Environmentalist Kerry Leonard writes the next in his series of exclusive wildlife reports for Breathing Places.

Five Smarties

Five Smarties. That is, five Smarties are the same weight as a Goldcrest, the UK and Ireland’s smallest bird. That puts into perspective the amazing journeys undertaken by this five gram marvel. We know that many of ‘our’ Goldcrests spend the winter in south-east England and on the near continent. Other birds arrive in Ireland from Scandinavia and spend the winter here. These tiny waifs live on the edge, needing to feed constantly in order to survive, yet can make journeys of thousands of miles.

At this time of year most of our summer migrant species are long gone and have arrived in Africa. The majority of our summer visitors, such as the Willow Warbler and Sedge Warbler, cross the Sahara to wintering quarters in west and central Africa. Ringing recoveries have shown that Northern Irish Swallows reach eastern and southern Africa. However as they leave millions of thrushes, geese, swans and ducks are arriving in Northern Ireland for the winter.

Yet many people do not realise that their familiar garden birds are also migrants. Wintering blackbirds on your lawn could come from Eastern Europe, Robins from Scandinavia, Starlings from Poland. Some of the Black-headed Gulls eating bread at your local pond or lake may have nested on Lough Neagh, but equally some may have come from Russia.

Practically everything we know about the movement of birds today comes from Bird Ringing. Marking birds with small metal numbered rings has allowed us to map out the migration routes of the majority of bird species in the UK. And ringing is a vital tool for monitoring the breeding success and survival of our birds. The ringing scheme is one hundred years old in 2009

Listen to Kerry Leonard talk about moths and butterflies when he visited Creggan Country Park.