A fine day and three climbing teams made for a very smooth visit to the Besthorpe heronry on Saturday, which was aided by six members of from South Notts RG. After the harsh mid-winter, this first visit had been delayed from the usual time of around St Patrick's Day. Overall 33 pullus were ringed from 12 broods, which is unusual for the first visit. The mild weather, since the snow, meant there were more synchronous. The number of active nests was much lower than previous years, but with larger clutches. This suggests low winter survival, and that the birds have maybe compensated for this by having larger broods. There was a brood of five pullus, which is the first since monitoring of the heronry started in 1996, and three broods of four. They'll be another visit over the Easter weekend when a smaller team will hopefully ring the remaining chicks.
Jim
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