The two chicks at the live-streamed nest which can be seen here https://sos.org.uk/about/our-work-with-people/surveys/honey-buzzards/ were ringed yesterday morning with BTO metal rings and with colour rings VV (chick weight 782 g) and VW ( chick weight 735 g).
Colour ringing over several decades has revealed much about the movements and longevity of breeding Honey-buzzards, so hopefully these youngsters will add new insights.
Both adults returned with food soon after the ringing was completed. The youngsters are one month old and if all goes well should fledge in about two weeks. They can now feed themselves on wasp larvae though not quite yet with the birds and frogs that are also being brought in by the adults.
Two Honey-buzzard chicks were also ringed today at each of two other nests in Sussex and in one nest the young were only three weeks old. At the other, they were about five weeks old, suggesting egg laying as early as about 15 May.
Samples of empty comb were taken from all three nests for analysis by one of the University of Sussex students.