Recent Recoveries

The usual Barn Owl recoveries were in this most recent batch, however they were unusual in that they weren't just local recoveries of road casualties, but rather birds that had either travelled far, or had been recovered a good time after ringing.

• A bird ringed in June 2007 as a chick in Barton-in-Fabis, near Clifton, was the most local recovery, being found as a road casualty in nearby Borrowash in April this year, almost 8 years after it was ringed.
• A chick ringed in Greasley in September 2011 was found as a road casualty near Kings Mill Reservoir in Mansfield, in April this year, 4 years on.
• Another chick, ringed in 2011 in Radcliffe, was found dead in Shropshire in March this year, 4 years on.
• A bird found injured in Staffordshire in April this year had been ringed last June in Eaton, Leics. It had travelled a fair bit and the fate of this Barn owl is unknown.
• And finally a bird ringed in Rolleston was controlled in Norfolk at Welney in February this year.

Another interesting recovery is of a Teal, of which we do not ring many. The bird was ringed at Holme Pierrepont in November last year, and was controlled by ringers at Holme in Norfolk, 2 months later.

There were also a few passerine recoveries:

A tree sparrow ringed as a chick at Beckingham Marshes in May last year was controlled by the group at Bestwood this February. This is the second control Tree Sparrow the group has had from Beckingham Marshes this year, both initially ringed by Chris de Feu last year.

A Long-tailed Tit, which was ringed at Hazelford Weir was retrapped by Mick at the same site seven and a half years later. This is quite impressive for a Long-tailed tit as the longevity record for the species is eight years and eight months, so it's not far off!

And a Chaffinch ringed at Brackenhurst in March 2013, met its end against a window in April this year. It must be a local breeder as it was found nearby in Halloughton.

Tom