Brackenhurst, Saturday 22 February

Certainly picked the right day to ring at Brack this weekend as it's blowing a hoolie outside right now. Saturday was more spring like weather, being dry and pretty calm in between the occasional blustery spells. It was nice to hear the Little Owl calling as Alex, Duncan, Gary Pete S and I wandered down to the feeders at first light.

As with Granby, earlier in the week, the Yellowhammers showed up and made up nearly half the catch of 70 birds. The birds turned up regularly through the morning, and it was nice to again have Song Thrush and Greenfinch in the hand. We catch so few of these nowadays.

Oldest retraps were a Great Tit and two Yellowhammers from the 2010/11 winter period. 

Totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (41/29) were: Goldcrest 0/1, Song Thrush 1/0, Blackbird 1/0, Dunnock 0/4, Blue Tit 8/3, Great Tit 5/6, Chaffinch 3/3, Greenfinch 1/0, Yellowhammer 22-12.

Jim

Adult male Yellowhammer ringed as juv 23/10/2010 and not caught since, until yesterday. (GHG)

 

 

1st winter  Song Thrush, with 7 unmoulted greater coverts. (GHG)

Granby, Wednesday 19 February

Despite the mild temperature, Duncan, Gary and I experienced a decent ringing session at Granby on Wednesday. By that I mean what you might expect in a normalish winter. We processed 67 birds of 11 species in a steady flow through the morning and had time to talk about what we do with some passing dog walkers. Blue and Great Tit and Yellowhammer all took a quarter share of the catch, and it was nice to get amongst the latter for the first time this winter at the site. The weather was, I guess, what you'd call typical April with bright sunshine interspersed with showers. Apart from the Yellowhammers, best birds were the Song Thrush and the five year old male Reed Bunting who had his latest missus in tow.

Oldest retraps were:

2008/09 - male Reed Bunting
2010/11 - two Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit
2011/12 - Great Tit

Totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (38/29): Song Thrush 1/0, Blackbird 1/0, Wren 0/1, Dunnock 1/0, Robin 0/1, Long-tailed Tit 1/1, Blue Tit 7/9, Great Tit 5/11, Chaffinch 5/4, Reed Bunting 1/1, Yellowhammer 16/1.

Jim

 No wind in the willows (JL)

 Scrapes to encourage Cinquefoil growth for Grizzled Skippers (JL)

Recent Recoveries

An Egyptian Goose which was ringed at Attenborough in November 2009 was sighted by a ringer in the field at the same site in November 2013.

A Cormorant ringed as a chick at Attenborough in June 2013 was found dead at Foston, Derbyshire in January 2014.

A young Reed Warbler ringed at Holme Pierrepont in August 2013 was controlled 9 days later in Charente-Maritime, France having traveled 784km. Remarkably, a young Whitethroat ringed at Holme Pierrepont in August 2013 was also controlled at the same site in Charente-Maritime, France 24 days later.

One of the Tree Sparrows which I ringed in Keyworth in May 2013 was controlled at Wanlip, Leicestershire later in November 2013.

Another of my Lesser Redpolls from Langar ringed in March 2013 was controlled in Darnall, South Yorkshire in November 2013. Interestingly this bird was ringed on the same day as a Lesser Redpoll which has been controlled at Icklesham, also in November. It appears the birds have travelled in opposite directions.

Ian

National Nest Box Week

Duncan and I did the final owl nest box jobs today, putting up and replacing boxes in the east of the county. It was mere coincidence that it's National Nest Box Week, as diaries, rain and wind had prevented earlier attempts to get out 'n about to do this. Twas nice to be out in the fine April weather (sun & hail).

Fingers crossed for better owling this year.

Jim

 Restoring a Barn Owl box that had come down near Swinderby (JL)

 Little Owl box near Elston (DH)

 Little Owl box near Elston (JL)

 Replacing a Tawny Owl box near Scarrington (DH)

NRS training courses in April/May

A message from Hazel Evans, Nest Record Scheme Secretary:

I thought you might like to know that we've just published this year's programme of nest recording courses www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/nrs/taking-part/training-courses, which are taking place at Norfolk, Surrey, Cornwall and County Armagh in April and May.

Nest recording courses are run to help BTO volunteers improve their nest-finding and monitoring skills and they are ideal for both new recorders and those wishing to broaden the range of species they monitor. A course involves going out into the field with an experienced tutor and learning techniques for finding nests of various species in different habitats, while of course following the Code of Conduct. As well as being an opportunity to gain experience and confidence in the field, attending a course is also a great way to meet and get to know other nest recorders.

If you're interested in attending one of this year's courses or if you know someone who might be keen, please visit www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/nrs/taking-part/training-courses for more details.

Brackenhurst, Monday 10 February

With windy weather stopping us ringing the last couple of weeks, and Atlantic storms reaching all the way to Nottinghamshire over the weekend, it was nice to get an all too brief window of calm weather on Monday morning. The group took advantage of this and a decent sized team consisting of Jim, Gary, Liz, Geoff, Duncan and myself met at Brackenhurst and headed down to see what was about, joined by Rebecca on another research session looking at feather mites on Yellowhammers for her dissertation project.

The site seemed quiet, with only a Robin singing in the darkness as we erected the nets, and didn't get particularly busy all morning, although large flocks of Fieldfare and Starling were feeding on the fields surrounding the ringing station. Other sightings included 2 Buzzards sat atop some pylons, and a Raven cronking somewhere in the distance.

We set nets in Orwin's to try and beckon down some more Redwing, and although one bird complied on the first net round, the nets were to remain empty for the remainder of the day. We couldn't even tempt a nearby Green Woodpecker in with some taped calls.

The nets in the feeding station were also quiet, with numbers of Chaffinch building through the morning, but little else of note. Another House Sparrow was caught, perhaps showing that they are using this as a regular feeding area now. The most notable thing was a lack of Yellowhammers, which meant Rebecca had a quiet morning, with only two caught, leaving us scratching our heads as to where they all might be.

The total catch was 39 birds, of which 25 were retraps, and are as follows (new/retrap) - Redwing 1/0, Wren 1/1, Dunnock 0/3, Robin 1/0, Blue Tit 1/4, Great Tit 5/4, House Sparrow 1/0, Chaffinch 4/11, Yellowhammer 0/2.

Tom

Granby, Thursday 30 January

Ruth, Jim, Duncan and I met this morning to attempt only the second session at Granby this winter, with previous attempts being hindered by the poor weather we've been struggling with during the last few weeks. As we got on site and put the nets up, it felt strangely mild, not the fridge-like experience I have been told to expect at this site. The morning began with a distinct lack of birds in the area, which was reflected in the poor first net round, but by the time we checked the nets the second time, the tits seemed to have woken up and we had a reasonable catch. This wasn't to last however, and as we processed the last few birds of the round, light snow started to fall. As we did our third net round the snow came in heavier and we decided to close the nets, and with conditions not improving, we soon took down before the rain set in as we left the site. Jim's Landrover had a close shave with the muddy track down to the feeding site, but we managed to get it out with a bit of digging and manpower!

The total catch was 30 birds of which 12 were retraps, and are as follows (new/retrap) - Blackbird 1/0, Robin 0/1, Wren 1/0, Blue Tit 2/4, Great Tit 8/5, Chaffinch 1/0 and Yellowhammer 5/2.

The best retraps were a Blue Tit ringed in November 2010 as a 3, and a Great Tit, which was also ringed as a 3 in November 2011.

Tom

 (All pics by Ruth Walker)

Nest Record Scheme Training Day, Saturday 18th January

On the 18th of January, the group were kindly visited by Dave Leech of the BTO, to give us an insight into the Nest Record Scheme (NRS) and how the BTO use the data which is received by hundreds of volunteers across the country each year. We met at Rushcliffe Country Park and a good turnout consisting of Gary, Kev, Jim, Alex, Sue, Howard, Duncan and I sat down to hear what Dave had to say.

Some of the group are inexperienced in the world of nest recording, so it was interesting for us to get a good introduction to the scheme and how it works. Rather than tell us the actual methods of finding nests, normally reserved for training courses, Dave focused more on the science behind nest recording, giving us some good examples of the sort of things that have been discovered from the scheme, from phenological studies, to the studies of bird populations and causes for various successes and declines. It was interesting to learn how nest recording is being used as a conservation tool, and I think it may have encouraged some of the newer group members to actually get out there and start getting some nest records for the Group in the coming year.

For the more experienced members of the group, the second half of the day was focused on submitting nest records to IPMR, and although some group members are familiar with this practice, some extra tips and tricks were demonstrated by Dave and hopefully will help the group develop in terms of improving the quality and quantity of our nest records. I presume a lot of previous 'nesting' activity has been focused on ringing, but I think the message Dave wanted to get across was the importance of filling out full nest record cards and submitting these along with the ringing data. Ringing obviously gives us a lot of information about breeding activity and success, but having full information about all stages of the nesting process, from hatching dates to ring a pullus ready to fledge, as well as the nests that fail, all provide the BTO with some good solid data which can be used to help their research.

Many thanks to Jim for organising the event for us and to Rushcliffe Country Park for providing the venue, and not least to Dave Leech for giving up one of his Saturdays to come to a rainy Nottingham to spread the word.

Here's to a nest-filled 2014!

Tom

Recent Recoveries

A first year female Reed Bunting ringed at Rushcliffe Country Park in Dec 2010 has been caught by friend of SNRG Garry Barker of Charnwood RG in Leicestershire in Nov 2013.

Then one of Ian's Lesser Redpolls from March 2013 in Langar was caught in Nov 2013 at Icklesham, 248km away on the south coast.

Finally, a Blackbird ringed in May 1988 in Clifton was recovered 2 years later in 1990 at the same site. Quite why this has taken so long to reach us is anyone's guess!

Pete

Brackenhurst, Sunday 19 January

It's never a sign of a good ringing session, when you're sarnies are gone by 9 and you go home with an empty flask. Alex, Gary, Rebecca and I had a quiet morning at Brack. We put up nets in the dark, in light drizzle which soon cleared. No real dawn as it was dark and overcast, and quite still. Ideal netting conditions you'd think, but the almost warm temperature made it otherwise.

We processed 47 birds steadily through the morning, comprising only seven species, of which about a third were Yellowhammer. The oldest retraps were a 2009 Blue Tit and a 2010 Yellowhammer. Elsewhere a Tawny was calling first thing, lots of winter thrushes and the resident Buzzard annoying the corvids.

Totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (20/27): Dunnock 0/3, Robin 1/2, Blackbird 0/1, Blue Tit 2/3, Great Tit 6/7, Chaffinch 3/2, Yellowhammer 8/9.

Jim

2012 SNRG Report

At last, it's done and ready. The group's 2012 Report is a chunky one, now available as a pdf. For details of how to obtain one, please see the new 'Reports' page (tab at the top).

Blackcap

I caught this 5F Blackcap this morning; a first for the garden. It was a good weight too at 19.3g.

Mick P

Ringing this weekend at Brackenhurst & Granby, 11/12 January

 Frosty dawn and Granby (JL)

A rare occurrence this winter, mist-netting two days in a row. As weather looked set fare, we ringed both Brack and Granby this weekend. Both sessions had 50 odd birds. After the 100 last weekend at Brack, I would have expected more. Particularly Yellowhammers at Granby, but only starting to bait there last month may have impacted on their attendance at the feeders. Nearly all the Group attended one of the sessions. We finished both promptly at midday; Brack because of the westerly winds building up and at Granby because the birds dropped right off.

It highlights the decline of some UK species, when the star birds caught are Greenfinch and Song Thrush. One time Greenfinch would have been one of the most common birds ringed by the Group. Times change.

Of the retraps, the most notable were a Brack Blue Tit from 2008, Granby had Great and Blue Tits that were both ringed on 16/11/2008 and Dunnocks from 2010 and 2011. The oldest bird was a seven year old Blue Tit at Granby (UK longevity record is nine years).

Brackenhurst totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (23/33): Dunnock 0/2, Robin 1/0, Blackbird 1/0, Redwing 1/0, Goldcrest 0/1, Blue Tit 3/10, Great Tit 2/7, Greenfinch 1/0, Tree Sparrow 5/0, Chaffinch 2/1, Yellowhammer 7/12.

Granby totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (40/14): Wren 2/1, Dunnock 3/4, Robin 1/2, Song Thrush 1/0, Blue Tit 15/3, Great Tit 9/4, Chaffinch 7/0, Yellowhammer 2/0.

Jim

Brackenhurst, Sunday 5 January

A good morning at the Brack feeders with 101 birds handled. Finally the weather settled for a while and we had ourselves a bright and calm day with plenty of birds about. Our number included Gary, Kev, Emma, Sue, myself and my old Dunstable mate Mick Dunne. We finished at midday in anticipation of the forecast rains which did not arrive 'til evening.

Yellowhammers are now appearing in decent numbers and made up two-fifths of the catch. The feeder nets had an odd new species, with five male House Sparrows ringed! Tits and Chaffinch numbers were maybe lower than expected, but the sound lure in Orwin's attracted Redwing again. We only seem to catch Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrest when the Redwing are singing in their Latvian dialect.

Totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (68/33): Wren 0/1, Dunnock 1/1, Robin 0/2, Redwing 4/0, Goldcrest 2/0, Long-tailed Tit 3/10, Blue Tit 0/5, Great Tit 1/2, Treecreeper 1/0, House Sparrow 5/0, Tree Sparrow 11/0, Chaffinch 5/5, Yellowhammer 35/7.

Jim

Winter Warmer

Today, Jim and I, assisted by Graham and Ian of Attenborough Nature Reserve, spent a long, hard day checking the heron and cormorant nests at Attenborough. All the 33 heron and 17 cormorant nests were checked, and the surrounding vegetation cleared to improve access. The latter should pay dividends later in the season by speeding up our checks.

Checks of the heron nests resulted in four of last year's colour rings being recovered from chicks that failed to fledge; that's six overall now. Out of 27 heron chicks colour-ringed last year, that's not too bad I guess. It looked like the gales had taken their toll on the heron nests, as eight were showing signs of collapse or had disappeared completely. Checks of the cormorant nests revealed only 1 un-ringed dead chick. 15 were colour ringed last year. Of the 17 numbered nests, four had disappeared completely.

So where are all the colour-ringed herons and cormorants? Please keep an eye out and report any sightings as these provide us with the most important data.

With the winter being mild so far, we half expected to find herons on eggs, but no new nesting activity was witnessed during today's checks.


Mick P.