New longevity records set for 11 UK bird species

The latest ringing and nest recording report from the BTO has revealed several British and Irish longevity records, including a 25-year-old Black Guillemot and a 31-year-old Avocet.

The British and Irish Ringing Scheme is organised by the BTO and the annual report on bird ringing is published in the BTO journal Ringing & Migration. This year's edition contained the 2022 data – and with it some astounding longevity records.

This included a Black Guillemot that is at least 25 years old. In July 1997, a Black Guillemot chick was ringed in Orkney – this bird successfully fledged from its nest and lived for nearly 25 years without being seen again. In May 2022, the bird was recaptured, still in Orkney, making it the oldest known Black Guillemot in Britain and Ireland.

A new British longevity record for Black Guillemot has been set by a 25-year-old bird (Peter Newman).

In Norfolk, an Avocet bearing colour rings seen at Titchwell Marsh in March 2022 was identified as one of two birds ringed as a nestling in July 1990 at the same site, making it 31 years old – a new British record by four years. Other notable wader longevity records include an 11-year-old Green Sandpiper and 22-year-old Common Redshank.

Some surprisingly long-lived passerines were also documented in the report. These included a Bearded Tit that was a minimum of nearly 9 years old – having been ringed as an adult at Tay Lodge, Scotland, before being re-trapped at the same site in September 2022 – and a 13-year-old House Sparrow.

There were also new records for White-fronted Goose (19 years old), Little Egret (16 years old), Stock Dove (10 years old), Barn Owl (15 years old) and Chough (23 years old).

Sightings of ringed birds can be submitted to www.ring.ac.