Ringing Policy

Foreword

This policy supersedes all previous WMBC ringing policies and statements and is primarily intended for the management of ringing activities on Club reserves at Harborne, Ladywalk and Belvide although it could be made available for any landowner genuinely considering inviting WMBC members to ring birds on their land. The Club Management Committee (MC) is greatly appreciative of the current Chair of Trustees, John Macmillan, who established a working group consisting of Dave Jackson the Club conservation officer and MC member, Club reserve managers Paul Bateman (Harborne), Richard King (Ladywalk) (both also MC members) and Steve Nuttall (Belvide), Ross Johns (Harborne ringer), Kevin Whiston (of Ladywalk ringers), and Kevin Clements (of Belvide Ringers). Thanks are not only due to all who served on the working group but also to our vice presidents Jim Winsper, and Graham and Janet Harrison as well as Dave Emley who made very helpful comments once the working group recommendations were presented to the MC and the Trustees. The MC then proposed some further changes – including the preamble to the Policy which recognises the value of the evidence that ringers provide through their dedication to scientific research that gives us a greater understanding of bird life across our Region - before unanimously recommending to the Trustees that the policy be adopted which the Trustees duly did. The resulting policy is therefore very much a WMBC team effort!

An important change in Club policy concerns ringing during the breeding season. Much consideration was given to stopping mist netting entirely during the breeding season on all Club reserves. Under the policy as finally approved, it can only be carried out throughout the year if the site is approved as a Constant Effort Site (CES) by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) with the Club’s consent. Currently only Ladywalk is deemed suitable for consideration as a CES and the policy allows a 3-year period to establish a CES site at Ladywalk. If that is not achieved, Ladywalk will then fall into line with Belvide and Harborne which will cease mist netting during the breeding season from this year. Another important change is that all ringers on our reserves will now have to be Club members with the exception only of ringers in training.

Finally, I must emphasise the importance of Parts 3 and 4 of the policy which applies to all Club members, not just to those engaged in ringing, and explains what is to happen if a rare bird is trapped during a ringing session on a Club reserve or is known to be present on a reserve.

I commend the policy to all interested parties.

Roger Broadbent

Chair

January 2024

RINGING AND RARITIES POLICY

The Club acknowledges the contribution that ringing has made to the knowledge and understanding of the region’s birdlife. The Club is also conscious of the importance of safeguarding the welfare of birds on its reserves and generally. It therefore permits ringing on its reserves on the following basis:

Part 1: Ringers - A. Permits

In this policy ‘Lead Ringer’ means the person who applies for and in whose name a permit to ring on a Club reserve is issued and who is responsible for the conduct of ringing on that reserve by their group.
By the end of December 2023, the ringers currently active on Club reserves – namely those at Ladywalk and Harborne and Roger Clay at Belvide - will provide the Club Secretary with the following information:
1. The name of the Lead Ringer
2. The name of the reserve on which they intend to ring;
3. The names of any S or A permit holders likely to be ringing on the reserve;
4. A copy of the current BTO permits of the Lead Ringer and any S and Aringers
5. A summary of the proposed ringing activities on the reserve for the coming 12 months;
6. A risk assessment for those activities;
7. Written confirmation from the reserve management team that the Lead Ringerand the proposed activities have their support;
8. A copy of the current BTO certificate of group public liability insurance;
9. A note in a format to be provided by the Club, signed by the Lead Ringer, agreeing to be bound by the Club’s Ringing and Rarities policy and to follow BTO best practice at all times.
On receipt of the above information, provided the summary of proposed activities does not differ significantly from that described in the report of the Ringing and Rarities Working Group dated 25th August 2023, the Club Secretary shall issue a permit in the name of the Lead Ringer to ring for 2024 and notify the Management Committee of the number of permits issued and the names of the Lead Ringers. If the summary of proposed activities does differ significantly from that set out in the report, the application will be referred to the Management Committee for a decision.
Any change to the information provided under paragraph 2 must be immediately notified to the Club Secretary.
In December 2024 and subsequent years, when applying for a permit to ring, the Lead Ringer shall confirm in writing to the Club Secretary either that there is no change in the information previously provided or specify any changes. If the proposed change is to the ringing activity conducted on the reserve, the Lead Ringer must also provide a revised risk assessment and written confirmation that the changes have the support of the reserve management team. The Club Secretary will then issue a permit for the new year unless the Lead Ringer has notified changes to ringing activity.
If when applying to renew permission to ring on a reserve, the Lead Ringer notifies the Secretary of proposed changes to ringing activity which do not have the support of the reserve management team, the Secretary will issue a permit restricted to the previous years’ activities.
If when applying to renew permission to ring on a reserve the Lead Ringer notifies the Secretary of proposed changes to ringing activity which do have the support of the reserve management team or there is an outstanding disciplinary issue in respect of ringing activity on the reserve, the application will be referred to the Management Committee for decision.
Within 3 months of the end of each year, each Lead Ringer will provide a report on their ringing activities and a ringing record to the reserve management team, the Club Secretaryand the Club’s Annual Bird Report editor.
Any new group or ringer wishing to ring on a Club reserve (other than Blithfield) must apply to do so through the Club Secretary and provide all the information in para 2. The Lead Ringer must be either a BTO ‘S’ licence holder, a BTO ‘A’ licence holder or an appropriately experiencedBTO ‘C’ licence holder who has the support of his or her ‘S’ licence holder tutor. In the latter case, if a permit is granted, it shall be issued in the name of the ‘S’ licence holder. On receipt of that information the Club Secretary shall refer the application to the Management Committee for a decision.

Part 1: Ringers - B. Complaints
If the Club Secretary receives a complaint that a ringer has acted in a way which could be a breach of BTO rules or guidance, the Secretary shall refer the matter to the BTO Ringing Standards Committee whose decision on the matter shall be final. The Secretary shall inform the Management Committee and the Lead Ringerin question of the complaint.
If the Club Secretary believes that a ringer has acted in breach of this policy, the Secretary shall refer the matter to the Management Committee which shall appoint a member of the committee to investigate the complaint and report back.
The Management Committee may impose one or more of the following sanctions for a breach of BTO Rules or this policy:
1. terminate the Lead Ringer’s permit to ring;
2. issue a warning which may be a final warning;
3. bar an individual ringer from the reserve;
4. 4 if the ringer is a WMBC member, cancel their membership;
An appeal against the Management Committer’s decision may be made to the Trustees whose decision shall be final.
Any ringer or WMBC member asked to provide information to either the BTO or the Management Committee shall do so as speedily as possible.
If the Club Secretary receives written notification from the management team at a reserve that they no longer support the presence of an induvial ringer, he or she will inform the Management Committee and notify the Lead Ringer that that person no longer has permission to ring on the reserve. If the permit which is revoked is that of the Lead Ringer, ringing activity on that reserve shall cease immediately.
All ringers who ring on Club Reserves must hold up to date inclusive Club Membership, subject to an exception for trainee ringers and short term invited guests, whose names and addresses must be communicated to the Club's Secretary and Membership Secretary by the lead ringer, within a reasonable period of time before the ringing event takes place.

Part 2: Ringing Activity
A Constant Effort Site may not be registered on a Club reserve without the support of the reserve management team and the approval of the Club Management Committee.
Subject to the exemption in para 19, there shall be no mist netting on Club reserves between the 15thApril and the 15th July each year.
The mist netting which currently takes place at Ladywalk in spring and summer in a small sectioned-off area of marsh which is closed to the public, may continue until the 14th April 2026 to enable the Lead Ringer to work towards registering that part of the reserve as a Constant Effort Site. If he or she is in a position to register the site within that time, the Club will support the application but, if not, then the suspension of mist netting will apply.

Part 3: Birds Trapped for Ringing
The welfare of trapped birds is paramount; therefore a trapped bird should be processed as quickly as possible and not held simply in order to allow birders to come to the site to see it.
Photographing birds in the hand may, at the absolute discretion of the ringer, be done for a maximum of 5 minutes after processing and only for the purpose of identification and education.
To ensure compliance with the preceding two paragraphs, if a rare bird is trapped the ringer will record the time the bird is removed from the net, the time it was processed and the time it was released.
Photos of birds in the hand should only be published on social media and in Club publications where the photograph depicts specific identification features to highlight traits for wider understanding and learning.
The Club reserves the right to take disciplinary action, including forfeiture of membership, against a member who does not observe these requirements or abuses ringers for adhering to them.

Part 4: Other rarities
Each WMBC reserve which has a reserve management team should have one or more designated members who will act as coordinator in the event of a rarity being identified as present on site.
If that person is notified of the presence of a rarity,they should inform either the Club Chairperson, Conservation officer or Secretary, that a rare or scarce bird has been found.
Access to the reserve is to be restricted to members only until the Reserve Management Team and the Club have agreed that non-members may be invited to enter the Reserve.
If the reserve management team thinks it appropriate for non-members to be admitted, they will carry out a risk assessment to ensure that the reserve can manage the expected influx of visitors including the provision of volunteer wardens to assist with parking etc, and that there are no adverse welfare implications for the bird. They will then advise the Club Chairperson, Conservation Office or Secretary who will make the final decision.
Where the reserve is one where the Club only has a licence to bird watch, arrangements for coping with rarities are to be agreed locally having regard to the Club’s rarities policy so far as possible.

Ringing Policy

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