Recent Recoveries

It's been nearly a year since the last round-up of the recoveries of ringed birds that have either been
ringed by SNRG or caught by us having been ringed elsewhere.

This summary covers the highlights of 2026, split into sections covering some species in detail.

Black-headed Gulls
I continue to spend time looking for colour-ringed (and occasional metal-ringed) birds around the Trent Bridge area and occasionally elsewhere. The beginning of the year was quite fruitful with a number of birds ringed at Center Parcs being found at various local sites, and some of a project from a ringer in Leicestershire. From further afield, a bird was captured in January whilst attempting to ring gulls at Trent Bridge and was found to be already carrying a Swedish ring, caught at Ottenby in 2023. Others included a regular Danish bird (White 7JJ), that was seen at Holme Pierrepont on 10 July, and again at Trent Bridge on 3 August. A new Norweigian bird (White JAA59) was noted on a few occasions at the end of January at Trent Bridge, and a Polish bird (Blue T23U) was seen on 29 June at Holme Pierrepont. Closer to home, a regular at Trent Bridge was seen again, a bird ringed near Sheffield in 2002, noted on 14 January, 24 years after being ringed! A colour-ringed bird from Scolt Head in North Norfolk was also noted in August, ringed as a chick earlier this year.

Cormorants
Cormorants from the Attenborough colour-ringing project continue to provide interesting data.

- CRA: A bird ringed in May 2018 was seen at Blea Tarn in the Lake District in February. This is
the first sighting of this bird since ringing

- CVF: This individual has been seen over 40 times since being ringed in 2015, all re-sightings
have been in the North Norfolk area, with the latest coming from Blakeney Point back in February

 - CZ3: Having been ringed in 2023, this bird was seen in April at Rutland Water. It has
previously been recorded once, 3 months after ringing at Seaforth in Merseyside.

- CSZ: This bird has been recorded multiple times at Seaforth Nature Reserve and the
surrounding area of Merseyside. It was ringed in 2025.

Redpoll
One of the most regularly controlled birds, several Redpoll ringed by the group have been recorded
elsewhere. A bird ringed at Allestree in October last year was recaptured at Bewyn Common in
Wiltshire in March. A bird from Mick’s Bestwood site was recaptured in Budby by Birklands RG in
January, having been ringed back in 2023. Another Bestwood bird, ringed last November, was
recaptured in April near Woodhouse in West Yorkshire. A bird ringed at Calverton Quarry in October
2025 was recaptured in Symington, South Lanarkshire in April. And finally, a bird ringed last year at
Ramsdale Golf Club was recaptured at Anglers CP near Wakefield in May.

And the rest…
A Grey Heron bearing the colour ring ‘SX’ has been seen at Ogston Reservoir in Derbyshire, ringed in the nest at Attenborough in 2022, this bird has been seen several times at Carsington Water too.
Another Heron, ringed this year with the colour ring ‘TZ’ was also noted at Ogston.
A Little Egret, ringed in the nest this year at Attenborough with the colour ring ‘NN’, has been noted
at Cress Marsh in North-east Lincolnshire.

A Little Owl, ringed as a pullus in 2017 at Barton-in-Fabis, was found dead in a barn this year in
Thurgaton. The nestbox that this owl fledged from used to be very productive, but has not been
used in several years. To learn a little of the life history of one of the fledglings was of great interest
to myself and Rob Hoare who used to monitor these owls in the Barton area.

One of a brood of Kestrels ringed at Newton in 2023, was the victim of a car strike in 2024, dying of
its injuries. It had made a decent movement of nearly 60km west, being found near Blore,
Ashbourne, in Staffordshire.

Not regularly reported moving great distances from where they are ringed, a Greenfinch, ringed in
the Meadows in October last year also made an interesting movement, being found dead in Deeping St James near Peterborough in July.

One of the Attenborough colony Sand Martins, ringed in 2024 was retrapped by ringers in
Leicestershire and Mountsorrel Quarry in July this year.

Last winter, a Blackbird ringed on the island of Schiermonnikoog off the coast of the Netherlands in
November last year was retrapped at Broomfield Hall by SNRG only 32 days later.

One of the Reed Warblers ringed at Holme Pierrepont in July 2021 was recaptured in August 2023 by ringers in Portugal.

Ringers at Stanford Reservoir on the Leicestershire/Northamptonshire border often retrap our birds
and vice versa. Since June we have caught 3 of their Blackcaps, with birds recorded at Attenborough (14 June), Holme Pierrepont (2 August) and Ramsdale (5 September).

Tom

Recent Ringing Activity

Holme Pierrepont
09/08/26 - A good day with 69 birds dominated as usual by 14 Chiffchaffs and 12 Blackcaps, but Reed Warblers and Willow Warblers were in decent numbers (both 13). Other warblers caught were a single Lesser Whitethroat (the first for the year here!), 2 Whitethroats and a Sedge Warbler.

25/08/26 - Small drop in numbers today with 59 birds, again dominated by 28 Chiffchaffs and 12 Blackcaps. Other warblers caught were 6 Reed Warblers, 2 Willow Warblers and singles of Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Cetti's Warbler.

30/08/26 - Another drop in numbers today with 51 birds, not unexpected as we head towards autumn. The usual warblers in numbers were 18 Chiffchaffs and 10 Blackcaps. Other warblers caught were 11 Reed Warblers, 2 Willow Warblers, 2 Sedge Warblers and a single Cetti's Warbler.

06/09/26 - So what happened today?! The forecasts said persistent rain (rain! got out of the habit of expecting that after this summer) from mid-morning, all we had was a quick shower that made us start closing nets. Before finishing closing all the nets it stopped, so we opened them again! Expecting the warbler numbers to have dropped again this week but 94 birds were caught, 84 of them warblers. Chiffchaff numbers were amazing with 44 caught, followed by 26 Blackcaps. Other warblers caught were 10 Reed Warblers, 3 Willow Warblers, 2 Cetti's Warblers and the second Lesser Whitethroat of the year. The catch also contained a Blackcap retrap from 2023.

13/09/26 - Hoping for another good catch today, forecasts suggesting overnight rain would stop around dawn. Well, they got that wrong, we sat in cars on site until giving up at 0730. As I write this at 0930 it has just about stopped! So, no ringing today.

Ramsdale Park Golf Club
05/09/26 - We had not visited this open and quite exposed site since mid-July. All attempts since had been thwarted by heat, bright sun and/or wind but today we finally got in another visit. A little apprehensive after only catching 18 birds last time we set all the usual nets. So, relief as birds started to find the nets and we had a good catch of 89 birds. There were quite a few tits in the catch, but it did include 3 Coal Tits. Warblers caught were 20 Blackcaps, 14 Chiffchaffs and 1 Whitethroat. This site often produces something a little different and today was no exception with a Spotted Flycatcher, the first of the year for the group. We also caught 2 Chaffinch, an unusual species in our nets these days, away from feeding sites. A Blackcap was controlled, ringed in 2025 at Stanford Reservoir in Northamptonshire.

Kev

Spotted Flycatcher, Ramsdale Park, 5-9-26 (KJH)

Chiffchaff, HPP (KJH)

Gedling CP, July/August

I got things going a bit earlier this year at Gedling, with my first visit on 23 July. It was a fairly short session, possibly made shorter by the fact I had forgotten to pack my new string of A-rings, so I was chucking away as many birds as I was bagging up! It was generally quiet anyway, so I had to make do with a few Phylloscs, but I did get a Treecreeper, the first I’ve caught here.

I spent the morning of 4 August on site in much better conditions and armed with some sound-lures. I ended the session on a healthy 54 birds, which kept me very busy on my own. It was fairly ‘tit-heavy’, with 24 Blue Tit, but a mix of other species included 8 Whitethroat, my first Lesser Whitethroat for the site, and the second Woodpigeon to be ringed there.

On 14 August, I was joined by Jim, as he was interested to see how I was getting on at the site. It was nice to have a ringing companion, making setting nets and processing birds a lot more manageable. We started well with a decent first net round, but the sun and heat soon got too much and birds appeared to stop moving about, so we took down not long after 10am. We managed 28 birds, with the catch thankfully not being dominated by Tits! Willow Warblers were certainly on the move, with 15 trapped, and a few Whitethroat were still around.

The totals for the three sessions comprised: 26 Blue Tit (and 2 retrap), 23 Willow Warbler, 11 Whitethroat, 10 Great Tit, 7 Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcap, 2 Long-tailed Tit and singles of Goldcrest, Lesser Whitethroat, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon and Wren. 

Tom 

Linnets

Towards the end of July I noticed that a reasonable flock of Linnet was building up around some of my Spring Oilseed Rape plots that were maturing early thanks to the hot, dry weather. This was a great opportunity to try and ring some of these rather under-recorded birds, so I packed a couple of nets and ringing kit and headed out the following morning, a couple of hours before I was due to start work.

The plants weren’t particularly tall and this was a challenge as the birds could quite clearly see the mist-net towering above the crop, but with so many zipping about the plot, I managed a small catch of 7 Linnet and a handful of Whitethroat.

I tried another session a couple of days later but didn’t manage anything, though bird numbers appeared to have dropped. However, when I checked the field after I returned from a weekend away, the crop had been harvested and there were even more birds feeding on spilt grain, so I returned the next morning.

With the crop being gone, I set a net against a hedgerow where birds had been congregating previously, and this time used an audio-lure. This attracted large numbers of birds but the hedgerow was taller than the net and the majority of birds were found to fly over the net into the tops of the bushes. I managed 9 birds, a small sample of the large flock on site.

It was nice to handle a few individuals of a species not regularly encountered by the group, but as usual time restraints meant a more consistent effort could not be made. Once the food dries up these birds will move on, but hopefully more opportunities to study these finches will come up again in the future.

Tom

 

More Barn Owls

With reports of pairs on second clutches, this is shaping up to be one of the best, if not the best Barn Owl year on our books. Below is another picture from a security camera of a brood of 6 in the Vale of Belvoir.

 

Little Egret resighting

A Little Egret ringed as a chick at Attenborough NR on 28 May 2026 (and it was still present there on 29 June) has been resighted by Nick Coulbeck on the Lincolnshire coast on 5 August. Many thanks to Nick for the video and letting us know!

 

 

Holme Pierrepont - Sunday 2 August

Still conditions today, but bright sunshine. Four sound lures playing mixed warbler calls were deployed and resulted in another surprisingly good catch of 88. Again, Chiffchaffs were the most abundant species with 39 being caught. Other warblers were Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler. Two of the 5 recaptures were nice, a Reed Warbler from 2023 and a control Blackcap. It was good to have Duncan out with us again after such a long time.

Kev

Sedge Warbler (KJH)

 

Holme Pierrepont - Sunday 26 July

Less than ideal conditions for this visit as it was quite breezy, but the overcast sky was welcome. No sound lures yet and no trainees out today, just Gary and me. We had to go back for more bags as we walked back from setting the last nets because of the number of birds already in the other nets. Catching was steady throughout, but we took down a little early as the breeze got to be a little too much. So, for a site we would have given up on had we been able to find a replacement, we ended on 79 birds, much better than any catch made there last year. The catch was predominantly Chiffchaff, 32 being caught, along with a few Blackcap, Reed Warbler and a couple of Willow and Garden Warblers. There were also 22 tits of the usual 3 species and a Woodpigeon. The 7 retraps were all recent birds. 

Kev

Ramsdale Park Golf Centre - Sunday 19 July

The first morning session of the year for this site and on arrival it all sounded very quiet. All the usual nets were set quickly, but where were the birds? It was brighter and breezier than forecast but that was obviously not the reason for the mostly empty nets. We finished with a catch of just 18 birds, but it did include a Great-spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker & Woodpigeon. Only 2 retraps, both ringed as adults and not previously retrapped, a Robin from 2023 and a Blackcap from 2022.

Kev

Great Spotted Woodpecker (KJH)

Green Woodpecker (KJH)

Continuing Barn Owl success

Despite the heat and drought, many broods seem to be pulling through and finding enough food. This is a video from a security camera in a barn in the Vale of Belvoir yesterday, showing 5 out of a brood of 6 learning the ropes. Number six is still in the box complaining loudly....

 

 

Ramsdale Park Golf Centre

We had not managed to make a normal visit here, so on 3 July, Mick P and I made an afternoon visit in very hot conditions and not looking forward to the job of clearing the rides. However, we were delighted to find that the ride for the main line of nets up the hill had been mowed for us by the ground staff which was very much appreciated. We quickly erected nets here and then cleared the rides for the other nets. As expected in the full sun and breezy conditions we only had a small catch totalling 15, mostly warblers. At least the site is now ready for future visits this year.

Kev

Holme Pierrepont

On 28 June we made the first summer visit, only to find the net rides very overgrown from our last spring visit. So it was hard work for just the 3 of us, and not helped by finding 2 poles and 4 guys had been stolen. Two hours later we had the nets up and ended with a decent catch of 44 birds, the majority being 19 Chiffchaff. 

Bird of the day was an 8-year-old retrap Garden Warbler that amazingly had avoided our nets every other year since being ringed. Not a longevity record yet but still nice to see. (see photo)

We returned on 5 July and had an easier time putting up the nets with a similar catch to the previous visit of 43 birds. Chiffchaff again dominated with 13 caught. 

Then 11 July saw us back again with Mark Gash joining us from Derbyshire. A quieter day with 36 birds. This time Blackcaps dominated with 8 being caught. Surprisingly we caught 3 juvenile Sedge Warblers, an unusual bird in our nets now at this site. However, the big surprise of the day was not a single retrap! 

Kev

Terns & Gulls

On 22 June we visited the tern platform and adjacent island at Skylarks NR. Unfortunately, the Black-headed Gulls had taken over the tern platform and had laid about a month earlier than last year and most had fledged. We did get 6 late chicks which we ringed and colour ringed.

Friday 26 June saw us back at Attenborough to ring the tern chicks. 37 were ringed, all on the two platforms alongside the Visitor Centre. The platform on Church Pond was also checked but the Black-headed Gulls nesting there were also early this year and had fledged.

Kev 

Attenborough Sand Martins

On 15 June we had a mist-netting session at the Sand Martin colony. There were fairly low expectations as most of the first broods had fledged. Jenny was on hand again to take blood samples, so the totally unexpected catch of 48 birds was most welcome, and included 32 unringed birds (4 adult males, 14 adult females and 12 juveniles). All the juveniles were birds that were born elsewhere and were undergoing post-juvenile dispersal. Of the 16 already ringed birds, 7 were males, 5 were females and 4 were recently fledged juveniles. Of note, 1 of the males was ringed as a nestling in 2021. Another male was ringed as a nestling in 2023. Considering the activity levels around the colony at the time, the 30 adults were probably about 50% of the adult population at the colony.

Kev 

Attenborough CES

Visit 5 was made on 14 June and produced 42 birds, much improved catch and timed perfectly for the visit of Jenny from Manchester University to take blood samples from some of the birds. Unfortunately, the recent strong winds had brought down a tree into the ride where net 5 is sited so we had to leave that net out for this visit. Blackcaps made up the majority of the catch, but it was nice to get 4 juvenile Treecreepers. A Blackcap from 2022 was the oldest retrap. We also had a control blackcap from Northamptonshire.

Visit 6 was made on 21 June and we were back to a low catch despite Emmeline and the volunteers from NWT clearing the fallen tree prior to our visit. We had just 19 birds, the usual mix, and the oldest retrap was a Reed Warbler from 2024.

Kev