The unexpected nature of wildlife is one of the most exciting aspects of working in conservation. As I am currently running a project on colour ringing stonechats at the Great Fen, I am always interested in stonechat records from anywhere in Cambridgeshire, as well as ringed birds in the Great Fen.

So when our Wildlife Trust Promoter, Paul Wyer, reported that he had spotted a female stonechat at Trumpington Meadows, on 1st February, with two rings on its legs, the excitement started to grow. Paul has sent me photographs of stonechats from this reserve on a number of occasions, and we often correspond over wildlife sightings, especially the stonechats, as they are a bit of a highlight for him; he says, “I always look out for the arrival of these wonderful little birds each autumn. I just love the way they pose, up high on any vegetation or vantage point they can find. They’re a great photo opportunity, especially as they sit still for a second or two!”

This time, the bird had a metal ring on one leg, standard adornment as a result of being ringed, but it also had been “accessorised” with a colour ring. As it only had one colour ring, it was not one of the birds ringed at the Great Fen (which have one on both legs), so where had it come from?

Bird ringing provides us with a whole host of useful information about the Great Fen and is an invaluable monitoring methodology. It can tell us about bird populations, and the dispersal of individual birds, from local movements to the often more distant, seasonal round-trips of migration. Over the last couple of years, we have been investigating the wintering population of stonechats, which has been steadily increasing in the Great Fen. But where do they come from, and where do they go to, after visiting us from September to March?

Once I had worked out the Trumpington bird had a black ring on her left leg, with white letters stamped on it, I checked the European website for colour ringing. I deduced that the bird had probably come from the West Midlands, ringed by the West Midlands Ringing Group, so I got in touch with them. This wasn’t the first time I had contacted them, as I was already aware that they also had a stonechats project, and so had been exchanging notes on our respective experiences.

Emails flew back and forth, between myself, bird ringers, our site staff at Trumpington and Paul, and then to other staff and volunteers, asking them to keep an eye out for the bird. I then high-tailed it over to the reserve that weekend and searched for the bird, scope in hand.

As you may have seen from various tweets, Paul and I weren’t the only visitors to the reserve in recent days. Our CEO, Brian Eversham, and the Wildlife Trusts CEO, Craig Bennett, had been meeting with South Cambs MP Anthony Browne, to talk about the idea of a new Wildbelt designation and how homes and transport must be planned with nature in mind. That week had also included the annual World Wetland Day, on which I and 20 volunteers had been surveying the Great Fen (for birds, including stonechats, and invertebrates) as part of the Peatland Progress project; a busy week!

On a sunny, if blustery, day, I did indeed track down the female stonechat; and saw that she had ‘AH’ stamped on her colour ring. I relayed the information back to the West Mids. Ringing Group and, low and behold, discovered that she had originally been ringed on 5 February 2021, at Marsh Lane Nature Reserve, between Birmingham and Coventry. Since she was ringed, she had travelled over 120km to join us in Cambridgeshire.

The West Mids. Ringing Group certainly appreciated the work we have put in at our end, and working together like this produces some great results. Their treasurer, Ben Dolan, said, “seeing the results of our stonechat colour ringing project has opened our eyes to how far these small birds travel, and every movement reported back to us gives us valuable data to help us improve their habitat, and also protect their winter and breeding territories.”

And so we continue to keep her under surveillance; she and the male accompanying her were seen again today. We will be fascinated to learn if she returns to Marsh Lane this spring, or ventures elsewhere on her stonechat travels!

Henry Stanier (Great Fen Monitoring & Research Officer)