National Report VOGELWARTE HELGOLAND

EURING GENERAL MEETING, CHEMNITZ, AUGUST 2003

Scheme

• The Bird Ringing Centre is a unit of the Institut für Vogelforschung.
• The institute is a governmental authority.
• The systematic scientific bird ringing was started in 1909 on the island of Helgoland.

Staff

• 0.5 (Scientist), 3.5 (Clerical, non-academic).

Ringers

• Number of ringers: In 2003 a total of 271 Helgoland ringers are licensed.
• Ringing permits are issued in the autonomous regions by the competent local authorities.
• Ringing courses: yes (training at a ringing station).

Ringings/Recoveries

• Average number of birds ringed/year: 100.000 - 110.000
• Average number of species ringed/year: 230
• Average number of recoveries/year; 2000 own 500 foreign recoveries

Ringing Reports

• Annual EURING ringing reports since 1975.

Rings

• Aluminium and steel rings; 15 different sizes.
• Special rings for White Stork(ELSA-Ring), Guillemot, Kingfisher, Collared Dove.
• Rings are imported from Sweden (Mekaniska). ELSA-Ring made by Frauenhofer Institut
• Ringers do not pay for the rings.

Colour-ringing and other marks

• Colour-ringing and use of other marks is partly co-ordinated by the ringing scheme.
• The scheme has regular contacts with the international co-ordinators for the different groups of species.
• For a special project on Common Terns micro-chips (transponder) are in use.

Computers

• All Helgoland recoveries since 1909 are computerised.
• Ringing data (coded in EURING 2000) are computerised since spring 2001 (271.800 data).

Projects

• A variety of different ringing projects are offered to ringers who do not perform own projects.
• National projects in collaboration with the schemes of Hiddensee and Radolfzell.
• EURING Swallow Projekt (ESP), Constant-effort-site project (CES).

Birds ringed

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