Look what I ringed today!

I've been ringing this morning and had my weekly fix at Oxwich Marsh with Owain Gabb. Owain will put a full report of todays activities on the Gower ringing group blog shortly at http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk

As I am sure you will know from the picture it is a Sparrowhawk. This is only the second one I have ever ringed. It was aged and sexed as a 3 male.

Sexing was based on the length of the primaries and the length of the tarsus. both measurements did not fall into the area of overlap. Females are much larger than males and this bird felt quite small in the hand.

When handling a Sparrowhawk the main thing to look out for are the talons. I experienced a couple of puncture wounds today even though I was aware of the damage the talons can cause. I placed a bird bag over them but his talons went through the bag and into my hand. No major injuries but caution must be taken.