Mixed picture on breeding fortunes of Ring Ouzels at RSPB reserves in England and Scotland

                                               

This trio of Ring Ouzels were spotted in a field in Lincolnshire - a stop-off county on their migration from northern Africa to Britain's moorlands

A NOTE of disappointment has been sounded by the RSPB  on the breeding fortunes in England  of  Ring Ouzels.

The society is disappointed that at two of its reserves in the Lake District -  Geltsdale and Haweswater - only 11 birds were recorded  in the 2025 breeding season.

This is lower than in previous years when there have sometimes been 20-plus.

On the plus side, numbers  appear to be holding up at its Dove Stone reserve in the Peak District, not far from Manchester, where eight singing males were recorded last summer.

There is also good  news from its Abernethy reserve in the Scottish Highlands, with 15 singing males recorded last summer. This compares with six in the previous survey in 2021.

Ring Ouzels migrate here from wintering grounds - shared with Dotterels - in  the Atlas mountains in North Africa.

                                                   

Dove Stone is  owned by the United Utilities water company but managed by the RSPB 

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