Highland Foundation for Wildlife

Osprey Colour Rings

Since 1966, we have been ringing ospreys in Scotland with individually unique metal rings supplied by the British Trust for Ornithology; on the other leg we have fitted a plastic colour ring.

The metal ring is numbered and includes a British address so that finders can send finding details to the BTO as part of the national bird ringing scheme. The colour ring is unique and allows individual birds to be identified in the field using a telescope or telephoto cameras. This technique is particularly valuable for following birds at their nests in order to build up knowledge on lifetime reproduction.

We are extremely interested in sightings of colour rings and would be very grateful if reports of colour rings, including digital pictures showing the colour ring are sent to roydennis@aol.com

The important information is colour of the ring, the inscription, the colour of the inscription and which leg is colour ringed. The other important information is place (including co-ordinates), date, time, observer's name and contact details, and any other interesting observations.
 

Osprey colour rings in the UK are marked with a combination of two digits or letters reading up the ring from the foot. These are repeated three times round the ring, so that the combination can be read from any angle. Older colour rings have a single letter or number reading around the ring, again repeated three times. Examples of rings are shown below. Because of the numbers of colour rings used in UK and elsewhere in Europe, individual colours no longer designate a particular year, but in recent years, colour rings in Scotland have been placed on the left leg and those in England and Wales on the right leg.  Thank you for reading colour rings.

If you photograph flying ospreys using high speed digital cameras - have a look at the images on your computer screen with zoom - you might find a readable colour ring number!

Samples of colour rings below - to help with reporting
 

New style colour rings as used in UK		Old style rings - and engraved BTO metal ring
Male-Red/white 7J (photo David Whitaker)		Chick ringed yellow/black SZ left leg
Male with old type ring  pale blue/back L		White/black EF right leg - on migration in France

Thank you for identifying and reporting colour rings