Home Patch ~ A Thrush (with a ring)

We have had a visiting Thrush for some time now. I think it is a Song Thrush, but am not entirely sure. Mistle Thrushes are paler in colour and their speckles are almost black.

Song Thrushes are classed as Red in terms of their conservation status. 

As you can see, this this Thrush is sporting a ring. I had not spotted the ring until I saw these photos, which once again proves to me (whether the picture quality is good or not - and these photos were taken through double glazing) that my camera is a useful tool in my wildlife watching adventures.

It would be interesting to know where the bird was ringed and where it was last recorded. I was astonished to read on the British Trust for ornithology (BTO) site that 'over 900,000 birds are ringed in Britain and Ireland each year by over 2,600 trained ringers'. 

As you can see below, there was also a Blue tit in our silver birch. In fact, there was a small flock in the garden.

• 2010 Ringing of a Mistle Thrush in a Suffolk orchard.
• Suffolk Wildlife Trust on ringing Tree Sparrows
• BTO Bird Ringing blog