RETURN TO . . . Emsworth Wildlife - Homepage COLOUR-RINGED SPOTTED REDSHANKS W+GR and W+GY Return to main page for Spotted Redshank There are two colour-ringed Spotted Redshanks - both ringed by Pete Potts and his team on Thorney Island. Here are the details about them. SPOTTED REDSHANK - W+GR Spotted Redshank W+GR was ringed on Saturday 18 January 2014 by Pete Potts and his team at The Stables on Thorney Island. The catch on The Deeps included 15 Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank. Anne de Potier phoned me to come down since it might be the one I had been watching at Nore Barn for the past 10 years (It wasn't). I rushed down there just as Pete was putting the colour rings on the Spotted Redshank; the rings used were W+GR (white on the left taibia and green over red on the righ tibia). It was great to see the bird at such close quarters. Pete and other members of the team. Not all are shown here. Close-up of Pete with Ruth Croger putting rings on the Spotted Redshank Pete discussing features of the Spotted Redshank's wing feathers Close-up of the Spotted Redshank with wing extended Spotted Redshank with its new rings - W+GR Pete invited me to share a photo with the ringed Spotshank just in case it was the Nore Barn bird Finally, the Spotted Redshank was released onto the field behind the stables MONDAY JANUARY 20 - 2014 - Nore Barn The Spotted Redshank (without rings) was in the stream when I arrived at about 10:30 along with a Little Egret. They were joined by an unringed Greenshank at about 11:15. Then a second Spotted Redshank made its way into the stream to feed along with the regular Spotted Redshank which did a bit of chasing to begin with, but soon came to tolerate the second bird's close presence. It was immediately clear that this second Spotted Redshank was also not ringed, which meant that the Spotted Redshank ringed by Pete Potts on Saturday on Thorney was not either of these two birds. This means we have at least four local Spotted Redshanks, ie the two ringed birds G+GY (ringed in Oct 2008) and G+GR (ringed on 18 Jan 2014) and the two in the stream today. Here are the two Spotted Redshanks feeding with the Greenshank SPOTTED REDSHANK W+GY Spotted Redshank W+GY was colour-ringed by the Farlington Ringing Group at Thorney Deeps on 16th Oct 2008. They have ringed a number of Spotted Redshanks over the years at Farlington and 2-3 at Thorney but only this one has been colour-ringed. Here is W+GY with its rings  Here is Barry Collins with the ringed Spotshank at Thorney  W+GY was subsequently seen on a number of occasions during the winter of 2008-09 and the following spring, mainly by Barry on Thorney Deeps and in the stream at Nutbourne Bay.  Here is my photo of W+GY in Nutbourne Bay on 21 Nov 2008  Pete Potts e-mailed on 18-Jun-09 to say that W+GY had been seen and photographed in Sweden, where it probably bred. Amazingly, not more than a week later, it was back on Thorney Deeps where Barry saw it on 26-Jun-09. Since then, I think Barry has seen W+GY several times on Thorney Deeps, with his most recent sighting in the stream in Nutbourne Bay on 26-Oct-09. It has been regularly seen each winter since then. Here is my digiscoped photo of W+GY back at Nutbourne on 27 Oct 2009 24 October 2011 - Emsworth Harbour - first ever sighting in Emsworth 13 November 2012 -  NUTBOURNE BAY