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Constant Effort Ringing in Finland

The Constant Effort Sites (CES) ringing programme, aimed at net ringers, uses catches from standardised mist-netting to monitor our most common breeding songbirds. The CES provides a measure for the changes in population size of abundant CES species, and supplements the view given by line transects and point counts. It also provides valuable information about breeding success after the nestling stage. Other monitoring programmes do not measure this. In addition, retraps from adult birds can be used in estimating mortality. The project started in 1986.

In practice, CES works like this: the ringer erects the standard number of nets, in standard positions, all chosen by himself, on twelve days evenly spread between early May and late August. Everyone can choose, according to own choice, the capture routines, which however, should be followed from one year to the next.

The CES concept was brought as such from Great Britain to Finland. The Constant Effort Sites was started in Great Britain in 1981, and today birds are ringed there at more than 130 catch sites within this programme. In addition to the Finnish programme, similar capture programmes have been started in France, the Netherlands and Sweden. The corresponding North American MAPS monitoring study already includes more than 400 catch sites. It is the goal of EURING to expand CES so that it would cover all of Europe. In 2005, CES was running at 28 sites in Finland. The catch sites were situated in 25 different municipalities, and 44 ringers took part in this project.

Publications

  • Haapala, J., Heikinheimo, M. & Saurola, P. 1998: Sisämaan seurantapyynti 1997-1998 (Summary: Constant Effort Ringing in Finland in 1998). - Linnut-vuosikirja 1998: 64-69.
  • Haapala, J., Heikinheimo, M. & Saurola, P. 1999: Sisämaan seurantapyynti 1999 - sää suosi pesintöjä (Summary: Constant Effort Ringing in Finland in 1999). - Linnut-vuosikirja 1999: 57-66.
  • Haapala, J., Heikinheimo, M. & Saurola, P. 2001: Sisämaan seurantapyynti 2000- alituiset sateet heikensivät pesimistulosta (Summary: Constant Effort Ringing in Finland in 2000). - Linnut-vuosikirja 2000: 75-81.
  • Haapala, J., Heikinheimo, M. & Saurola, P. 2002: Sisämaan seurantapyynti 2001 - aikuislintujen pyyntimäärät romahtivat (Summary: Constant Effort Ringing in Finland in 2001). - Linnut-vuosikirja 2001: 75-80.
  • Haapala, J., Heikinheimo, M. & Valkama, J. 2003: Sisämaan seurantapyynti 2002 - pesinnät onnistuivat erinomaisesti (Summary: Constant Effort Ringing in Finland in 2002). - Linnut-vuosikirja 2002: 98-102.
  • Haapala, J., Heikinheimo, M. & Valkama, J. 2004: Sisämaan seurantapyynti 2003 - poikastuotto jäi keskinkertaiseksi (Summary: Constant Effort Ringing in Finland in 2003). - Linnut-vuosikirja 2003: 73-78.
  • Haapala, J., Heikinheimo, M. & Valkama, J. 2005: Sisämaan seurantapyynti 2004 - pienemmällä aikuismäärällä enemmän poikasia (Summary: Constant Effort Ringing in Finland in 2004). - Linnut-vuosikirja 2004: 57-62.
  • Haapala, J., Heikinheimo, M. & Valkama, J. 2006: Sisämaan seurantapyynti 2005 - pajusirkun ja punavarpusen kannat laskussa (Summary: Constant Effort Ringing in Finland in 2005). - Linnut-vuosikirja 2005: 47-52.