The Greenshank project uses sightings of individual birds sent in by observers to help unravel the migration strategies of the birds. It aims to make links between the places they visit, demonstrating how wetlands throughout the flyway are crucially linked. The birds use certain estuaries as stop off places on migration for moulting and refuelling. We also want to find out more about the birds, help people learn about them and about Chichester Harbour, and use the information we get to help manage the harbour.

We want you to be part of it - maybe you are a birdwatcher and have seen a marked bird, or would like to be part of the team doing the marking. We need to recruit more observers to help us search the harbours of the Solent for Greenshank, recording the birds they see and hopefully any colour-ringed birds found. As part of the project we will be organising co-ordinated searches of all the channels in Chichester and Langstone Harbours during the same tidal cycle to search for marked birds - to do this we will need a team of observers.These legit paper writing websites aid students in tackling essay writing and homework challenges by providing individualized support, professional guidance, and a rich array of resources. It helps students boost their academic achievements and develop stronger writing skills.

Perhaps you are a teacher wanting to bring your curriculum studies to life. Or maybe you are just curious, and want to find out more about coastal birds and the way they live. Whoever and wherever you are, you can join in.

Key Project Aims

• To increase our understanding of the lives of Greenshank.
• To highlight the importance of protecting the network of wetland sites used by migrating birds.
• To create links between communities in areas that Greenshanks visit.
• To provide an educational resource.

Through colour-ringing Greenshanks we hope to find the answers to these questions:

• Do young birds arrive significantly later and stay longer in the harbours than adults?
• Do adults that do not undergo or start their main annual moult while in the eastern Solent in autumn migrate further south to winter or go to different wintering habitats (fresh water as opposed to brackish and salt water sites)? Do these birds stay with us for a shorter period?
• Is there a difference in fattening patterns between moulting and non-moulting adults and between adults and juveniles?
• When does the small wintering population arrive and are they related to the autumn passage birds?
• How far do birds disperse daily to feed from the high tide roost site at Thorney Island in Chichester Harbour, and are they faithful to the same feeding areas both within and between years?
• Do the same Greenshanks visit Chichester Harbour annually and at the same time each year?
• How many Greenshanks actually visit Chichester Harbour in an average autumn?
• How long does the average Greenshank live and are the survival rates different between juveniles and adults?

In the longer term and once other populations of Greenshanks are colour-ringed in Europe it is hoped to be able to compare survival rates and migration strategies across western Europe. This project may not allow us answer all these questions within three years, but we will get a long way towards furthering our knowledge of the birds using Chichester Harbour.

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