The CES was the first national standardised ringing program coordinated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and has been running in the UK since 1983. The scheme monitors the breeding success and survival of 24 common migratory and songbird species found in woodland, scrub and reedbeds. Ringers use the same number of mist nets, placed in the same locations, for the same period of time for 12 visits each year to keep the results consistent.

The CES ringing scheme was adopted quite early on at Rutland Water and has enabled us to monitor the breeding success of wetland species such as reed warbler, reed bunting and sedge warbler as the Nature Reserve, which was created along with the Reservoir back in 1976, has become established.

Such long-term and standardised data enables us to look at trends in the populations of species associated with wetland habitats – many of which are declining in the wider countryside due to habitat loss. During the 37-year period of the CES operating at the Nature Reserve, we have seen the Willow Tit become extinct as a breeding species locally, but we have also seen the arrival of a new breeding species – the Cetti’s Warbler. In recent years, careful woodland management has seen the return of the Nightingale to the area of the CES and in 2022, we confirmed they bred in Cherry Wood when a female with an egg was processed in the spring and two juveniles were caught later in the summer.

The most interesting discovery through the CES was a Chiffchaff which was ringed as a juvenile at Rutland Water back in 2009. It was encountered here again in June 2020 – 10 years and 27 days after it was ringed, making it the oldest Chiffchaff known to science. The average lifespan of a Chiffchaff is just two years and our individual beat the previous record holder by three years.