Setting up a new seabird ringing project

Once you have found a new seabird site, whatever form that takes (see the Types of seabird ringing section here) you might be excited to get there and start ringing, but there are many things to consider before you reach for your ringing pliers. This guidance is aimed at projects where the site can be accessed within a day but will also have relevant information for expeditions.

Recce

The first thing you need to do, if you haven’t already, is to carry out a thorough recce at your new site. You will want to learn the following from this visit:

For sites that are local to you and relatively accessible, a recce shouldn’t be too onerous to carry out. If you are considering starting seabird expeditions to a new remote site, it may be that the first trip you make will essentially need to be a recce. In this case, you might only want to have a small team of experienced seabird catchers and ringers with you, who you know will be able to cope with all likely conditions, while you gain a better understanding of the site.

The team

With the information gathered from your recce visit, you should be in a good position to decide how big a team you will need for your ringing trip. As well as the considerations about the size of the colony, the intended ringing activities and the welfare of the birds, your team size might be influenced by how easy it is to access a site. For instance, if you need to get there by boat, and can only make one trip, your team cannot be bigger than the number of people that can fit on the boat (not forgetting space for your ringing kit) and this might have knock-on effects for the activities you can undertake.

Once you know your maximum team size, you need to carefully consider the mix of experience you want on your team. You will want enough experienced team members to ensure the health and safety of the team as a whole and the welfare of the birds isn’t compromised, while also ensuring you can provide training to the less experienced team members. You also need to consider the skill sets needed in terms of catching the birds and the techniques involved, noting if any of the methods require additional endorsements to your permit. If possible, some space on the team should be offered to less experienced team members to help increase the pool of future seabird ringers in your group. It is also important to consider the fitness / physical abilities of your team, to ensure you have enough able bodies to carry out the planned ringing. You should also consider the makeup of your team as a whole to avoid creating any unnecessary interpersonal issues, as there will be enough challenges to cope with in the colony already. 

If you are planning a trip that includes people you have never met before, particularly for longer, expedition style trips, you may wish to consider using an application process, asking questions that will help you choose participants that will ensure an appropriate balance in the team. Providing a frank & realistic overview of what the trip will entail will help the team understand the physical conditions on site, such as working at heights and the nature of the ringing activities, prior to applying for / accepting a place on the trip. If you have a limited team size, and one member is unable to participate as they are scared by the situation they find themselves in, this will impact on the whole team and the activities you can do.  

Briefing the team

It is essential to thoroughly brief the team about the realities of what to expect whilst working in a frenetic seabird colony; however, this can be delivered in a positive way.

Team members should be made aware of the conditions they can expect, such as:

• the terrain, in particular working at height
• the remoteness
• the facilities (or lack of, in particular lack of toilets)
• the impact bad weather might have
• whether they will be working at height or on steep slopes and so on. 

If the trip involves a boat ride to get to an island, giving your team an idea of how long the boat journey will take will allow those who suffer from seasickness to be appropriately prepared. A lack of mobile signal or internet access on site could be an issue for some participants so make the team aware if this is the case. It would also be helpful to give participants an idea of the team size and age / gender make up. 

For some team members, it may be the first time they have been somewhere extremely remote, where there is no easy way to leave the island / ringing location before the planned end of the trip. Providing participants with a kit list of essentials is a must.

Access

This might sound obvious, but you need to think carefully about what you will need to enable you, your team and your ringing kit to access the site. For some sites, this will be as simple as a vehicle to carry the team and the kit (will you need roof bars for ringing poles or a tow bar to pull a trailer?). For other sites you might need to secure the use of a 4x4 vehicle, a boat (island sites, offshore or on an inshore lake), a canoe (tern rafts for instance), a cherry picker (Kittiwake tower, gulls on rooftops - will this require a road to be closed?) or need access to a roof space (gulls nesting on a building) or require tree climbers (tree-nesting Cormorants for instance). Some of these might take longer to arrange than others, and require coordination with non-ringers, so think about this early in your planning process. Where your site is subject to the impacts of tides (islands, coastlines or tidal rivers), a detailed knowledge of the tide cycles, including the impact of inclement weather on normal tidal ranges, will be essential.

Public relations

Another important consideration is whether there is public access to the site you are going to be ringing at. If so, you will want to think carefully about when (or if) you ring there. If your ringing activities are going to draw a crowd of onlookers, you will need to have enough people in the team to manage this and you may need to consider taking signage with you to explain what you are doing. Planning activities when you know the site will be quieter might be advantageous if you do not want to have to deal with too many members of the public. Alternatively, in some instances, it could be a useful public relations exercise to engage locals with the project. This could be particularly useful if you are using colour rings for instance. In this situation, you might want to consider having a leaflet or business card that you can hand out with details of how to report colour ring sightings. It is always advisable to carry a copy of your ringing permit (and Schedule 1 or 2 permit/licence if relevant) with you (hard copy or digital) in case you are asked to produce it.

Health and safety

Seabird islands / colonies can be inherently dangerous places, with high potential for injury if precautions aren’t taken. Anything from sunburn to broken limbs (from slips or falls) can and do happen, even when you are prepared, so always be alert to risks. Try to do everything possible to mitigate risks and plan for the occasion when accidents do happen e.g. how will you get someone’s car home if they have an accident etc. Every site is different and you should consider having a site-specific emergency plan and risk assessment in place before you undertake the trip, including what to do if the worst happens and you need to contact emergency services or abandon the trip altogether. Much more detailed information about health and safety considerations on seabird expeditions can be found on the Running seabird expeditions page.

Depending on the nature of the ringing trip (particularly important for expedition ringing), you may wish to ask team members to provide you with details of any medical conditions they feel you should be aware of and next of kin details. This can be done confidentially by asking them to put the details in a sealed envelope with their name on it, to be kept by a designated person (ideally a trained first aider), and only opened in the case of a medical emergency (a second person should be aware of where these are in case the designated person is the one to need medical assistance). These envelopes can be returned to participants at the end of the trip.

Insurance

All BTO volunteers and ringers are covered by insurance. For full details, see here.