We put metal identification rings on the legs of most birds we release from West Hatch Wildlife Centre.  These have a unique number on them which means if a bird is found after it leaves us we can get feedback on how far it flew and how long it lived.

Over the years this has given us some useful information, including a buzzard that lived to 25 years old and a Tawny owl that was 10 years old. 

We recently received information from BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) about a Manx Shearwater that had survived 1528 days post release. Its body was recovered in Brazil, a distance of 6990km. We released this bird on 14th September 2011 in Devon. 

In January 2015 a Lesser Black Back gull we’d ringed and released in Somerset in 2006 turned up in Morocco.