Last week, I noticed a dead Shag washed up on Stevenston Beach with a metal ring. I would show you the picture, but it wasn’t pretty, having been scavenged, and you might be having your tea… With a bit of effort, I managed to remove the ring and then entered the details in the BTO Ringing website (well worth a visit for lots of information).

Today I got back a detailed report. The bird was a male Shag ringed by the Clyde Ringing Group on Aisla Craig on 27 May 2009 when it was at least 2 years old. It was found 6168 days after it was ringed, 46 km from the ringing site. This makes it at least 17 years old.