Record-breaking Barn Owl

 One of our birds has been in the news for breaking the UK longevity record:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4ne7kg387o 

  

Attenborough – Thursday 10 July

I had noticed that the tern platform on Church Pond had a few pairs of late nesting Black-headed Gulls. Having counted birds from the bank the previous weekend when I saw 4 or 5 chicks, I arranged with Emmeline to make visit today. Despite the engine being repaired there is no slipway into Church Pond so the inflatable was needed again. As we got closer the number of chicks kept going up and we ringed 11, one nest with 2 eggs still to hatch – must go to Specsavers! 

Kev

 

Holme Pierrepont, Skylarks NR – Tuesday 8 July

Just 3 of us again for this visit, not so much vegetation adjustment this time in the mostly clear and slightly breezy conditions. A bit better catch with 40 birds including 4 retraps, all Dunnocks with one from 2019. The majority of the catch was Reed Warblers and most birds were juveniles. It is looking, unsurprisingly, that this breeding season will end up being much better than 2024.

Kev

adult Whitethroat (KJH)

juvenile Whitethroat (KJH)

 

Holme Pierrepont, Skylarks NR – Monday 30 June

NWT had received funding for some new Common Tern platforms in 2025. They were sited at Skylarks, Besthorpe, North Muskham and Netherfield. The Trust asked if we would ring any terns that nested. The Skylarks platform was, unfortunately, the only one that attracted terns. Three chicks were visible so I arranged a visit on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far. We arrived on site, inflated the Trust boat and paddled out to ring the terns. After doing this we looked on an adjacent island that had some gulls and terns nesting. Strangely the majority of nests still had eggs at this late stage of the season but we did manage to find and ring 5 Black-headed Gull chicks. We were greatly assisted by Miriam, AJ and Millie from NWT. All the other new platforms had attracted Black-headed Gulls to nest but the birds on the Besthorpe and North Muskham platforms were too advanced to attempt a visit.

Kev

Black-headed Gull chick (KJH)

Common Tern chick (KJH)

Common Tern chick (KJH)

 

Holme Pierrepont, Skylarks NR – Sunday 29 June

The third visit of the year to this site and first since the end of May meant another battle with the ever-encroaching vegetation for the 3 of us that were out. We set the usual 9 nets in very warm but mostly overcast conditions. We ended with a catch of 31 birds, mostly juveniles and all new birds. The best of the morning were 3 juvenile Bullfinch caught together, an increasingly scarce bird now locally.

Kev 

Attenborough – Friday 27 June

Of the 5 viable tern platforms at Attenborough only 2 were occupied by Common Terns, the two close together by the visitor centre. Having monitored progress we organised a visit today and met at the Sailing Club to use the Trust boat to get out to the platforms. Unfortunately we could not get the engine started and after a couple of hours gave up and paddled an inflatable from close to the visitor centre out to the platforms. The birds were at a perfect age range and 16 chicks were ringed on one platform and another 13 on the other. With a number of eggs still apparently being incubated we may visit again in a few weeks time. Thanks as always at Attenborough for all the help from Emmeline of NWT.

Kev

 

Ramsdale Park Golf Club – Sunday 15 June

I had been wanting to make the first visit of the summer here for a month or so but each weekend it was a bit breezy. So today with a small team we managed to get there, because of the small team Mick P agreed to join us first thing to help clear the net rides before he had to leave for a previously arranged appointment. This was a great help and we got 6 of the usual 8 nets up and then put up 2 in another location. Catching rate was low but steady and we ended with 34 birds including 3 retraps, best of which were a Chiffchaff from 2020 and a Song Thrush from 2021.

Kev

 

Recent Recoveries

The first half of 2025 has actually been rather quiet on the recoveries front, but there have been a few birds of interest to keep things ticking over.

One of the Attenborough Cormorants (CS6), ringed as a youngster in April 2024 has been seen regularly at Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire, the latest report came on 2 January, but the bird was first seen onsite from July last year.

Continuing the Attenborough theme, a Grey Heron (HA), ringed at the reserve in the nest in June 2013 was noted at the reserve on 31 January. This appears to be the first time the bird has been reported since being ringed over a decade ago. Another Heron (HP), also an Attenborough bird, ringed in 2014 has been reported at Pleasley Pit just over the border in Derbyshire. The bird was noted on 29 April, just a few days shy of 11 years since it was ringed, and again was the first report received of this bird since fledging.

I was keeping my eye out for colour-ringed gulls again over the winter months, although it was fairly slim pickings. A Black-headed Gull made its third appearance for me at Trent Bridge on 10 January - White 7JJ. This bird had been ringed near Copenhagen in 2016 as an adult. At the back end of the year there was several near-misses with some colour-ringed BHG, but codes weren't fully read, but it was saved by a metal-ringed Danish bird that was seen at Colwick Park on 21 March. This bird had been ringed at Hirsholm in Denmark in 2020 as a nestling. The ring-reading was made easier by the fact that the code on Danish E-rings is printed vertically, which makes it much easier to get the full series.

One of the Swans ringed by members of the team at the end of January at Codnor Reservoir was found at the side of the road in May in nearby Ilkeston with a broken wing, and taken into care.

A Lesser Redpoll, ringed near Bestwood in 2021, was retrapped in Cropwell Bishop in February this year.

A Chiffchaff, ringed in Worthing, West Sussex in September 2023 was captured again at the new group site at Allestree Park in May.

And finally, a special mention for the juvenile Starling ringed at Gary & Holly's garden in the Meadows on 23 May, which hit a window after travelling to Keyworth, only 6 days later on the 29th.

Tom

Attenborough NR, CES Visit 5 - Sunday 8 June

The constant effort site continued to deliver a mix of bird species on our latest visit. Out of the 31
birds caught, juvenile Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits and Great Tits were present. Numbers of warblers
were still low, with singles of Garden Warbler and Blackcap. This visit delivered 5 adult Blackbirds,
including one with a leucistic tail feather as shown in the picture.

Birds continued to show breeding condition, while some birds had already started replacing their
main flight feathers in main moult – there was plenty to explain and demonstrate to the group of
trainees we had out with us!

Bonus wildlife on this visit included Swifts flying over the ringing site, several bumblebee species,
and a Blood Vein moth in one of the net rides.

Josh

Blackbird with leucistic tail feather (L. Green)

Blood-Vein (K. Hemsley)

Garden Warbler (L. Green)

Great Tit undergoing main moult (L. Green)

 

Attenborough NR, CES Visit 3 - Sunday 18 May

On our third CES visit things finally started to look up, with the first 3JJ Robins and Long-Tailed Tits caught. We processed a total of 35 birds, of which 18 were recaptures.

We retrapped two Great Tits that were 4 years old, a 4-year-old Chiffchaff and a 3-year-old Robin. Some good adult survival there, and we hope to see a good breeding season as the CES continues.

We also ringed another brood of Blue Tits in a nest box with 4 healthy chicks, plus one Tawny Owl chick.

Often we get hornets caught in the mist nets and we do our best to extract these as well.

We enjoyed rhubarb cake courtesy of Kev’s rhubarb, and delivered an impromptu ringing demo to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust volunteers who were on the delta removing Himalayan Balsam.

Holly

Hornet (JP)

young Robin (HJ)

young Long-tailed Tit (JP)

 

Attenborough NR, CES Visit 2 – Sunday 11 May

We made our second constant effort visit this weekend. Despite being less breezy than the last visit,
the catch was still potentially affected by the bright sunshine. We only caught 14 birds, including 6
retraps. Highlights included a new Blackbird, a new Cetti’s Warbler, and two Reed Warblers. We also ringed a brood of 8 Blue Tits in one of the nest boxes on the delta. This provides information about the timing and success of breeding attempts. Much of the interest at this session came from other wildlife encounters. For example we found a Poplar Hawkmoth in the vegetation right near our ringing base.

Josh

 

The Juveniles Begin - Saturday 10 May

Although a few juvenile passerines have appeared in the last few days, these are the first I've ringed in 2025. In comparison, last year I first ringed a juvenile Starling on 19 May (so we're 9 days earlier this year), and juvenile Goldfinch on 16 June. But this year I first saw a juvenile Goldfinch in the garden on 28 April! It was so early I emailed the local biological recording centre so that it could be logged somewhere!

Holly

 

More on Tawny Owls

Just finished my last 4 Tawny Owl boxes today. I had a good start 2 weeks ago with 2 occupied out of 2 checked; then a less productive middle: 1 occupied out of 8 checked; and a decent finish today with 2 occupied from 4 checked. So 5 occupied from 14 is not too bad. I've not found any rodent prey in any box, only feathers and the maximum brood size was 2. It seems to be a later season this year. I have two boxes from this week to go back to, one was still sitting and the other had a chick too small to ring despite apparently having consumed all but the head of its sibling... Also, 3 adults were caught, 2 new and one a retrap from 2021.

Kev

 

Bestwood Lapwings - Thursday 8 May

A few lapwing chicks were ringed near Bestwood this morning. Their plumage provides excellent camouflage.

Mick P 

Attenborough NR, CES Visit 1 - Monday 5 May

On a very breezy morning, Josh, Gary, Kev H and I made the first CES visit to Attenborough Nature Reserve. CES stands for Constant Effort Site, and it’s a national scheme to monitor the abundance and breeding success of 24 common passerines.

The catch was no doubt affected by the wind, and we only caught a total of 15 birds. One of them was a retrapped Blackcap that was ringed as a 5 in 2022, making that bird 4 years old.

I’d like to say a personal thank you to the ringing group. It’s been nearly 6 years to the day that I first turned up at Attenborough during the CES to see what ringing was about, and today was the first day that I acted as ringer in charge so it felt like a lovely full-circle moment. 

Holly

Treecreeper

 

Tawny Owl box checks

I've just managed to finish checking my 12 Tawny Owl boxes and for the first time in years I didn't have a single one occupied by owls. 3 had Jackdaws, 4 had Stock Doves, 1 had squirrels and 4 were empty. One Stock Dove pair already had two FS chicks which I ringed. I hope the Barn Owl season is better, though at the moment I'm not sure how optimistic I'm feeling...

Pete

Jackdaw eggs

 

Bestwood - Thursday 24 April

I caught an interesting Greenfinch this morning at Bestwood. Along with the other ageing criteria to indicate it was a bird hatched last year, it had kindly replaced T5 on one side only, nicely demonstrating the difference in wear and shape. The new adult type feather with a broadly rounded tip of outer web comparing nicely with the tapering off tip of the outer web on the juvenile type feather.

Also of interest was something you don't often get in a mist net - an adult Jackdaw.

Mick P

Skylarks NR - Sunday 20 April

Laura, Duncan, Gary, Kev and I made the first visit of the year to Skylarks to see which and how many migratory species had arrived back. Although the overall catch was low, we were pleasantly surprised with the variety and had some excellent subsequent encounters.

Three of the warblers were retraps from previous years - amazingly both the Garden Warbler and Willow Warbler were ringed on 28 May 2020 which was the first outing after covid restrictions were lifted. One Chiffchaff was ringed in 2024.

We caught a total of 26 birds: Long-tailed Tit 4, Blackcap 3, Chiffchaff 3, Robin 3, Whitethroat 2, Sedge Warbler 2, Willow Warbler 2, Blue Tit 2, Wren 1, Garden Warbler 1, Reed Bunting 1, Dunnock 1, Song Thrush 1.

Conditions were cool and breezy, overcast to begin with, brightening as the morning went on. Martins were flying overhead. 

Holly

Whitethroat

 

Reed Bunting

Broomfield Comparisons

I have had a look at the ringing data collected over the last two winters at Broomfield. There are a few species caught at the feeders in sufficient numbers to do some comparisons between 2023/24 winter and 2024/25 winter.

It is known that for many species last summer was a poor breeding season - the poor weather resulting in low fledging rates for many species of passerines. This can be seen in the data we have collected over the last two winters:

Blue Tit - in 2024/25 winter total captures of individuals down 50% and the ratio of juveniles to adults dropping from 2.5:1 to 1:1.

Great Tit - in 2024/25 winter total captures of individuals down 46% and the ratio of juveniles to adults dropping from 3:1 to 1:1.

Chaffinch - in 2024/25 winter total captures of individuals down 47%, however the ratio of juveniles to adults remained roughly the same.

Overall captures of individuals of all species was down by 62%.

Interestingly 36% of the first winter Blue Tits caught in 2023/24 winter had retained some old greater coverts compared to only 13% caught in winter 2024/25.

Kev

Attenborough NR - Saturday 12 April

We had another pleasant morning monitoring birds at the Delta end of Attenborough Nature
Reserve. We set nets in a new line along the edge of woodland and into a small clearing.
We were kept quietly busy, the majority being resident species in breeding condition. The two
Song Thrushes, although caught separately and presumably not a pair, were a good addition to
the usual fair. We continued the scrutiny (and debate) over Wren’s wings, and finished on the
high of a Magpie which we deemed to be a young female.

We processed a total of 37 birds: Chiffchaff 1, Treecreeper 3, Wren 4, Long-tailed Tit 2,
Blackcap 5, Great Tit 5, Blue Tit 8, Robin 3, Dunnock 3, Song Thrush 2, Magpie 1.

Holly

 

Brackenhurst - Monday 7 April

It was a frosty start to the day at the Brack feeders, but it warmed up quickly. Although the final total was fairly low (21), it was an interesting day with some nice species. This included a retrap Jay from last week, a new Magpie and a new Collared Dove. Both the Magpie and the Collared Dove were the second of their species ringed on the site since ringing started here in 2008.

The total was (new/retrap): Yellowhammer 6/7, Dunnock 1/1, Great Tit 0/1, Jay 0/1, Magpie 1/0, Collared Dove 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 1/0, Blackbird 1/0

Alex T

 

Attenborough NR - Sunday 6 April

This morning we tried another pre-CES visit to the Delta-end of Attenborough Nature Reserve.
We put two lines of nets up through woodland. The weather was cool, sunny, and slightly
breezy. 

Unlike the previous week, we couldn’t use tape lures this time as 1st April is the cut-off for
migrants. Fewer Chiffchaffs were caught as a result, though many were heard. However, we did
catch more Blackcaps and presumably they had arrived since our previous visit.

Many species were already showing signs of breeding. The 6 Wrens we were treated to allowed us to compare the ageing criteria in different birds - whether the black lines running along the secondaries and primaries are clean or stepped. 

One of the Blue Tits showed a contrast between new and unmoulted primary coverts. Luckily, it
was a retrap so we could confirm whether it was a young bird that had moulted to a greater
extent or an adult bird that had undergone a main moult but missed those few feathers. It was
an adult. Interestingly, when it was ringed as an age 5 it had retained 5 OGCs; a very high
number of unmoulted feathers for a juvenile Blue Tit. So in both instances, it had moulted less
than we would expect.

Total 31 birds: Chiffchaff 1, Goldcrest 1, Wren 6, Treecreeper 1, Long-tailed Tit 2, Blackcap 6,
Great Tit 3, Blue Tit 6, Robin 3, Dunnock 1, Blackbird 1. One of the Blackcaps was a retrap from
2021 that had not been caught since.

Holly

Net ride

Adult Blue Tit wing with unmoulted primary coverts

first year Wren with 4 old greater coverts

adult Wren

 

Brackenhurst Ringing Demo #2 - Wednesday 2 April

We held a second ringing demo at the NTU Brackenhurst campus for Ecology and Wildlife
Conservation students. Despite good ringing conditions early on, it was extremely quiet around
the feeders and we were only taking 1-2 birds out of the net each round, not leaving us much to
demonstrate!

However, the Yellowhammers turned up eventually and it was good to be able to show the
difference in plumage between the sexes and the level of feather wear in the ages.

We caught our eighth Jay for the site, and our first Reed Bunting for 3 years! Although we've
caught c100 Reed Buntings at this site previously, they have been rather absent recently. 

The oldest bird was a Great Tit from 2022. We processed a total of 19 birds (new/retrap): Dunnock 0/2, Great Tit 0/4, Yellowhammer 9/2, Reed Bunting 1/0, Jay 1/0.

The weather was cool and still early on, giving way to warm sun and a strong breeze.

Holly

 

Brackenhurst Ringing Demo, Wednesday 19 March

A very pleasant frosty start gave way to a warm and dry day. Students from the NTU
Brackenhurst campus arrived throughout the morning for a ringing demonstration. We showed
them the mist nets and explained how we catch birds, as well a how we collect data (age, sex,
moult, breeding condition, biometrics) and what that data is used for nationally. It was great to
chat with them about their interests in wildlife conservation, ecology, and habitat management.

The lack of new Blue Tits and Great Tits shows that the birds have already established their
territories, and that the birds inhabiting local territories have all been ringed. The oldest tits were
two ringed in 2021, making them at least 4 years old. We also retrapped a Goldcrest that was two
years old.

There were good numbers of Chiffchaffs passing through, and a tape lure for Chiffchaff in the
copse did well to attract them to the nets. We also saw winter thrushes moving overhead.

We caught a total of 45 birds (new/retrap): Yellowhammer 18/2, Dunnock 2/3, Blackbird 2/0,
Long-tailed Tit 1/0, Chiffchaff 5/0, Blue Tit 0/6, Great Tit 0/5, Goldcrest 0/1.

Holly

Brackenhurst dawn (H. James)

Yellowhammer (H. James)

 

2024 Report

The 2024 SNRG Report is now published and available. If you would like a copy, please email the address at the top of the 'Reports' page - see tab at the top.

 

Allestree Park Bird Boxes – Friday 28 February

As part of the continuing bird monitoring at Allestree Park Rewilding, I had organised for the
inclusion of nest boxes on the site. On Friday, I met up with Jim and Sandra to install eight large nest boxes targetting birds of prey. These included two for Barn Owls, two for Kestrels and four for Tawny Owls. It may be too late for them to be used this year, but their longevity will hopefully allow increased nesting opportunities for these birds in the future. Monitoring these boxes will provide insights into predators around the park. The implementation of this project would not have been possible without the generous funding from Derby City Council, and Jim for constructing the boxes.

Josh

 

Brackenhurst - Sunday 2 March

A session at the Brackenhurst feeders on Sunday produced 45 birds. Yellowhammer was the most numerous species, and the catch included a male (pictured below) originally ringed in March 2020 as a 5. A flock of 4 House Sparrow were the first ringed on site since 2022.

The catch breakdown was as follows (new/retrap): Yellowhammer 16/1, House Sparrow 4/0, Dunnock 0/5, Blackbird 1/0, Blue Tit 3/6, Robin 0/2 and Great Tit 0/7.

Rowan

Broomfield Winter CES Visit 8 - Sunday 9 February

The final winter CES visit was made to Broomfield today, although it will not be the final ringing visit to the site this winter. As usual the weather forecast was wrong and we arrived on site in rain and with more of a breeze than forecast, but fortunately the rain stopped by the time we had set the first nets. 

We set the usual feeder nets and the Redwing nets, but were not expecting to catch any Redwing as they do not respond well to calls from sound lures late in the winter. There were however good numbers of Redwing and Starling feeding on one of the sports fields along with a couple of Mistle Thrush. 

The feeder nets caught the bulk of the day's catch which totalled 43, comprising: 12 Blue Tit, 3 Great Tit, 16 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Robin, 5 Chaffinch, 3 Blackbird and a surprise single Redwing. We also caught a single Bullfinch but we released it without a ring because it had scaly legs. 

The breeze increased as the morning progressed so all in all a good catch considering the conditions. Overhead we had Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and a decent flock of Lapwing.

Kev

 

Reed Pond Ringing Session - Saturday 1 February

Following a couple of site visits to the Reed Pond Nature Reserve in Lambley, it was agreed that South Notts Ringing Group would hold a ringing session there on 1 February 2025. Whilst I don't think the site lends itself to regular bird ringing, a demo session was useful as it allowed us to collaborate with another local wildlife group, with several of their members visiting on the day, and it possibly helps with their understanding of the birds on site.

After the initial visit, when there didn't seem to be too many birds on site, the volunteers have since established a couple of bird feeders, so as we arrived there seemed quite an encouraging amount of activity and bird song.

We put up three mist nets which resulted in a catch of 37 birds, thanks to the feeders, comprising:
13 Blue Tits, 6 Great Tits, 9 Long-tailed Tits, 3 Chaffinches and single Robin, Dunnock, Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Song Thrush and Kestrel.

Many thanks to the Reed Pond Nature Reserve and the people who came along.

Mick Pearson