My cousin lives in the beautiful small seaside town of Tywyn, in Gwynedd, North Wales. On the 31st December 2012, I received an email from my cousin telling me that a Chough was frequenting her mother-in-law's garden in Tywyn. The Chough was colour ringed and she was able to send me the ringing details. The garden of the house lies on the outskirts of the town about a quarter of a mile from the sea & beach, with openfields to the sea on one side of the garden and sheep fields the other side and at the rear. The Chough spent all it's time feeding along the old dry stone wall that surrounds the garden, digging and probing into the wall and even dislodging stones on occasions. The bird visited the garden on and off for around 4 consecutive days and has since not been seen again. During his time in the garden he seemed totally unafraid of human disturbance, in fact he became more aggressive in attitude, squawking loudly and not at all flying away. His presence obviously gave my cousin, her children and her husbands parents, a fantastic opportunity to get up close to these fantastic birds.
I sent the colour ring information (Rt: Blue E5 / BTO EY08081 Lt: Green/White) to the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) and received the following fascinating information back a few days ago.
Adult Chough – photographed in Cornwall – 2011 – photo by Tony Davison©
The Chough was a first year male and ringed near Aberystwyth last year (22nd May 2012) as one of a brood of two (about 20km from natal site). The bird had also been recorded during the autumn of 2012, on several occasions, at a communial roost just north of Tywyn. In December he was recorded twice roosting near Aberdyfi along with two other birds. His sibling has not been recorded at all, however with the high juvenile mortality rate experienced by Choughs, it's pretty good if even one of a brood is still alive and well by the end of its first calendar year.
Adult Chough photographed at The Lizard, Cornwall – 2011– photo by Tony Davison©
The colour-ringing is all part of a long-running study of Choughs in mid and North Wales that is being undertaken by BTO voluteers. So far over 4000 individuals have been marked over the past 2 decades, with life histories recorded for many of these birds, shedding light on their movements, social and nesting behaviour and longevity. Well done to these dedicated volunteers for helping to open up the fascinating life of the Chough.
Adult Chough – Cornwall – 2011– photo by Tony Davison©
