The Reed Bunting above is one of at least four now frequenting our garden.

Up until at least the mid-1980s,there was a regular roost of Reed Buntings in one of the reed filled ditches at New Hythe.Several ringing sessions were held each year during 1979,1980 and 1983.In all I had four recoveries,as follows -

ringed (young female) 24 10 79 Hall Wood,Fairseat,Wrotham,kent.
controlled 01 03 80 New Hythe,Kent.9KM SE 129 days.

ringed (adult female) 31 01 79 New Hythe,Kent.
controlled 24 10 79 Hall Wood,Fairseat,Wrotham,kent.9KM NW 207 days.

ringed (adult female) 01 03 80 New Hythe,Kent.
found dead 24 11 80 Fobbing,Essex.26KM N 268 days.

ringed (young male) 30 09 79 Hall Wood,Fairseat,Wrotham,Kent
controlled 02 11 80 New Hythe,kent.

A Reed Bunting ringed at New Hythe as a second year male on the 31 01 93,was controlled at Icklesham,Sussex,on the 24 09 93 49KM SW 236 days.

I have only handled a small number of Reed Buntings at Leysdown (Coastal Park) Kent,but so far I have had four recoveries,as follows.

ringed young (female) 12 10 91 Leysdown,Kent
controlled 09 08 95 Kroon`s Polder,Vlieland,Netherlands 345KM NE 1397 days.

ringed adult (male) 16 09 92 Leysdown,Kent.
controlled 30 10 93 Blankenberge,Belgium,153KM E 409 days.

ringed young (male) 23 09 93 Leysdown,Kent
controlled 28 10 93 Icklesham,Sussex, 57KM SW 35 days.

ringed young (male) 16 10 99 Leysdown.Kent
controlled 25 09 01 Faversham,Kent 6KM SE 710 days.


The vast majority of British Reed Buntings stay within Britain.However small numbers of Scandinavian birds winter in Britain and rather more pass down the east coast to wintering grounds in France and the Low countries.