Brackenhurst, Sunday 17 December

It was another beautiful frosty start at Brack for Jim, Sue and I on Sunday, but with the forecast predicting rain later in the day, we were on borrowed time! Unfortunately as Simon was away, and the students being off for their winter break, the feeders had not been topped up, and were empty following a week of cold weather. This was reflected in the catch round the feeders, with numbers of 'regular' species down. However a good number of blackbirds were caught from around the feeder nets, possibly visiting due to the surrounding land being frozen solid. Otherwise a decent catch of Redwing was made, and a Song thrush was an unusual capture for the site. Rain stopped play around 10:30.

In total 39 birds were caught, of which 13 were retraps. Full totals were (new/retrap): Dunnock (4/1), Robin (4/3), Blackbird (8/1), Song Thrush 1/0, Redwing 8/0, Blue Tit 0/2, Great tit 0/2, Chaffinch 1/1, Yellowhammer 0/2, Reed Bunting 0/1.

A Woodcock was flushed from Orwin's first thing, and the Tawny Owls were noisy in the gloom. A Raven also flew over the feeding station late morning.

Tom

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 17 December

I decided to run the session today as Sunday suited more people, despite the later forecasts on Friday suggesting that Saturday would be better. As it turned out the weather on Saturday was better – but maybe the birds would not have been as good! This morning started very cold, frosty and calm, but the clouds were gathering from the start, delaying the dawn for a while. Eventually it started to get light and the sun just appeared fleetingly above the eastern horizon before being covered by the cloud advancing from the west.

Waiting in the frost for the dawn to arrive were Kirsten, Alex, Duncan, Gary and I. The first round was a little disappointing but did include a Fieldfare, always a nice bird to catch and take your mind off the cold. The mince pies Gary brought along were also most welcome.

The next few rounds were better and it looked like we would have a decent catch by the end; even a Woodpigeon stayed in the net waiting to be extracted. Last week we had one in the net but it jumped out as soon as we approached. But then at around 10am the rain started. We headed to the nets and as we got close to the first net I noticed a shape in the net that I had not seen for many years. I nipped under the branches smartish to extract it before it had chance to escape. The last time I saw one of these little beauties in a net was at Widmerpool Hall in 1985. We caught over 50 there in the early 1980s. Although the last time the group ringed one Chris caught it in Clifton Wood in 2005, strangely it was on December 17th! Just the bird to warm up frozen fingers with a peck or two.

Hawfinch (all photos by K. Hemsley)

 

What a stunning bird, it made us forget the cold but unfortunately not the rain. That persisted so we had to take down by about 10:30 which was a pity but we were not disappointed with the birds we did catch in a much shortened session. We ended with a catch of 38 including 13 retraps and a control Long-tailed Tit. The catch was made up of (new/retrap and control): Fieldfare 1/0, Redwing 2/0, Dunnock 0/1, Robin 1/1, Blue Tit 1/3, Great Tit 0/3, Long-tailed Tit 8/4, Chaffinch 5/1, Greenfinch 2/0, Yellowhammer 1/1, Woodpigeon 1/0, Starling 1/0, Hawfinch 1/0. The oldest retrap was a Long-tailed Tit from 2014.

Kev

Recent recoveries

As usual, several Barn owl recoveries have come through:

- A bird ringed in June last year in Woolsthorpe was controlled at a box at Rutland water in May this year.
- Another ringed at Allington in June last year has been controlled at a box in Thrussington, also in May.
- A bird ringed in Normanton back in 2011 has been found dead 45km away in Tallington, Lincs in August.
- Another, ringed in 2016 in Newstead, has been found dead on the roads, 42km away near Tickhill, South Yorks.
- The latest comes from a bird found dead in Kirkby-in-Ashfield in October, originally ringed in nearby Linby in June the same year.

A Tawny Owl, ringed as an adult at the nest in Bulcote, September 2015, has been found dead in the same locality in September this year.

A Jackdaw, ringed in Lambley in May 2015 was found wounded at a stable in nearby Papplewick in June this year.

J8TN, the Norwegian-ringed Black-headed gull, with a penchant for Nottingham Forest (possibly), has been seen again, returning for its 5th winter at Trent Bridge.

A Chaffinch, ringed by the Whites at Devon Farm in February 2016, has been reported up in County Durham in October this year. Unfortunately the bird, picked up in Bishop Aukland, was dying when found.

A Lesser Redpoll, ringed at Bestwood in November 2016 has been controlled by a ringer in Edwinstowe, this November - not the first SNRG Redpoll to be controlled by this ringer.

2 Blackcap have been controlled at Stanford Reservoir in Northants. both recaptured within a week of one another this September. Both had been ringed within a week of one another at Holme Pierrepont in July this year.

A Reed Warbler, controlled in May this year at Holme Pierrepont, had initially been ringed at Rutland Water only 15 days prior to recapture.

And finally, another Reed Warbler, ringed at Holme Pierrepont as a youngster in August last year, has been controlled this August, down at Poole Harbour in Dorset.

Tom

Sutton Bonington, Saturday 9 December

A very cold, calm and clear start to today's session for Jake, Sue, Kirsten, Gary and I. Quite a few birds were around early on but we had only set the main feeder nets because the forecast was for a breezy morning (although this never arrived!) and the pheasant feeder had disappeared anyway.

Catching was steady throughout the first half of the morning and we ended with a catch of 30 including 15 retraps, a little better than the last two weeks. Yellowhammer numbers were up, Chaffinch down and unusually we caught a Starling.

The catch was made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 0/2, Fieldfare 1/0, Redwing 2/0, Robin 2/2, Blue Tit 1/5, Great Tit 0/1, Long-tailed Tit 0/2, Chaffinch 2/1, Greenfinch 1/0, Yellowhammer 4/2, House Sparrow 1/0, Starling 1/0. The oldest retraps were from 2016.

Kev

Sunrise, Ringing station and Starling (S. Lakeman)

Brackenhurst visits

26 November

A frosty start at Brackenhurst greeted Jim, Tom, Issy and me. Setting the nets in Orwin's in the dark was a challenge, but rewarded by a fleeting glimpse of a Woodcock in the ride. Unfortunately it, like most of the Fieldfares and Redwings around, evaded the nets.

Catching was steady enough to keep us busy at the copse feeder site throughout the morning, with quite a lot of new Chaffinches, despite letting a few go due to leg disease. We found time to cut out a new ride in Orwin's later on as the wind got up and things slowed down. Hopefully this will be useful in the future.

We finished on a total of 29 birds, including 15 retraps. The catch was made up of (new/retrap): Redwing 1/0, Robin 2/4, Goldcrest 1/1, Blue Tit 1/7, Great Tit 1/3, Chaffinch 7/0, Yellowhammer 1/0. All of the retraps were first ringed at Brackenhurst, with the oldest retrap a Blue Tit after nearly 4 years, ringed as a juvenile in December 2013 and previously retrapped twice in 2014 at the same site.

3 December

A still and overcast morning made Jim, Duncan, Issy and me hopeful of a good catch. Meanwhile, the sheep greeted us, hopeful of some breakfast. We were both eventually rewarded for our optimism. We got the nets up in Orwin's early and there were plenty of thrushes around. They were definitely interested in the tape, but they remained high up in the branches. We also noted a female Sparrowhawk patrolling the area, keeping things moving.

We finished on a total of 44 birds, including 20 retraps. The catch was made up of (new/ retrap): Dunnock 0/3, Robin 1/2, Blackbird 1/0, Fieldfare 1/0, Redwing 2/0, Long-tailed tit 1/2, Blue Tit 4/7, Great Tit 5/4, Tree Sparrow 1/0, Chaffinch 4/2, Yellowhammer 4/0.

All of the retraps have been caught at Brackenhurst before, mainly as young birds. The oldest retrap was a Long-tailed Tit, first ringed at Brackenhurst in November 2014 and retrapped 5 times in between at either Orwin's or the copse.

Sue Lakeman

 Blackbird, Yellowhammer, Blue Tit and hungry sheep (I. Connell)

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 3 December

The cold weather of the last week had been replaced by quite mild weather when Maria, Jake, Trish, Alex, Gary and I arrived on site this morning. It was overcast with only a light breeze but there did not seem to be very many birds around, I thought there would be more after the last few cold days. We ended with a catch of just 24 including 10 retraps. The catch was made up of (new/retrap): Redwing 2/0, Robin 0/1, Dunnock 0/1, Blue Tit 1/5, Great Tit 0/2, Chaffinch 9/0, Goldfinch 1/0, Yellowhammer 1/0, Reed Bunting 0/1. The oldest retrap was a Blue Tit from 2015.

Kev

Sutton Bonington, Saturday 25 November

After a delayed start this morning due to the heavy sleet shower (which the various weather forecasts had failed to predict) we eventually started to set nets at about 0715. It was a bit breezy and a few occasional bits of drizzle did not help but we were still left wondering, where have all the birds gone?

Maria, Kirsten, Duncan, Gary and I set just the feeder nets and caught far more leaves than birds, though not sure why after a good catch last week. There seemed far less movement of birds generally, even the seemingly ever-present Buzzard did not put in an appearance until we were leaving!

We ended with a catch of just 17 including 5 retraps. The catch was made up of (new/retrap): Great Spotted Woodpecker 0/1, Fieldfare 1/0, Redwing 4/0, Dunnock 1/0, Blue Tit 2/1, Great Tit 2/0, Chaffinch 2/3. The oldest retrap was a Chaffinch from 2016.

Kev

 Fieldfare (K. Hemsley)

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 19 November

A glorious, still and frosty morning dawned as we met at Sutton Bonington. Bit of a strange start as Kirsten had trouble locating us and once the gate was open Alex could not get his car to start, so we had to push it on to the campus! Maria, Alex, Sue, Kirsten, Gary and I, along with two guests set 2 extra nets near the pheasant feeder along with the 3 small nets at our feeders.

Things started a little slowly but picked up after the first round and we were pleased to get the first two Yellowhammers of the season plus a Brambling and a couple of Lesser Redpoll.

A few leaves started to fall into the nets as a slight breeze got up towards midday but nothing to interfere with catching. We ended with a catch of 50 including 20 retraps. The catch was made up of (new/retrap): Great Spotted Woodpecker 0/1, Blackbird 1/0, Robin 0/2, Dunnock 3/1, Blue Tit 5/8, Great Tit 1/3, Long-tailed Tit 1/2, Goldcrest 0/1, Chaffinch 12/2, Lesser Redpoll 2/0, Goldfinch 1/0, Brambling 2/0, House Sparrow 1/0, Yellowhammer 2/0.

The oldest retraps were from 2015. There were good numbers of Chaffinch and a few Yellowhammer around again but no winter thrushes were seen or heard.

Kev

 (photos by S. Lakeman)

Lesser Redpoll & Brambling (K. Hemsley)

Brackenhurst, Sunday 19 November

We made our second visit of the season to Brackenhurst today and set up the usual nets at the feeders and Orwin's. We were Duncan, Tom, myself and new ringer, Brendan Noone. The weather was mostly still, but there was a frost in Orwin's which hung on for most of the morning. Over the session we handled 44 birds of 11 species. Catching was steady until 11:00 am.

The most interesting retraps were:-

Robin – two from 2015. Both prefer their own territories, staying put in Orwin's & the feeding site respectively.

Great Tit – the oldest bird was originally ringed in 2012. It's been caught 15 times and seven of those were in November. There do seem to be patterns with resident Brackenhurst birds, with some using the feeders early and others late winter. I suspect over the winter food is most important initially and then towards spring being on a territory starts to supersede this.

Chaffinch – another old male, this time from 2012 and not caught between times.

Totals: 44 birds processed (21 new/23 retrap), comprising:  Greater Spotted Woodpecker 1/1, Dunnock 2/4, Robin 0/3, Blackbird 2/1, Redwing 5/0, Goldcrest 1/1, Blue Tit 1/5, Great Tit 1/6, House Sparrow 1 (pit-tagged), Chaffinch 5/2, Yellowhammer 2/0.

Jim

 Great-spotted Woodpecker (T. Shields)

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 12 November

The various weather forecasts tried hard to ruin our visit this week. On Thursday it was going to be calm and dry on Saturday, very windy on Sunday, so I decided to go for Saturday. On Friday morning it was going to rain on Saturday, still windy on Sunday. By Friday early evening it was still going to be raining on Saturday so I cancelled and moved the session to the Sunday despite the windy forecast. When Saturday dawned it was dry, still and overcast, perfect for mist netting, the rain had not materialised. So on Sunday, Maria, Issie, Duncan, Gary and I met at an already breezy site and put up the 3 small nets in the new rides. Then the wind seemed to drop despite the forecast saying it would steadily increase! The wind did start to pick up by the middle of the morning and the nets then filled with leaves.

We did manage a decent catch of 40 including 15 retraps. The catch was made up of (new/retrap): Great Spotted Woodpecker 1/1, Blackbird 2/0, Robin 1/0, Dunnock 2/0, Blue Tit 6/6, Great Tit 1/2, Long-tailed Tit 4/4, Goldcrest 2/0, Chaffinch 6/2. The oldest retraps were from 2015. There were a few Yellowhammer around again but they are not interested in the seed yet.

Kev

 Great Spotted Woodpecker (K. Hemsley)

Brackenhurst - Sunday 5 November

Remember, remember... to have the first ringing session of the season at the Brackenhurst feeders today. We weren't really expecting fireworks, but first visits are always a little bit more exciting as you're not sure what’s about or how productive the birds have been over the summer.

Anyway, Mick, myself and, new to the group, Hanna Janiszewska, put up the usual nets at the feeders and Orwin's and over the morning we handled 57 birds of 11 species, which is pretty good for this time of year.

Surprisingly, Chaffinches accounted for 1 in 3 of the birds processed. One was a retrap from 2009, and ringed in the same month eight years ago! However, joy was mixed with sadness as the bird’s legs were badly diseased with a FPV-type infection.

All the tit retraps were adults (11) and all the new birds were juveniles (7), highlighting their site fidelity. The sound lure (til the battery died) brought in four Redwings to Orwin’s. They really like the Lithuanian song this side of Christmas.

Half the overall catch was in the first net round. All ‘n all a decent start to a winter's ringing at Brack.

Species totals were as follows: total captures: 57 (42 new/15 retrap); Dunnock 5/0, Robin 2/0, Blackbird 2/0, Redwing 4/0, Goldcrest 2/0, Long-tailed Tit 0/1, Blue Tit 4/4, Great Tit 3/7, Treecreeper 1/0, House Sparrow 4/0, Chaffinch 15/3.

The oldest retrap was the chaffinch mentioned above (and another from 2014), but there were also Great Tits from 2013 & 2014 and Long-tailed Tit ringed 2014.

Jim

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 5 November

Trish, Jake, Gary and I made the first visit of the winter to the feeding site today. We put up 3 small nets in the new rides we cut when we baited the newly-sited feeders a couple of weeks ago. We made the first round and one of the first birds out was a Chaffinch with scaly legs. Chaffinch at this site seem to be suffering greatly from this condition, thankfully the rest we caught during the morning were clear. Then the rain started for half an hour or so before the sun came out and a Jay found its way into a net. We ended with a small catch of 25 including 2 retraps which we considered OK for a first attempt in the new location. The catch was made up of (new/retrap): Jay 1/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Blue Tit 7/1, Great Tit 4/1, Long-tailed Tit 4/0, Chaffinch 4/0, Goldfinch 1/0. The oldest retrap was a Blue Tit from 2015. A few Fieldfare passed overhead and there were a few Yellowhammer around.

Kev

Jay (K. Hemsley)

2016 Report

The 2016 ringing report is now out! If you would like a copy, please email the address at the top of the 'Reports' page - see tab at the top.

Sibthorpe, Monday 30 October

It has been two months since I last ringed in my garden in Sibthorpe, and the calm forecast and a free day encouraged me to have a go. In the event, I was pleased I did as I handled 120 birds of which 108 were new; its a long time since I ringed 100 passerines in a day.

House Sparrows (‘spuggies’) dominated the catch accounting for just over half the birds (69). Next was Goldfinch (16), but I suspect they are local birds and their migrant cousins have not yet appeared. Several of both species were still in post-juvenile moult, which is not that surprising as they have multiple broods and tend to breed late.

Species totals (new/retrap): Wren 1/0, Dunnock 5/1, Robin 1/0, Blackbird 1/0, Goldcrest 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 14/0, Blue Tit 7/0, Great Tit 4/0, House Sparrow 60/9, Goldfinch 14/2. The oldest retrap was a spuggie ringed on Christmas day 2015.

Jim

Ramsdale Park Golf Course, Monday 16 October

Jim, Gary and I made a visit to Ramsdale and set the usual line of 8 x 18m nets on an overcast and still morning. It started to rain a little on and off for the first half of the session but it never amounted to much. The strangest thing about the weather was the much reported red sky, a strange atmosphere to ring in but it did not stop the birds finding the nets and with 2 MP3s playing most of the birds were attracted to them.

We were hoping the calm before storm Ophelia arrived would be long enough to allow a full morning session and we were pleased to find the Met Office were a little out on their timings for the wind picking up. We took down just before lunch as the breeze started throwing leaves into the nets.

We ended with a catch which was steady throughout the morning. Ten Redwings were nice as few had been reported so far this month with the winds being predominantly from the west. We ended with a total catch 64 including 11 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 5/1, Song Thrush 1/0, Redwing 10/0, Wren 3/0, Dunnock 4/0, Robin 2/1, Blackcap 2/0, Goldcrest 6/0, Blue Tit 8/3, Great Tit 4/0, Long-tailed Tit 3/1, Bullfinch 2/5, Lesser Redpoll 2/0, Greenfinch 1/0. The oldest retrap was from 2015.

Kev

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 9 October

The plan today was to put up the nets at the site for the last time this year, hopefully catch a few birds and then remove all the poles/guys etc. We ended with the biggest team of the year out and more birds than we expected. Tom, Duncan, Sue, Trish, Jake, Gary and I were joined by Maria and Kate who were out for the first time with the group. We set all the usual nets on a calm but clear morning. We had two MP3 players playing warbler calls. 

 

The catching rate was steady throughout with a little flurry at the end when a few Long-tailed Tits appeared with their usual ‘friends’. The migrant warblers have all gone apart from Blackcap and Chiffchaff, but it was nice to catch 3 Cetti’s Warblers. 

 

We ended with a total catch of 46 including 8 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Song Thrush 1/0, Blackbird 1/0, Wren 7/1, Dunnock 5/2, Robin 2/0, Blackcap 5/0, Chiffchaff 4/0, Cetti’s Warbler 3/0, Goldcrest 3/2, Blue Tit 2/0, Long-tailed Tit 1/2, Bullfinch 1/1, Reed Bunting 3/0. 

 

The retraps were all recently ringed birds. Overhead were Buzzard and Sparrowhawk, but no winter thrush movement was noted.

 

Kev

 

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 10 September

Alex, Tom, Duncan and I held a ringing session at the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont. I did not expect a big catch and the Blotts end would probably have produced more - but after the recent car crimes at that end this was considered a safer bet. It was a cool, clear and a little breezy to start but cloud soon rolled in. We put up 11 nets and had two MP3 players going. Catching rate was slow to start and never really picked up, but the breeze did pick up so we took down a little early.

We ended with a total catch of 32 including 5 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Kingfisher 1/0, Wren 1/2, Dunnock 1/0, Robin 3/2, Reed Warbler 3/0, Blackcap 8/0, Chiffchaff 2/0, Goldcrest 3/1, Great Tit 3/0, Reed Bunting 2/0. The oldest retrap was a Robin from 2015. Overhead were lots of House Martins and a couple of Swifts were seen about 3 times.

Kev

 Kingfisher (A. Phillips)

Ramsdale Park Golf Centre, Thursday 7 September

Duncan, Mick and I made a visit to Ramsdale and set the usual line of 8 x 18m nets and another small line of a 12m and 9m net on an overcast and still morning. The site sounded quiet again and with many of the warblers gone from Holme Pierrepont last weekend we were hoping the small line with Linnet playing on an MP3 would help increase the expected low catch. We had two more MP3s playing warbler calls along the main net line.

We ended up being surprised by the catch which was steady throughout the morning, despite not catching any Linnets! A Jay added a bit of interest early on and a Reed Bunting was a first for the site but the main surprise was the total number of birds, particularly Blackcap and Bullfinch. We ended with a total catch of exactly 100 including 10 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Jay 1/0, Blackbird 2/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 1/0, Robin 1/0, Blackcap 24/1, Whitethroat 2/1, Chiffchaff 11/0, Blue Tit 5/0, Great Tit 2/0, Long-tailed Tit 14/4, Bullfinch 14/4, Goldfinch 8/0, Greenfinch 3/0, Reed Bunting 1/0. The oldest retrap was from 2015.

Kev

Recent Recoveries

A number of Barn owl recoveries have come in, following the annual rounds of the nest boxes. Firstly, the more notable ones:

- A bird ringed in Scredington in June 2006 has been controlled in Eaton, Leics, exactly 4000 days after it was ringed.
- A bird ringed at Stathern in 2016 has been controlled further east, near Spalding in July this year.
- A bird originally captured near Salisbury Plain in August 2012, was controlled by the group at a Box at Hawton in May 2016.

And other short-term, more local recoveries:
- A bird ringed as a youngster in Hoveringham in 2014 was controlled at Hawton in June this year.
- A bird ringed as a youngster in Morton in 2016 was controlled at Kneeton in June this year.
- A bird ringed by Birklands RG as a youngster at the Newark Sewage Treatment works in 2014 was controlled at Kirklington in June this year.
- A Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project bird, ringed as a youngster in Keyworth in 2016 was controlled at Widmerpool in June this year.
- A bird ringed as a youngster in Old Dalby in 2016 was controlled at Stathern in May this year.
- A bird ringed as a youngster in Girton in 2016 was controlled at a nearby Box in the same area in June this year.
- A Rushcliffe Barn owl project bird, ringed as a youngster in Hickling in 2016, was controlled at Colston Bassett in June this year.
- Another Rushcliffe Barn owl project bird, ringed as a youngster in Bunny in 2016 was controlled at Stathern in May this year.
- And finally, a bird ringed as a youngster in Normanton in 2016 was found injured by a member of the public in Stamford in August, its fate is unknown.

In other news...

A Kestrel, ringed in Old Dalby as a youngster, has been controlled as an adult at a box near Halam in June this year.

An Attenborough-born Common Tern, ringed in 2011, was seen at Seaforth NR, Merseyside in July this year, having had its ring read in the field.

A Woodpigeon, a bird not ringed in numbers by the group, has been found dead on the roads near Findern, Derby in August. It had originally been ringed in Toton in September 2016

A Sand Martin controlled at the Attenborough colony in July this year had originally been ringed at Redhill Marina by Ratcliffe-on-Soar in 2014.

A Blackcap ringed at Holme Pierrepont in 2015 has been controlled in North Notts, being captured at a site near Cottam in June.

One of the group's Pied Flycatchers, from the nestbox project in Wales, has been controlled at a Box in Shropshire in May this year. It had originally been ringed as a chick in 2016.

One of the many juvenile Starlings ringed in the Meadows in the spring of 2015 was found dying in nearby Wilford in August this year.

And finally a bit of good news - the group has claimed the Goldfinch longevity record, for one of its birds ringed on 23rd May 2007. Unfortunately this bird was found dead, but had travelled down to Devon, where it was picked up and reported in Barnstaple. This is 10 years and 3 months after it was initially ringed in Bingham by old group member John Black (as an age 5 - so it would have been around 11 years old).

It beats the previous record set at the end of last year in Suffolk by just under 3 months (though that bird was controlled so could still be going strong!).

The previous top 3 looked like this:

V451151 First-year Male 28-12-2006 Chelmondiston: 51°59'N 1°12'E (Suffolk)
Caught by ringer 30-12-2016 Chelmondiston: 51°59'N 1°12'E (Suffolk) 0km 10y 0m 2d

N855368 First-year Female 13-03-2002 Parkhead, Sheffield: 53°20'N 1°32'W (South Yorkshire)
Freshly dead 23-06-2010 Sheffield: 53°23'N 1°30'W (South Yorkshire) 8km NNE 8y 3m 10d

T971203 First-year Male 30-11-2005 East Grinstead: 51°6'N 0°0'W (West Sussex)
Freshly dead (injury) 24-01-2014 East Grinstead: c. 51°7'N 0°0'W (West Sussex) 0km 8y 1m 25d

Tom

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 3 September

Duncan, Trish, Jake, Sue, Gary and I went to the Blott’s end of Holme Pierrepont today. An overcast but still start looked promising but the forecast was for a freshening wind as the morning went on and it did get breezy by the time we finished. Two MP3 players were going but the site seemed quiet after the last few weeks of good catches. We started slowly and it never really picked up. The best bird was certainly a juvenile Grasshopper Warbler that found its way into the top shelf of a four shelf net. This is the first Grasshopper Warbler the group has caught since 2014 and the first at Holme Pierrepont since 2011. When we do catch them it is usually adults in the first half of the summer, the last juvenile we had was in 1996.

We ended with a total catch of 46 including 11 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Dunnock 1/0, Robin 1/0, Blackcap 14/1, Whitethroat 2/0, Lesser Whitethroat 1/0, Grasshopper Warbler 1/0, Chiffchaff 3/0, Reed Warbler 1/0, Sedge Warbler 1/0, Blue Tit 0/1, Great Tit 4/0, Long-tailed Tit 3/6, Treecreeper 1/0, Bullfinch 2/2, Reed Bunting 0/1. The oldest retrap was Bullfinch from 2014.

Overhead were plenty of House Martins and a Hobby put on a good show all morning including a fly past just above our heads when we were at the base.

Unfortunately the morning was spoilt by an idiot who thought his needs were greater than anyone else’s. Jake arrived a little after the rest of us and parked his Ford Ka in one of the parking bays just outside the Skylarks gate. At about 10.00 am a man came to find us as he had just witnessed a youth in a black hoodie smashing the window of the Ka and taking something from it. It turned out he had taken a cheap and old sat nav worth next to nothing. Jake knows he should not have left it on show but it was too late by then. Several members of the public were extremely helpful in coming to find us, watching the car when another was looking for us and calling the police and getting a crime number. We would like to thank them for their actions. Jake called the police again when he got to his car but despite one of the members of the public having just seen the culprit further down the lane, and had a description, the police did not really seem interested. There were another 3 cars parked in the bays with Jake’s but his was the only one damaged, perhaps the others would have been targeted if the culprit had not been disturbed.

Kev

Dawn, Sedge Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler (S. Lakeman)

Holme Pierrepont, Friday 1 September

Jim, Gary and I held a ringing session at the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont having had a good catch there the previous week. It was a calm and clear morning with a heavy dew making us all wish we had put our over trousers on! We put up the same nets as last week and had three MP3 players going. Catching started quietly and dropped as the sun got higher. Warblers dominated again but not in the same numbers as the last visit and we ended with a total catch of 40 including 7 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Kingfisher 1/0, Blackbird 2/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 1/1, Dunnock 3/0, Robin 1/2, Reed Warbler 4/2, Sedge Warbler 1/0, Blackcap 10/1, Chiffchaff 3/0, Bullfinch 5/1, Reed Bunting 1/0. The oldest retrap was a Robin from 2014. Overhead were a few Swallows and up to four Buzzards.

Kev

Holme Pierrepont, Saturday 27 August

Alex, Gary and I held another ringing session at the Blott’s end of Holme Pierrepont today. A small team again meant we had to limit the number of nets on a clear, still and cold morning, although as the sun got up the temperature rose rapidly. We set a couple of MP3 players going as usual.

Catching started quite well but tapered off as the sun got higher and the numbers of people out for a walk increased. Reed Warbler numbers dipped again this week but Whitethroat and Phylloscopus warbler numbers were similar to last week.

We ended with a total catch of 67 including 7 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 2/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 1/1, Robin 2/0, Reed Warbler 3/1, Blackcap 29/0, Garden Warbler 4/0, Whitethroat 8/4, Chiffchaff 4/0, Willow Warbler 1/0, Great Tit 1/1, Bullfinch 2/0, Chaffinch 2/0.

The oldest retrap was a Whitethroat from 2016. Overhead was pretty quiet just a couple of Buzzard a few Swallows and a Raven.

Kev

A young male Blackcap going through its post-juvenile moult. (A. Phillips)

Holme Pierrepont, Tuesday 22 August

The forecast was for perfect netting conditions, overcast and still. So Duncan, Gary and I decided to make a visit to the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont. The forecast proved to be correct and we set most of the usual nets on a warm, muggy and overcast morning. Not a breath of wind, two MP3 players going but a very quiet site did not bode well.

Catching started slowly but then it picked up and then kept going all morning. At last we caught a party of Long-tailed Tits this summer, only 6 to start but they had a bunch of warblers travelling with them and the same with another three later in the morning. Four new juv (3JJ) Song Thrush were a surprise and may well have been from the same brood.

We ended with a total catch of 86 including 9 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 1/1, Song Thrush 4/0, Wren 5/1, Dunnock 3/0, Robin 2/2, Blackcap 19/0, Garden Warbler 2/0, Whitethroat 1/0, Chiffchaff 12/0, Willow Warbler 3/0, Reed Warbler 9/0, Sedge Warbler 1/0, Blue Tit 3/2, Great Tit 2/0, Long-tailed Tit 9/0, Bullfinch 1/2, Reed Bunting 0/1. The oldest retrap was a Reed Bunting from 2014. Overhead were Buzzards and a Swift.


Kev

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 20 August

Duncan, Gary and I held a ringing session at the Blott’s end of Holme Pierrepont today. Just a small team so we limited the number of nets and set the two MP3 players going. The weather was quite calm to start but with clear skies we expected the catching rate to drop after the first few rounds and it certainly did.

Reed Warbler and Whitethroat numbers dipped this week and the fall in Phylloscopus warblers mentioned last week continued but Blackcaps were still around in numbers. A couple of Greenfinches was unusual for this site and another juv Goldcrest was nice to catch.

We ended with a total catch of 81 including 5 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Wren 1/0, Dunnock 0/1, Robin 2/0, Reed Warbler 6/0, Blackcap 39/1, Garden Warbler 4/0, Whitethroat 8/2, Chiffchaff 2/0, Willow Warbler 2/0, Goldcrest 1/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 1/0, Bullfinch 5/1, Greenfinch 2/0, Chaffinch 1/0, Reed Bunting 1/0. The retraps were all recently ringed birds. Overhead were at least 3 Swifts and a couple of Ravens.

Kev

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 13 August

Duncan, Alex, Trish and I made another visit to the Blott’s end of Holme Pierrepont this morning. We were also joined by Jim who came out for a catch up with some ‘small’ birds. It was good to see Jim, having not been out mist-netting with him since we were at Brackenhurst last winter. We put up the same 11 nets we used the previous week and set three MP3 players going with warbler calls. The morning started clear, cool and quite still but the breeze did increase as the morning went on, unfortunately no cloud cover came to help us. Gary also came along later for the middle part of the session.

Catching started very briskly again but dropped as the sun got higher and stronger, again warblers made up the majority of the catch. We ended with a total catch of 108 including 10 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 1/1, Wren 4/1, Robin 3/0, Blackcap 32/3, Garden Warbler 3/1, Whitethroat 15/3, Lesser Whitethroat 4/0, Chiffchaff 2/0, Willow Warbler 4/0, Goldcrest 1/0, Reed Warbler 19/0, Blue Tit 5/0, Long-tailed Tit 1/1, Bullfinch 3/0, Reed Bunting 1/0. The oldest retrap was from 2016.

Plenty of birds about again, particularly Sylvia warblers but the Phylloscopus warbler numbers have dropped significantly in the last couple of weeks.

Kev

Ramsdale Park Golf Centre, Thursday 10 August

Duncan and I made a visit to Ramsdale and set the usual line of 8 x 18m nets on a clear but still morning. The site sounded quiet and the vegetation was still wet through from the rain that fell all day on Tuesday. Catching started slowly and never really picked up. Where are all the warblers that were at this site? A female Sparrowhawk added a bit of interest early on. We ended with a total catch of 39 including 3 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Sparrowhawk 1/0, Blackbird 1/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 2/1, Robin 3/0, Blackcap 11/0, Garden Warbler 2/0, Whitethroat 1/0, Lesser Whitethroat 2/0, Chiffchaff 5/1, Willow Warbler 0/1, Blue Tit 2/0, Bullfinch 4/0, Linnet 1/0. The oldest retrap was from 2015.

Kev

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 6 August

It was a beautiful, clear and still morning as we put up the nets. I joined Kev, Gary, Trish and Jake for my annual catch-up in the school holidays and having not been to the site for a year I couldn't quite believe how much it had changed with many of the net rides moved because of the increasingly tall trees and shrubs and impenetrable bramble thickets. The site is also getting more and more popular with visitors (birders, dog walkers and the like) so a fair amount of time has to be dedicated to public relations.

Despite the temperature rising fairly swiftly, we caught well until late morning and processed a total of 104 birds including 6 retraps and 1 control Reed Warbler. The total comprised (new/recapture): Kingfisher 1/0, Blackbird 1/0, Song Thrush 2/0, Dunnock 3/0, Wren 3/0, Robin 4/0, Blackcap 18/2, Garden Warbler 8/0, Whitethroat 18/1, Lesser Whitethroat 2/0, Chiffchaff 5/0, Willow Warbler 3/0, Reed Warbler 18/1, Sedge Warbler 1/0, Blue Tit 2/0, Chaffinch 1/0, Goldfinch 4/0, Bullfinch 2/1, Reed Bunting 1/0. The oldest retrap was a Bullfinch from 2016.

As well as the good numbers of young warblers, a large flock of Goldfinches was around, a couple of Buzzards were overhead and a handful of Swifts came over. Common Blue Damselflies were abundant and a few Migrant and Brown Hawkers were patrolling. Butterflies were not in huge numbers, but by the time we left around lunchtime, good numbers of Common Blues had started to appear. 

Pete

 A juvenile Goldfinch in full wing moult - once rare, but apparently increasing in frequency. 

 Kingfisher (P. Leonard)

 

 Garden Warbler (P. Leonard) 

 Lesser Whitethroat (P. Leonard) 

Tawny Owls

This species is one SNRG targets and we have some great data. This is highlighted by the interesting piece here: http://btoringing.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/who-gives-hoot.html

Recent Recoveries

A range of recoveries have been filtering through during the summer months. Starting, as is the tradition, with the Barn Owls:

- A bird ringed in Greasley as an adult in 2012, has been controlled by Sorby Breck ringers at Hardwick Hall in May this year.

- A bird ringed as a chick in Cropwell Bishop in June last year, was retrapped at Lambley this June.

- A bird ringed in Girton last September, was found dead on the railway line at Collingham in July.

- A bird was found dead in Bathley, having hit a window, in July. It had been ringed as a youngster in the village in June last year.

- And finally, a bit of an oldie, a bird ringed as a chick in Tollerton in 2006, was retrapped at Hockerton near Newark in June this year, 11 years on.

Another oldie, a Tawny Owl, was captured at the nest in Flintham in May. This bird has originally been ringed 11 years previously as an adult in 2006, and was also retrapped in 2013.

A Little Owl originally ringed in Hoby, Leics in 2013 as a chick, has been controlled at a box at Tithby for a second time, in June this year. It was also found breeding here in 2014. Unfortunately the last two seasons have seen the owls in this box fail to raise a brood.

A Mute Swan, Colour-ringed by Sorby Breck ringers in Markeaton in August 2010, had its colour rings read at Attenborough in June this year. An old Mute Swan recovery has also come through, concerning another Sorby Breck bird that was ringed at Ilkeston in July 2007, and noted by SNRG in Cossall in March 2010.

A Blackcap ringed as a 3J at Holme Pierrepont in July 2016 has been found dead in Bawburgh, Norfolk, in June this year.

Finally, a number of Sand Martin recovery details have come through from birds controlled at the Attenborough breeding colony:

- 2 birds were controlled on 25 May, one had been ringed locally at Redhill Marina in May 2014. The other had been ringed a little further away in Petit Matton, Charente-maritime in France, in August 2015.

- 3 birds were controlled on 21 June. One had been ringed as a chick at a colony in Thornton, by Charnwood Ringing Group in 2015. Another had been ringed as a chick at a colony at Brandon Marsh in May 2016 by the ringing group there. And the final bird had been ringed in Ely as a chick in June 2016.

Tom

Holme Pierrepont, Saturday 29 July

Duncan, Gary and I made the second visit of the year to the Blott’s end of Holme Pierrepont this morning. We put up the 8 nets we cleared rides for on the last visit. The morning started clear and breezy and the breeze was increasing as the morning went on, but some cloud cover later helped. We did take down one net early because of the wind.

Catching started briskly again but dropped after the first round. Warblers made up the majority of the catch as usual but surprisingly the warbler species with the highest total for the morning was Garden Warbler, with 16 individuals caught.

We ended with a total catch of 72 including 3 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 2/0, Dunnock 1/0, Wren 3/0, Robin 1/0, Blackcap 11/0, Garden Warbler 15/1, Whitethroat 5/0, Chiffchaff 8/0, Willow Warbler 5/0, Reed Warbler 11/2, Blue Tit 4/0, Great Tit 2/0, Bullfinch 1/0. The retraps were all recently ringed birds. Plenty of birds about again and only the breeze stopped us having a bigger catch.

Kev

Nest recording

It's been said before that we aren't a Group driven by totals and numbers, but we do recognise that if more records are submitted and analysed then more accurate and thorough information is produced.

So one total we can be proud of, according to Lifecycle magazine, is the number of nest records we are submitting to the BTO.



Following the monitoring of a Tree sparrow colony from 2004 to its final demise in 2010, the number of our nest submissions fell but since 2014 they have been increasing.

The two main reasons for this are that we now submit more nest records for the large nest boxes we check, and the work of Kev and Phil at a Sand Martin colony in the newly created artificial Sand Martin bank at Attenborough Nature Reserve.

The table of nest record contributors published in Lifecycle shows that we are still way behind other Groups and individuals who submit nest records but we are happy that we are contributing meaningful data to the BTO.

Mick P

Ramsdale Park Golf Centre, Sunday 23 July

Duncan, Alex, Tom, Sue, Trish, Jake, Gary and I made another visit to Ramsdale this morning. Holme Pierrepont was not an option this week because of the Triathlon event that was taking place there. Heavy overnight rain had soaked the vegetation but by the time we arrived on site the rain had stopped and there was very little breeze with generally overcast skies. Wet vegetation always seems to reduce bird activity but the site did seem quiet anyway.

We set the standard 8 x 18m nets pretty quickly with the large team but ended with a less than expected catch of 47 birds including 3 retraps. These were made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 2/1, Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 3/0, Dunnock 4/0, Robin 1/0, Blackcap 10/1, Garden Warbler 0/1, Chiffchaff 10/0, Willow Warbler 2/0, Whitethroat 2/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Linnet 5/0, Goldfinch 1/0, Bullfinch 2/0. The oldest retraps were from 2015.

Kev

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 16 July

Tom, Trish, Gary and I made the first visit of the year to the Blott’s end of Holme Pierrepont on Sunday. Only a small team again this year for the first visit so with all the very overgrown rides to clear we put up just 8 nets on an overcast but very humid morning.

Catching started briskly and continued for the first few net rounds. We ended with a catch of 87 including 8 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Kingfisher 1/0, Blackbird 4/0, Song Thrush 2/0, Dunnock 1/0, Wren 2/1, Robin 2/0, Blackcap 19/2, Garden Warbler 3/1, Whitethroat 6/1, Lesser Whitethroat 4/0, Chiffchaff 3/1, Willow Warbler 6/0, Reed Warbler 19/0, Sedge Warbler 1/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Great Tit 3/0, Bullfinch 2/2.

The oldest retraps were a Blackcap and a Garden Warbler from 2015. Plenty of birds about and with a full complement of nets up and a larger team I’m sure we would have caught well over the 100 mark in this very public site. A few of the passing public did stop by for a chat and look at what we were doing, the Kingfisher providing the usual interest.

Kev

 Kingfisher and Six-spot Burnet moth (T. Shields)

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 9 July

Another visit to Grange end of Holme Pierrepont was made today. The weather was perfect for the first half of the session and the nets were catching well but then the sun came out and the catch dropped dramatically.

The team consisted of Gary, Sue, Tom, Jake and myself. We ended with a catch of 75 including 15 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 2/1, Wren 4/1, Dunnock 1/0, Robin 0/2, Blackcap 18/0, Garden Warbler 4/0, Chiffchaff 2/0, Willow Warbler 5/1, Reed Warbler 12/5, Sedge Warbler 1/0, Whitethroat 1/0, Blue Tit 3/0, Great Tit 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 1/2, Goldfinch 1/0, Bullfinch 4/3.

The oldest retrap was a Reed Warbler from 2012 that we had not caught since it was originally ringed. Willow Warblers were evident after being absent last week.

Kev

Ramsdale Park Golf Centre, Friday 7 July

Duncan, Gary and I made the second visit of the year to Ramsdale. The weather was not ideal with clear skies and a bit of a breeze. Not sure if this was the only reason, but we did have a lower catch than expected - 41 birds including 5 retraps. These were made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 2/0, Wren 5/0, Dunnock 2/2, Robin 1/0, Blackcap 3/1, Garden Warbler 1/0, Chiffchaff 15/2, Whitethroat 1/0, Great Tit 1/0, Linnet 1/0, Bullfinch 4/0. The oldest retraps were from 2015.

Kev

Attenborough, Weds 5 July

Phil, Mick and I held another session to catch the adult Sand Martins. After the session Phil looked at the results and his report is below.

Kev

43 birds caught, 28 of which were adults. The total number of adults caught this year is now 93, which exceeds the estimated number of breeding pairs (first brood). With the number of retrapped adults again being very low, it is clear that the population is currently very dynamic. It also appears that the natural colony has been abandoned so it is likely that some of the adults that were nesting on the natural colony have now relocated across to the artificial bank. All unproven of course!

After the Sand Martin session, Pete joined Mick and I with the boat to have a look at the Main Pond tern platform and the Cormorant islands. The tern platform had Black-headed Gulls nesting as well as Common Terns and we ringed 7 gull chicks and 14 tern chicks. There are still a good number of tern nests with eggs. The main Cormorant island had plenty of nests, mostly with large chicks that prevented a safe landing. The small island had no large chicks visible in nests so we landed, ringed a couple of chicks and found a number of nests with eggs. It looks like we will be ringing Cormorants into the late summer again.

Phil

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 2 July

We were back at the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont on Sunday after finishing at Attenborough last week. Thankfully there had been little disturbance at the site. The weather was quite calm and overcast for the first half of the session but the breeze did pick up slightly later. The team consisted of Gary, Alex, Tom, Jake, Trish and myself.

The catch was steady but it did take quite a bit of ride clearance to get the nets up first thing. We ended with a catch of 78 including 8 retraps, made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 3/1, Song Thrush 1/0, Dunnock 2/0, Robin 3/1, Blackcap 15/0, Garden Warbler 1/0, Chiffchaff 3/0, Reed Warbler 13/5, Lesser Whitethroat 1/0, Whitethroat 3/0, Cetti’s Warbler 2/0, Blue Tit 8/0, Treecreeper 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 1/0, Goldfinch 2/0, Bullfinch 5/0, Reed Bunting 3/0.

The oldest retrap was a Blackbird from 2013. There were no Willow Warblers around but Reed Warblers seem to be in numbers similar to last year, Buzzards were in the air most of the morning.

Kev

Attenborough CES Visit 6 - Sunday 25 June

The sixth CES visit of the season to Attenborough was carried out on Sunday by Gary, Duncan, Pete S and I. The forecast was for cloudy and breezy conditions but the sun did break through for a good while. Despite the breezy conditions we had another good catch, we finished with 55 birds processed (40 new/15 retrap) made up of: Wren 2/1, Dunnock 3/0, Robin 1/1, Reed Warbler 4/1, Blackcap 1/3, Chiffchaff 3/3, Goldcrest 1/0, Blue Tit 13/1, Great Tit 2/3, Long-tailed Tit 3/0, Treecreeper 1/1, Goldfinch 2/0, Greenfinch 2/0, Bullfinch 2/1. The oldest retrap was a Great Tit from 2012.

Kev

Attenborough Sand Martins, Wednesday 21 June

Phil, Pete S and I held another session to catch the adult Sand Martins. The weather was good with a light breeze but this was easterly so the bank protected the net. After the session Phil looked at the results and reported the following:

- 39 birds caught, 22 retraps and 17 new birds

- 4 of the birds were 3Js, one not ringed as a pullus (moved from the natural colony possibly?). So, of the 120+ birds that have fledged so far, it looks as though most of them have already left the area. One of the 3 birds fledged a week ago and the other two must have just fledged (were close to fledging last Friday and are now 23-25 days old).

- Of the 19 adult retraps, only 5 were birds that we also caught on 25 May, when we caught 45 adults. This seems to be a very low proportion. It’s partly explained by the fact that we caught 24 adults on face C last time and only 3 this time and no adults on face A last time and 16 on A today. A better comparison is on face B, where we caught 21 adults on 25 May and only one of these was also caught today (2 birds caught today on B were caught previously on C). It’s interesting to speculate why this might be – might birds have their second brood in a different hole and with the natural colony nearby, might some of the birds have relocated?

- When we then look at A, we caught 16 adults, 10 new birds and 6 retraps. All of the retraps were caught in 2016, 5 as pulli and 1 as an adult. Where were all of these birds on 25 May? Late arrivals or have they also had a brood elsewhere and are now having their second brood on A (as of last Friday, there were 7 nests with eggs on A, 6 of which are new nests where there was not a first brood).

- We had 3 controls of birds that were not originally ringed at Attenborough, none of which have been caught here before.

- For the 2 sessions combined, we have caught a total of 75 adults, 41 males and 34 females. My estimate of the number of breeding pairs is c 41 (based on first brood nests with eggs) and if this is reasonably accurate, we have caught a very high percentage of the adults, which is what we were hoping to achieve with the new net. If the colony is more dynamic, which today’s session would suggest, we’ve probably still achieved this target, albeit with not such a high percentage. We’ve just got to make sure next year, all of the birds breed on the colony!

Kev

Wales, Sunday 11 June

The annual trip to Wales to ring the Pied Flycatcher chicks was made by Duncan, Kev, Mick and me a couple of weeks ago. Following reports that the previous week's terrible wet and windy weather had caused havoc in many nestboxes across the west of the UK, we were unsure what we might find.

There were a few nests with dead, well-grown chicks, showing that it must have been difficult to find food in the inclement conditions, but despite this, we still managed a decent session, with 108 chicks ringed, the majority in the 'bottom' boxes at the base of the hill. Toilet wood was very poor and the other areas fared slightly better. Five adults were ringed and a control was also captured.

We also ringed a single brood of 5 Redstarts and an adult Wood Warbler. Several Red Kites were noted on the journey.

Tom

Attenborough CES Visit 5 - Saturday 17 June

The fifth CES visit of the season to Attenborough was carried out on Saturday by Gary, Sue, Pete S and me. The forecast was for a hot weekend but I decided to go for Saturday as there was some early cloud forecast and Sunday was going to be even hotter. Fortunately the forecast was right and for the first couple of hours we had some broken cloud before the sun came out in full force and with little breeze it was hot. For the last hour we had to move the base under the trees to get out of the sun, despite the increased threat of mosquitoes in the shade! 

 

The catching rate started quite briskly and did not drop off as much as expected with the full sun. It was nice to catch a juvenile Kingfisher on what proved to be a bit of a Wren day. We finished with a very respectable 54 birds processed (43 new/11 retrap) made up of: Kingfisher 1/0, Blackbird 2/2, Song Thrush 2/1, Wren 11/2, Dunnock 1/2, Robin 1/0, Reed Warbler 3/0, Sedge Warbler 0/2, Blackcap 8/0, Chiffchaff 5/0, Blue Tit 2/1, Great Tit 2/0, Chaffinch 2/0, Bullfinch 2/1, Reed Bunting 1/0. The oldest retraps were from 2016.

 

Kev

 

 (S. Lakeman)

Recent Recoveries

Or not so recent recoveries - this is a bit of a 'bumper' round-up, with recoveries dating back to February!

Barn Owls, to begin with, as the young birds begin to disperse prior to breeding, we often get a number of reports of birds found dead.

• A bird found dead on the road at Whatton at the end of March had originally been ringed nearby in Bingham as a chick, in August 2014.
• A bird ringed in Stathern in June 2016, was found in Carlton-on-Trent in February. Another bird ringed in the same village, but a few days later, was also found dead, in Sutton-on-Trent.
• A bird ringed in Norwell in October 2016 was found dead in Caunton the following month.
• A first year female ringed in Muston in 2016 was found on the roads in the village on the 21st March.
• A bird ringed in Hockerwood in 2014 was found in February this year in the Southwell area, as a road casualty.
• And finally, a bird was found in Barnstone in February, having originally been ringed in Screveton in June 2014.

A Tawny Owl ringed in Stathern in May 2016 was found on the road, in nearby Hose in January this year.

More colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls have been noted, with 2 seen at Stoke Bardolph in January this year. One (2LXX), seen on the 7th, was originally ringed at Pitsea Landfill in Essex in January 2016 as a first winter bird. Another, E5NK, which was seen on the 25th, was originally ringed in June 2011 as a chick. It was ringed in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, and has been seen previously in Stoke Bardolph in February 2015, as well as being seen numerous times in its native city.

Two Canada Geese from the University of Nottingham ringing project have been noted. 2N3 was seen on 29 December at Holme Pierrepont rowing course last year, and was originally ringed in July 2014. 58N was ringed in 2016, and was also seen at Holme Pierrepont in December, as well as Trent Bridge in September.

A few passerine recoveries have also been received.

Two Lesser Redpoll, ringed at Bestwood, have been recovered locally. A bird ringed in October, was controlled by Birklands RG nearby in Bestwood Country park in April this year. Another ringed in November, was controlled by a ringer in Edwinstowe in March.

Birklands controlled another SNRG bird, a young Chaffinch ringed at Ramsdale Golf Club in September last year. It was recaptured in February, also at Bestwood Country Park.

And last but not least, a Reed Warbler ringed at Holme Pierrepont as a 3J in August 2015, has been controlled a site in Charente-Maritime in western France, in August 2016. Was this bird on migration back from the UK, or had it decided to spend its first summer in France? Who knows?

Tom

Attenborough CES Visit 4 - Sunday 4 June

The fourth CES visit of the season to Attenborough was carried out on Sunday by Duncan, Gary, Sue, Alex, Jake, Trish and I. Clear skies and a bit of a breeze from the start. Catching started slowly and did not really pick up until the end of the session when we caught some juvenile Blue & Great Tits. At least some have fledged!

We finished on 42 birds processed (29 new/13 retrap) made up of: Blackbird 1/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 2/1, Dunnock 1/2, Robin 3/2, Reed Warbler 1/1, Blackcap 3/0, Chiffchaff 1/1, Long-tailed Tit 1/1, Blue Tit 5/0, Great Tit 8/1, Treecreeper 0/1, Bullfinch 1/3, Reed Bunting 1/0. The oldest retrap was a Long-tailed Tit from 2014.

Kev

Ramsdale Park Golf Club, Wednesday 31 May

We held the first ringing session of the year at Ramsdale this morning. The weather was good with little wind and clear skies. The team consisted of Gary, Duncan, Mick and myself. 

 

The catch was steady throughout the morning, although the site did seem fairly quiet. However, whereas last year's first visit resulted in 35 birds, this visit ended with a total catch of 49 (40 new/9 retrap) made up of: Blackbird 1/2, Song Thrush 1/0, Dunnock 3/1, Wren 1/0, Robin 5/0, Blackcap 3/2, Whitethroat 3/0, Chiffchaff 8/3, Great Tit 2/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Coal Tit 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 7/0, Bullfinch 2/1, Goldfinch 2/0. 

 

The oldest retrap was a Chiffchaff from our first visit to the site in July 2015. A couple of Cuckoos flew around all morning but managed to evade the nets!

 

Kev

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 28 May

Duncan, Tom, Trish, Gary and I paid a visit to the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont on Sunday. The weather was good, mostly overcast skies and a light breeze.

The catch was steady throughout and we ended on 41 birds processed (27 new/14 retrap) made up of: Blackbird 3/0, Dunnock 1/0, Robin 2/2, Blackcap 2/1, Garden Warbler 3/0, Willow Warbler 1/3, Reed Warbler 6/3, Cetti’s Warbler 1/0, Blue Tit 0/1, Long-tailed Tit 6/2, Bullfinch 1/1, Reed Bunting 1/1.

The oldest retrap was a Robin from 2013. Other than the reed beds around the lake the site is becoming more overgrown and heading towards woodland. This was illustrated by the absence of Whitethroat from the site, the first year that I have not seen or heard one in the breeding season.

Kev

Attenborough Sand Martin Colony, Thursday 25 May

The first broods of Sand Martins have left their nests at Attenborough so I decided to make the first attempt at catching adults with the new mono-filament net. Phil, Pete S and I set the new and very fragile net in perfectly calm conditions and retired into the hide. We knew we would only be likely catch any number of birds at face’s B and C as face A had been affected by a leaking roof over the winter and there was only one active nest in it. We did have perfectly still conditions but the sun was out fully from the start so to end with a catch of 54 Sand Martins (including 24 recaptures), which is nearly as many as we had in 3 visits last year, suggests the new net is making a difference. Even better, 45 of them were adults including returning adults and pulli from 2016, 1 pullus from 2015 and a bird originally ringed at Redhill Marina in 2014 that was also caught at Attenborough in 2016. The French connection with the colony continued this year with the capture of another French ringed bird. The 9 retrap juveniles were all birds recently fledged from this colony.

Kev

Attenborough CES Visit 3 - Sunday 21 May

The third CES visit of the season to Attenborough was carried out on Sunday by Duncan, Gary, Sue, Alex, Jake and I. We were also joined by Trish Horlock. Much better weather than last week meant we could get the nets set immediately. It stayed relatively calm and mostly sunny throughout the morning. However, the better weather did not result in a better catch. It was quiet all morning and we ended with 29 birds (21 new/8 retrap) comprising: Great-spotted Woodpecker 1/0, Blackbird 1/0, Wren 2/1, Dunnock 3/1, Robin 1/0, Blackcap 4/2, Chiffchaff 2/1, Cetti’s Warbler 1/0, Great Tit 1/0, Treecreeper 0/2, Bullfinch 5/1. The oldest retrap was a Dunnock from 2015.

Kev

 CES nets (S. Lakeman)

Cetti's Warbler (A. Phillips)

Attenborough CES Visit 2 - Sunday 14 May

The second CES visit of the season was carried out on Sunday by Duncan, Gary, Sue and I. The morning started overcast with rain but we continued down to the site as the rain was forecast to stop. We waited in the rain until 0635 when it did stop and then put up the nets. The skies soon cleared to blue with a light breeze. 

 

The catch was slower than last week. We ended with 36 captures (22 new/14 retrap) made up of: Magpie 1/0, Blackbird 3/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Dunnock 1/2, Robin 1/2, Blackcap 3/1, Chiffchaff 1/2, Blue Tit 3/1, Great Tit 0/5, Long-tailed Tit 1/0, Treecreeper 1/1, Bullfinch 4/0, Greenfinch 2/0. 

 

The Greenfinches were only the fifth and sixth ever caught on our CES visits. The oldest retrap was a Dunnock from 2012.

 

Kev

 

 Blue Tit and Magpie (S. Lakeman)