Swans and Shelducks

[Chocky]

Mute swans One looks to be ringed and some sleepy Shelducks

[Catherine]

All the ringed Mute Swans which I have seen have had a wide orange ring on one leg and a smaller metal one on the other - whether up north or down here.

It's not easy to see from the pic, but has that bird got a blue ring? (It might be a metal one which is shining and the other is unsighted.) However, I wondered if different colours might tell you where the bird was ringed - e.g. in which county/country?

I reported the ring number of this Mute Swan through the BTO, and the ringer wrote back (eventually - long story!) to tell me its lifestory. It was very interesting!