Dippers
in
and around Sheffield - appeal for
sightings of ringed birds
When you can watch dippers
from a tram in the middle of Hillsborough, or at the side of the road
in Malin
Bridge,
there is little doubt that this species has become well urbanised!
Indeed, it
can be seen in some of the most built up regions of the city, as well
as along
sections of the rivers that are most heavily used by people. But, are
these
urban territories just as good as the rural ones, are they only
occupied by
younger and more inexperienced birds, and how do they cope with the
levels of
disturbance? These are some of the questions I want to answer in my PhD
research.
As part of this work a number of the birds on the rivers Don, Loxley
and Rivelin, and a bit further afield, have been colour ringed, and I
am
monitoring their movements, both seasonally and between years. If you
see any
of these birds, I would be very grateful if you would please let me
know.
They each
have two colour rings on one leg and one colour ring and a BTO metal
ring on
the other. The birds seem to move around a great deal more than I
imagined at
the outset of my studies, and clearly travel much greater distances
than their
sedentary image would suggest. You might thus encounter them far from
where
they were originally ringed.
Many thanks for
your assistance.
Khaled S. Etayeb
Biodiversity &
Macroecology Group, Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield,
Sheffield S10 2TN; Tel: 01142220084; Mobile:
07533489523; Email: bop06kse@sheffield.ac.uk