Environment

MWT Rings Tree Sparrows

Farmland bird officer Rob Fisher ringed 69 birds during a ringing session in an unharvested sunflower field.

Published

2 years ago

08/02/2024

Sam Turton

There are several pictures of birds: the first shows a tree sparrow being ringed by Rob. It’s a beautiful clear dusky sky with Manx farmland in the background. The next image shows one of the bird feeding stations that the wildlife camera traps are recording. It clearly shows tree sparrows feeding at the stations.

Manx Wildlife Trust has recorded the first ringing of tree sparrows on the island in a decade.

Farmland bird officer Rob Fisher ringed 69 birds during a ringing session in an unharvested sunflower field.

MWT says that the tree sparrow is a ‘scarce and declining bird’ that can be spotted on farmland and in woodlands. It has a brown cap and black cheek-spots, unlike the similar house sparrow.

Of the 69 birds ringed were 14 Tree Sparrows and 10 Reed Buntings.

MWT said: ’21 seed hoppers have been installed on farmland around the island to help farmland birds through the ‘hungry gap’ and we are thrilled to have evidence of Tree Sparrows at the feeders. Wildlife cameras have been helping to monitor their movements with as little human disturbance as possible.’

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