Recent Recoveries

The first recoveries round-up for a while kicks off with an 8-year-old Kestrel, a bird ringed in Kinoulton in 2013 and found dead in Claypole near Newark exactly 8 years later.

A Common Tern, ringed in 2016 at Attenborough, was seen at Straws Bridge in Ilkeston in May, the ring being read by the observer.

A Mute Swan met its fate hitting a tree in Hilton, Derbyshire in May, having been ringed in Linby in 2015.

The Attenborough Sand Martin colony continues to provide plenty of recoveries. Birds ringed elsewhere and controlled at the reserve include two from Rutland, and another from Bagworth Heath in Leics. An Attenborough-ringed bird was also controlled at one of the colonies in Rutland.

Another continuing source of recoveries are the Lesser Redpolls which were caught mainly at Bestwood and Holme Pierrepont in the huge influx of birds in autumn 2020. Several birds were controlled throughout the winter at Ramsley Moor in South Yorks, and this continued until late spring, with the last bird controlled on 16 May. After a gap of 3 months, another was controlled at the site in August.

Further afield, a bird ringed at Holme Pierrepont in October was controlled at a site near Dumfries in May, whilst a Bestwood-ringed bird was found dead near Brora, Highland in May.

One of the Siskins caught in late winter in Tom’s garden in Colwick was controlled at a site in Nethybridge, Highland. The same bird was found in a moribund state a few days later following some poor weather.

Continuing with finches, a Greenfinch ringed at Brackenhurst in November was found dead near Borrowash, Derbyshire in August. A Goldfinch ringed in Colwick in September was controlled in Cropwell Bishop in March. A Starling was also controlled at the same site in Cropwell Bishop in March, having been ringed in Sibthorpe in June 2020.

A Blackbird, ringed in 2017 at Stoke Bardolph, was seen in a nearby garden, where its ring was read by the Observer, 4 years on.

A Blue tit, rarely seen in the recoveries section, was controlled in Tom’s garden in August. It had been ringed at Oxton by Cliff the previous September.

This year's breeding season has resulted in a number of warbler recoveries:

A Chiffchaff, ringed at Ramsdale in 2019 was retrapped at Ulley CP by Sorby Breck ringers in July. Another Chiffchaff, ringed at Bestwood in August 2020, was retrapped by French ringers in Messanges in October the same year.

A Blackcap, ringed at Holme Pierrepont in September 2019 was caught in Southwick, Northants, in August this year. Another HP bird, caught in 2020, was trapped in Zerkegem, Belgium in April.

A Garden Warbler, ringed in august 2017 at Hazelford, was caught at Langford Lowfields this July.

Finally, a Reed Warbler was trapped at Holme Pierrepont in July this year, and 3 weeks later was caught again by ringers at Stanford reservoir on the Leics/Northants border.

Tom