Ramsdale Park Golf Centre

We had not managed to make a normal visit here, so on 3 July, Mick P and I made an afternoon visit in very hot conditions and not looking forward to the job of clearing the rides. However, we were delighted to find that the ride for the main line of nets up the hill had been mowed for us by the ground staff which was very much appreciated. We quickly erected nets here and then cleared the rides for the other nets. As expected in the full sun and breezy conditions we only had a small catch totalling 15, mostly warblers. At least the site is now ready for future visits this year.

Kev

Holme Pierrepont

On 28 June we made the first summer visit, only to find the net rides very overgrown from our last spring visit. So it was hard work for just the 3 of us, and not helped by finding 2 poles and 4 guys had been stolen. Two hours later we had the nets up and ended with a decent catch of 44 birds, the majority being 19 Chiffchaff. 

Bird of the day was an 8-year-old retrap Garden Warbler that amazingly had avoided our nets every other year since being ringed. Not a longevity record yet but still nice to see. (see photo)

We returned on 5 July and had an easier time putting up the nets with a similar catch to the previous visit of 43 birds. Chiffchaff again dominated with 13 caught. 

Then 11 July saw us back again with Mark Gash joining us from Derbyshire. A quieter day with 36 birds. This time Blackcaps dominated with 8 being caught. Surprisingly we caught 3 juvenile Sedge Warblers, an unusual bird in our nets now at this site. However, the big surprise of the day was not a single retrap! 

Kev

Terns & Gulls

On 22 June we visited the tern platform and adjacent island at Skylarks NR. Unfortunately, the Black-headed Gulls had taken over the tern platform and had laid about a month earlier than last year and most had fledged. We did get 6 late chicks which we ringed and colour ringed.

Friday 26 June saw us back at Attenborough to ring the tern chicks. 37 were ringed, all on the two platforms alongside the Visitor Centre. The platform on Church Pond was also checked but the Black-headed Gulls nesting there were also early this year and had fledged.

Kev 

Attenborough Sand Martins

On 15 June we had a mist-netting session at the Sand Martin colony. There were fairly low expectations as most of the first broods had fledged. Jenny was on hand again to take blood samples, so the totally unexpected catch of 48 birds was most welcome, and included 32 unringed birds (4 adult males, 14 adult females and 12 juveniles). All the juveniles were birds that were born elsewhere and were undergoing post-juvenile dispersal. Of the 16 already ringed birds, 7 were males, 5 were females and 4 were recently fledged juveniles. Of note, 1 of the males was ringed as a nestling in 2021. Another male was ringed as a nestling in 2023. Considering the activity levels around the colony at the time, the 30 adults were probably about 50% of the adult population at the colony.

Kev 

Attenborough CES

Visit 5 was made on 14 June and produced 42 birds, much improved catch and timed perfectly for the visit of Jenny from Manchester University to take blood samples from some of the birds. Unfortunately, the recent strong winds had brought down a tree into the ride where net 5 is sited so we had to leave that net out for this visit. Blackcaps made up the majority of the catch, but it was nice to get 4 juvenile Treecreepers. A Blackcap from 2022 was the oldest retrap. We also had a control blackcap from Northamptonshire.

Visit 6 was made on 21 June and we were back to a low catch despite Emmeline and the volunteers from NWT clearing the fallen tree prior to our visit. We had just 19 birds, the usual mix, and the oldest retrap was a Reed Warbler from 2024.

Kev 

Barn Owl - a lucky escape!

In June I ringed a brood of 4 Barn Owls at a farm in Woodborough. These farmers are extremely keen to support their wildlife, so much so, that I also ringed another brood of 5 Barn Owls and 4 Kestrels in two of their other nest boxes. They understand the perils young owls face when they fledge and learn how to survive, including the dangers posed by water troughs, which they protect with netting.

This nest box is close to their house and they were delighted to film the 4 chicks learning to fly around their garden. However, this soon turned to a horror show when they saw one young owl enter the water butt and realised that it wasn't protected with a lid or netting. Fortunately John reacted in time, rescuing the owl and emptying the water. After drying off, the young owl resumed its flying practice, perhaps wiser after its near miss!

Looking at the video, it makes you wonder what made the owl to fly into the water. Was it the water or its reflection? Whatever it was, it seemed very interested in what was in the water butt.

A very lucky escape for this young owl and hopefully a cautionary tale for others who have Barn Owls and water butts.

Mick P