100 años de anillamiento

EURING
The European Union for Bird Ringing
Institut für Vogelforschung ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’, Wilhelmshaven & Helgoland

RESULTS AND PERSPECTIVES OF BIRD RINGING Helgoland / Germany
29 September - 03 October 1999

Hans Christian Cornelius Mortensen, a teacher from Viborg, Denmark, was the first person in the world to systematically ring birds. He started in 1899, ringing 165 young Starlings with numbered and addressed rings hoping that some of the birds would be found and the rings returned with information about finding place and date. The experiment was a success and already one year later the first results were published. The method attracted much attention abroad and in the following years many countries started to ring birds and established ringing centres.

The primary purpose of bird ringing was to map bird migration, and much information about migration routes, winter quarters etc. has been obtained during the first 100 years. Today, ringing is still based on the original principles but of course techniques have been refined and improved. Experience has shown that many other aspects of bird life can be elucidated by means of ringing and marking.

Birds play a special role in many fields of biology. One of the main reasons is that bird rings allow a universal system of following individuals under natural conditions and this has made birds stand out in studies of ecology and behaviour as well as in conservation and management where birds are disproportionately often used as indicators.

The advent of 100 years birds ringing is a good moment to review what we have learned with the help of ringing and marking techniques and to look into the future.

The conference is to attract people working in basic biology with birds, in statistical analysis as well as involved in management and conservation.

Previously, this 100th anniversary was planned to be celebrated in Denmark, where Mortenson started ringing, but this had to be cancelled.

The conference was now held on the German island Helgoland where regular ringing started by Hugo Weigold, the first director of the Vogelwarte Helgoland, in 1909.

The conference was organized on behalf of EURING and the three German Ringing Schemes by

The Scientific Programme comprised 6 plenaries, 10 symposia, and more than 50 poster presentations.

The plenaries and the two invited papers of each symposium will be published as an special issue of the journal ARDEA. The joint editor of the Proceedings is Lukas Jenni, Switzerland.

Papers not published in the Proceedings are invited to be submitted to the journal DIE VOGELWARTE which plans to publish a jubilee issue on the occasion of the 100 years of bird ringing.

Manuscripts for the Proceedings should be submitted at the conference. Details about the submission of manuscripts will be circulated to the invited speakers later.

Abstracts of plenaries, symposia papers and poster papers were published in a conference volume as well as on the conference home page.

Thomas Bleifuß, Volker Dierschke, Anja Epding, Walter Foken, Anita Meyer, Elke Wiechmann

Institut für Vogelforschung, ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’, An der Vogelwarte 21, D-26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany

"From the West a description of the Island of Helgoland reaches me both in terms of the beautiful instances of inorganic and organic natures, the consolidated values of prehistoric life, and in terms of still fresh evidence for the survival and work of the eternal spirit of the age." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Germany has got many islands, however there is one offshore island only. About 70 km off mainland the red sand-stone rock with its green land steeply stands out against the German Bight (North Sea). Helgoland - oasis of quietness and unique natural monument. There is nothing to compare it with!

Helgoland has a unique and tremendous flora and fauna, the world famous Helgoland lobster as well as the island’s specialty the »Knieper« (the scissors of the common crab) meaning a feast for all gourmets.

The natural ever Dune, the famous bird observatory, the Biological Institute, the cliffs hiking trail around the upper land, the »Lummenfelsen«, the world’s smallest wildlife preserve, home of 10.000 pairs of kittiwakes, guillemots and other seabirds, the seawater outdoor swimming pool being kept at a constant temperature of 26°C throughout the year, the sailing and high sea yachting club, tennis and minigolf pitches as well as fishing tours. Helgoland offers also you a shopping event of a very special nature, not only because of the customs and VAT exemptions.

Alone or in guided groups you can explore the German Sea island all year round. Just hike on the beaten tracks of our eventful history, encounter Hoffmann von Fallersleben and James Kruess on the cultural trail or just get to know the wonders of nature by walking. Helgoland welcomes you!