Toby Moran Mylett
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tobymoranmylett.bsky.social
Toby Moran Mylett
@tobymoranmylett.bsky.social
he/him. ornithologist/bird ringer/academic/writer/arty-type. opinions=mine (regrettably).
The results are in!

This year, I've spent a lot of time ringing wildfowl for my county-wide study. As a result, during summer '25 alone, 100 waterbirds have been ringed/controlled across Buckinghamshire.

Totals:
CANGO: 42 new, 1 retrap
GREGO: 16 new
MALLA: 29 new
MUTSW: 9 new, 3 controls
November 7, 2025 at 12:01 AM
It's been a pretty poor year for Barn Owls here in the South-East, but it was excellent to find this ringed female on one of my recent box visits with the @borgowl.bsky.social crew.
September 5, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Only just recovered (from lack of sleep) after an awesome week's ringing on @skokholmisland.bsky.social, targeting Manx Shearwater but also doing some dazzling and passerine trapping when conditions allowed. There's a reason they call it 'Dream Island'!
September 5, 2025 at 4:23 PM
A pretty good ornithological day - Canada Goose ringing first thing, a wildfowl survey mid morning, nest box checks mid afternoon then ring reading more geese before sunset. Via a cuppa, of course.
July 18, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Last week I visited one of my best sites for Greylag, which are very localised birds here in Bucks. Current ringing totals for the site so far in summer '25 stand at 20 birds caught: 7 Mallard, 6 Canada Goose (1 retrap), 7 Greylag. #birdringing #ukbirding #birdbanding
July 5, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Quality over quantity this morning while ringing at Lowndes Park - few birds on site, but several Chesham ringing firsts: Canada Goose pulli, Mallard pulli and Greylag Goose (a difficult species to catch here in the Chilterns). Big thanks to @mangobirdy.bsky.social for scribing and taking photos!
July 5, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Cracking day down in Walthamstow for the annual goose-roundup. Big thanks as always to @whiteleggdan.bsky.social and Phil Belman for organising. Great to finally ring a Barnacle Goose, too! #birdringing #ukbirding #londonbirds
July 4, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Ringed some more Mallard this morning including 2 females, which are far harder to catch than drakes (here in Bucks, at least). The deep purple-blue of a Mallard's speculum is easily one of the most astonishing examples of 'common' British bird plumage.
#birdringing #birdbanding #ukbirding
July 3, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Wildfowl ringing season started nicely again the other morning with some hand-caught Mallard. #birdringing #birdbanding
June 21, 2025 at 6:01 PM
During the last 2 months I've been all over the south east getting more ringing experience with species I've had fewer opportunities to work with. A great way to learn more, meet new folks and catch up with others!
May 17, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Lovely morning at Lowndes Park hand-catching/re-sighting wildfowl for my ringing study. I was only expecting Canada Geese, but (after months of evading me on site) I also caught a stonking male Mallard. I'm recording max tarsus of Mallard atm as I've noticed some variability between local birds.
March 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Sunday was a good re-sighting day, travelling around the county keeping tabs on my ringed wildfowl (and seeing some other birds, too!). #birding #ornithology #birdringing
March 5, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Shobrooke Park: #birds #birding m Wigeon [site-1st], m Tufted Duck, the usual 2 Domestic Mallard drakes, 3 Nuthatch incl pr, Green Woodpecker, 2 Goldcrest incl 1 singing, c3 singing Chaffinch, singing Linnet, Song Thrush, 2 lingering Black-headed Gull, 4 Herring Gull 3ad imm, nest-building Rooks.
March 1, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Lowndes Park: #birds 1st post about my beloved local patch... this pm, singing Blackbird and Great Tit and 6 Robin. Single 'sneering' Greenfinch on 22nd and 23rd. Returning intersex Mallard on 23rd. 'Scruff', probably the oldest of the geese in my ringing study, is doing okay.
February 25, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Beautiful re-sighting trip yesterday in Aylesbury. A good number of colour-ringed Mute Swan recorded. #birdringing #ornithology #birdbanding #birds
February 18, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Cracking ringing day today. Started off with mist netting some Blue and Great Tits, then checked on 3 of my wildfowl sites ahead of upcoming visits. Blessedly, despite the spread in other parts of the UK, I've found no signs of bird flu - long may this continue.

#birdringing #birds #ornithology
February 16, 2025 at 6:07 PM
aside from all the birds I also help with local cat re-homing schemes - here's some recent friends... #adoptdontshop #housecats #cats
February 5, 2025 at 5:24 PM
haven't put anything about my writing here yet, so... Jan25 saw the longest ever run of one of my plays - a fragmented & quite silly piece named Missing Lane Markers on the A47. 2 4 star reviews. very meaningful after 10+ years of writing nonsense and hoping some of it finds reality. #playwriting
February 4, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Rook. Peterborough Service area.
February 2, 2025 at 10:14 PM
We ringed more Magpie last summer than would usually be expected - all younger birds, all in mist nets.

#birds #birdringing #birdbanding
February 2, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Quick throwback to a bitterly cold Saturday in November, when I helped some ringing colleagues with their ongoing Black-headed Gull study... such brilliant, compact, handsome birds.

BHGs ringed in the UK often travel vast distances into Europe - a few even reach Russia.
January 30, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Birds are fitted with specially-designed, lightweight rings. Each has a unique code: the bird's ID number!

NB: Bird ringing is a licensed activity. As ringers, we go through extensive (and continual) training to gain competency and maintain high welfare standards.

#birds #birdringing #birdbanding
January 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Here's some of the birds ringed as part of my Bucks wildfowl study. The focus species are Mute Swan and Canada Goose, but sometimes there's a bit more variety...

The project aims to reveal more about how these birds live, move and breed.

#birds
January 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
hey bluesky. haven't a clue how to use this site, frankly, but I know it'll be better than musk-ville, so here goes nothing. I'm an ornithologist and writer based in the UK. expect photos of geese and musings on contemporary playwriting; maybe more, maybe less. thanks x
January 25, 2025 at 11:03 PM