Arran Natural History Society April meeting

The final Arran Natural History Society talk of the autumn winter season will be of great interest to all members but to Arran’s birders in particular.

In ‘Ringing – why do we do it’, secretary of the Clyde Ringing Group, Iain Livingstone, will give an overview of the value of the practice of deliberately capturing birds to apply rings or tagging information.

Iain says: ‘Placing unique, numbered or lettered metal rings on a bird’s leg evokes a variety of reactions from people.

‘This can range from utter rage – ‘the bird’s wildness has been stolen’ – to people who immediately understand the process as an essential tool for scientific study of individual birds.

‘I’ll explore these options and hopefully show why being able to identify a bird as an individual potentially gives us data on a whole population, and how that can be used for scientific reasons – and more importantly can be used for conservation of our vanishing bird populations.’

Lanarkshire-born Iain has been fascinated by our bird life since the age of 12 and has remained so ever since.

Iain first became involved with ringing in 1980 and was fully licensed by 1987. He now trains other ringers.

He joined the Clyde Ringing Group in 1982 and has been its secretary since 1994.

His main interest is migration but leads projects covering a wide range of species. Warblers have been his lifelong favourite, but terns and waders are now changing that.

The meeting is on Tuesday, April 4th, at 7.30pm in Ormidale Pavilion. The talk will be preceded by the ANHS AGM, about which members will receive information by email.

Entry is free to members or by a £3 donation from non-members.

Featured image of Iain Livingstone.