Colourful birds shown at ringing event

Birds such as the mistle thrush, song thrush and blue tit were caught using nets after they were baited in using bird calls played on speakers.

The birds were then tagged and shown to the guests before being let back into the wild - where the bird-ringers will monitor how they live for scientific purposes.

Around 50 people attended the event at Wildside Activity Centre, which was held by Brewood Ringers, in Wolverhampton on Sunday (14).

Steve Downs, who volunteers at the centre, said: "The feedback I had was very complimentary. There was lots of people who had never been to the centre before saw how wonderful it was.

"What the bird-ringers did was set up very fine nets in the woods and then set up bird calls on speakers which encouraged birds to come into the woods.

"The birds then flew into the nets before the bird-ringers carefully released to take measurements."

The event was held to showcase both the activity centre and the bird-ringing group.

The activity centre has been run by volunteers for the past three years after it lost council funding and it relies on public donations to keep running.

Bird-ringing is one of a number of recreational activities held there, with others including cycling to outdoor crafts.

The bird-ringers will track the bird's flight paths, feeding habits and where they nest.

The Brewood group spotted one bird it caught as far away as Portugal.

"It really is an international community," said Steve.

He added the bird-ringers need a license to be able to carry out their activities.

Colourful birds were pictured at the event with some featuring bright colours of blue and yellow.

They were also given tags on their legs and finally sent back into the wild.

For more information about the bird-ringers, visit www.brewoodringers.com or for the centre, visit www.wildsideac.co.uk