The Norwegian Bird Ringing Centre

All scientific bird ringing (or banding) in Norway is organised by the Bird Ringing Centre at Museum Stavanger. Since its establishment in 1914, more than 9 million birds have been ringed in Norway. As of today, we have more than 8 million entries in our ring-marking database, which includes ringing data and recovery data. It also includes information on birds that were ringed internationally but recovered in Norway. Annually, approximately 200,000 to 250,000 wild birds are ringed in Norway. The results of this tell us about our breeding birds’ migration routes, stop over sites and wintering areas. By trapping and ringing birds, we learn about the proportion of juveniles and adults in the bird population and can say something about how the breeding season has been. When ringed birds are recovered, we can calculate their age and gather data on important causes of death. This knowledge is essential for managing the bird populations in a good way.