring can continue we took a small team to undertake the survey of Herons at Walthamstow Wetlands today. A good session with 32 active nests counted and a sample of 16 young ringed all colour ringed.
Thanks to the team at Walthamstow for organising the socialy distanced canoes to undertake the session.
| Species | Ringed | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|
| Grey Heron | 16 | 16 |
| Little Egret | 0 | 0 |
Methods
The Southern Colour Ringing Group rings Grey Heron and Little Egret pulli (young in the nest) at two sites in the Lee Valley – Netherhall and Walthamstow Wetlands.
Nests are climbed up to and young removed to ring. We also fit colour rings; Heron (White with black letters and a three digit code) and Egrets (orange on the left leg and black or green on the right leg) which allows the birds to be relocated without needing to be recaptured. There are many more bird-watchers looking for colour-ringed birds, so this greatly improves our chances of understanding the movements of the birds from the Lee Valley.
If you see a bird with one of our colour rings, please use the submission form or send details (ring-code, date, location, species) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Ringing totals
2018 year totals
| Species | Ringed | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|
| Grey Heron | 26 | 26 |
| Little Egret | 37 | 27 |
2019 year totals
| Species | Ringed | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|
| Grey Heron | 22 | 19 |
| Little Egret | 41 | 35 |
2020 year totals
| Species | Ringed | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|
| Grey Heron | 0 | 0 |
| Little Egret | 11 | 7 |
2021 year totals
| Species | Ringed | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|
| Grey Heron | 31 | 31 |
| Little Egret | 0 | 0 |
Grand totals
| Species | Ringed | Colour ringed |
|---|---|---|
| Grey Heron | 224 | 76 |
| Little Egret | 147 | 127 |