Unusual Tawny Owl

In 2021, at the request of the Parish Council, Jim and I installed some large nest boxes at William Lee Memorial Park in Calverton. Even though the habitat didn't look ideal, except perhaps for Kestrel, we were told Tawny and Little Owl were seen and heard in the park so we went ahead and put up boxes designed for Tawny Owl, Little Owl and Kestrel.

After several years of monitoring, and finding Stock Doves, squirrels or bees in the boxes, we have finally had success with the Kestrel box.

However, unusually it has been used by Tawny Owls, and with Jim's many years experience this is only the second time he can recall it happening.

Apart from our understanding of the best design for a Tawny Owl box, the photos show how un-Tawny-Owl-like the habitat seems to be and unfortunately the park has become an island surrounded by continuing housing development since.

Mick P

 

April at Allestree

This marks the start of the second full year monitoring birds at Allestree Park in Derby. After setting
up the site with an improved area for netting, we undertook two ringing visits this month. A total of
35 birds were caught during these visits, including a wide variety of species and some valuable data
gained.

New species for the site included a Jay, a Magpie, and a Whitethroat (pictured). Other species of
interest included a Nuthatch and a Garden Warbler (also pictured), indicative of the scrub and
woodland habitats in which we operate. 

With it being the breeding season, we also found multiple pairs of birds actively breeding, including Coal Tits, Blackbirds, Great Tits, and Chiffchaffs.

Of the 35 birds encountered, 13 were retraps. Some of these included Blue Tits which were last
recorded on site in November 2024. Even more interesting were Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, and Willow
Warblers who we also encountered breeding on site last year. Some of these will have undertaken impressive migrations to southern Europe or even Africa since last year, and have returned to the same area of Allestree Park to breed once again.

Our monitoring work at Allestree will continue throughout the spring and summer to continue investigating the trends of birds on the site and look at how important these habitats are for breeding and migrant birds. 

Josh