Vale Hobbies, Monday 28 July

Friend of SNRG, Ian Kirton, has been working on farms in the Vale of Belvoir during harvest and the other day he found an active Hobby nest in a large hedgerow oak. Today Jim, Mick P & I met up with him to investigate further. As we arrived, we flushed the female from the nest which was a large, fresh Carrion Crow structure. After a fairly swift and expert climb, Mick lowered down three small chicks as mum patrolled overhead. These were ringed and weighed before being returned safely to their nest.

Pete

Holme Pierrepont, Saturday 26 July

The forecast said still and overcast for Saturday, bright and breezy for Sunday, so we decided to make the first visit of the year to the A52 end of Holme Pierrepont on Saturday. We may have to start referring to the site differently as we no longer have to park on the A52 and make the long walk up the old concrete road since Tom got us a key to the ‘new’ Skylarks reserve car park, well done Tom.

A good team of Duncan, Tom, Alex, Sue, Linda, Gary and I arrived on site to find the still conditions that had been forecast but not the overcast conditions, there was hardly a cloud in the sky all morning. We set about clearing the rides and had a decent first catch but the rising sun and what appeared to be low numbers of birds at the site soon saw the catch diminish.

We finished slightly early because the conditions, finishing on 41 (including 4 retraps) made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 1/1, Robin 7/0, Wren 1/2, Reed Warbler 6/1, Blackcap 8/0, Garden Warbler 1/0, Whitethroat 3/0, Lesser Whitethroat 4/0, Chiffchaff 1/0, Willow Warbler 3/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Reed Bunting 1/0. Of the retraps we did get the oldest were the Wrens, both from from 2012.

Kev

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 20 July

After hearing the forecast for the weekend a few days before I decided that Sunday would be the best day for another session at the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont. It certainly turned out to be the best day after the torrential rain we had on Saturday. Sunday started still and overcast but the sun soon came out as Gary, Alex, Linda, Clare and I set all the usual nets. Linda was paying us another visit from South Lincs and Clare came along to see what ringing was all about.

We caught steadily throughout the morning in very humid conditions, although the catch was down on last week's total. We finished with a total catch of 72 birds including 10 retraps made up of (new/retrap): Dunnock 2/0, Robin 3/1, Wren 6/3, Reed Warbler 18/2, Sedge Warbler 3/0, Blackcap 11/0, Garden Warbler 3/0, Whitethroat 0/1, Cetti’s Warbler 0/1, Chiffchaff 1/0, Willow Warbler 2/0, Blue Tit 2/0, Great Tit 2/2, Long-tailed Tit 2/0, Goldfinch 3/0, Reed Bunting 4/0.

Of the retraps we did get, the oldest was a Wren from 2011. The only warbler retraps we had were 3 adults, all the juvs we have ringed in the last few weeks seem to be passing straight through.

Kev

Attenborough terns, Thursday 17 July

I was joined by Duncan and Pete S for the second visit to two of the tern platforms at ANR. It had been four weeks since our first visit so I think we may have missed a few chicks that were hatching last time. A few chicks took flight as we approached so we missed them. We ringed 19 more chicks, 12 on Conneries and 7 on the Main Pond platform bringing the total this year to 67 chicks ringed and only one dead chick was found. Chicks were still hatching while we were there, but not enough to warrant a third visit.

Gary

Holme Pierrepont, Saturday 12 July

The third summer ringing session of 2014 at the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont was carried out today by Gary, Duncan, Tom, Sue and I along with Linda Lowndes visiting us from the South Lincs R.G. The nets were quickly erected on a warm, muggy but still morning, with the forecast predicting it to get hot. We caught steadily throughout the morning until it really started to get hot about mid-morning. The Blackcap numbers were well down on last week but we did get the first Sedge Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats of the summer. A Woodpigeon and Green Woodpecker added a little extra to the mix, as did the capture of 3 more Cetti’s Warblers.

We finished with a total catch of 108 birds including 16 retraps made up of (new/retrap): Woodpigeon 1/0, Green Woodpecker 1/0, Blackbird 2/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Dunnock 1/0, Robin 4/1, Wren 2/2, Reed Warbler 16/3, Sedge Warbler 5/0, Blackcap 8/1, Garden Warbler 4/1, Whitethroat 2/1, Lesser Whitethroat 3/0, Cetti’s Warbler 3/0, Chiffchaff 5/0, Willow Warbler 4/0, Blue Tit 11/1, Great Tit 10/1, Long-tailed Tit 1/1, Treecreeper 1/1, Bullfinch 3/0, Reed Bunting 4/3. Of the retraps we did get, the oldest was a Garden Warbler from 2011. As I headed for home the car temperature gauge told me it was 27 degrees outside, definitely the right time to end a great morning's ringing.

Kev

 Cetti's Warbler, Green Woodpecker (T. Shields) and Treecreeper (S. Lakeman)

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 6 July

The second summer ringing session of 2014 at the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont was carried out today by Gary, Duncan, Tom, Nabegh and I. I thought the water level was such that we could get extra nets up into the reeds this week, so we tried, however the two wellies full of water that Gary received suggested I was incorrect! A great start with overcast and still conditions resulted in a first round catch of almost 50 birds. The catching continued in good numbers until the sun came out about mid-morning.

We finished with a total catch of 94 birds including 11 retraps made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 2/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Robin 7/0, Wren 3/1, Reed Warbler 15/6, Blackcap 26/0, Garden Warbler 1/0, Whitethroat 3/1, Cetti’s Warbler 1/0, Chiffchaff 3/1, Willow Warbler 5/0, Blue Tit 3/1, Great Tit 5/0, Treecreeper 2/0, Reed Bunting 6/1.

It was nice to get a juvenile Cetti’s and with today's catch we have now had 36 Blackcaps in two visits without a single retrap! Of the retraps we did get, the oldest was another Reed Warbler from 2011. There seem to be very few returning Reed warblers so far.

A Cuckoo was calling and a recording appeared to attract it into the net judging by the large half-digested caterpillar in there but by the time we checked the net the bird had flown.

Kev

Reed Warblers and Cuckoos at Holme Pierrepont

Last year, I joined Ian wading through the reedbeds at our ringing site at the Grange, looking for Reed Warbler nests. We found a few but it wasn't as successful as we'd hoped. This year I was keen to get back in the reedbeds again and have another look, but various things kept getting in the way and it got to 7 June before I finally borrowed some waders and got stuck in. What really prompted me to put some effort in was the fact that cuckoos seem to be a big presence around Holme Pierrepont this summer, with up to 3 individuals being seen and at least as many calling from various territories round the area. I hoped that with so many about, that maybe I'd be lucky enough to find a reed warbler nest with a big fat cuckoo chick in it.

On the 7th I donned the waders and wandered through the reedbeds, but was disappointed to not find any nests within the first hour or so of searching. After waiting through a heavy rain shower, I finally jumped back in and just before giving up, finally stumbled across a nest. I couldn't beleive it when I poked my nose in to see a reddish-brown egg which was slightly larger than the 3 greyish brown speckled eggs sitting next to it. Some shaky-handed photography followed and I cycled home with a smile on my face.

I made another visit on the 15th, expecting to see some change in the nest, but still nothing had happened and there was some minor damage to one of the supports holding the nest in place, so I did worry that the nest had been abandoned, as the eggs didn't feel massively warm. However on 21 June I had another go with the Reed Warblers and located a couple more nests. I also visited the cuckoo one last time, just in case I had been wrong. Luckily I had, as when I looked this time, there was a naked, blind cuckoo there... and no Reed Warblers.

On Sunday, I met up with Ian so we could have a go at ringing the bird. We needed to time the visit right as we didn't want it too small, but we also didn't want it so big that it could damaged the nest by taking the bird out. It seemed we timed it just right as I managed to ring the bird at FS stage. Hopefully the bird will carry on as successfully as it has been and it's fantastic that everything seems to have gone perfectly.

We've found a few more Reed Warbler nests too, so it's good to have some nest records for the year and hopefully we should be ringing the chicks soon.

Thanks to Ian for coming down and supervising the ringing of this amazing bird!

Tom

 Photos by T. Shields and I. Blackmore

Holme Pierrepont, Saturday 28 June

The first summer ringing session of 2014 at the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont was carried out today by Gary, Alex and I. We expected to have to do fair bit of clearing because of the phenomenal vegetation growth we had seen locally but we were still surprised at what we found on site. The nettles were above head height in places and the brambles had gone crazy. The weather was overcast and quite still as we attacked the vegetation with various implements and erected nets as we cleared it, it was 3 hours after arriving on site before we had the last net up!

We still managed a decent catch of 66 birds including 8 retraps made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 2/2, Song Thrush 1/1, Robin 4/1, Wren 4/1, Dunnock 2/0, Reed Warbler 13/2, Blackcap 10/0, Garden Warbler 1/0, Whitethroat 5/0, Chiffchaff 4/1, Willow Warbler 5/0, Great Tit 3/0, Treecreeper 1/0, Goldfinch 1/0, Reed Bunting 2/0. The oldest retrap was a Reed Warbler from 2011. Up to three Cuckoos were around most of the morning, calling and chasing but managing to avoid the nets!

Kev

Attenborough CES Visit 6, Sunday 22 June

Gary, Alex, Duncan, Sue, Tom and I completed the sixth and final CES visit of the year at Attenborough on Sunday. The weather was still and sunny throughout which no doubt affected the catch as most of the nets were in full sun. We have been fortunate this year to have carried out every visit in very still conditions, something I can’t ever remember happening in previous years.

We managed to catch 33 birds including 8 retraps, the breakdown was (new/retrap): Bullfinch 1/2, Wren 1/1, Reed Warbler 3/3, Reed Bunting 2/1, Great Tit 2/1, Chiffchaff 1/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Blackcap 8/0, Robin 3/0, Dunnock 3/0. The oldest retrap was the Reed Warbler from 2007 that we have regularly caught this year and a Great Tit from 2008 that was recaptured for the first time since ringing.

Around, but not in the nets, were a Tawny Owl, a Nuthatch and some Peacock caterpillars (see below). The poles and guys were all removed at the end of the visit as the Trust are to turn the cattle out on the Delta now. 

Kev

 Nets 1 & 2 (Sue Lakeman)

 Peacock caterpillars (Sue Lakeman)

Little Grebe nest

Following an unproductive ringing session at Bestwood this morning I decided to check on a Little Grebe nest I am monitoring for the BTO Nest Record Scheme. I found the nest last week and as the adult covers the eggs when leaving only 2 were visible. This morning the eggs were uncovered, revealing 4 and a newly hatched chick!

Mick P

Kestrel recovery

An interesting recovery from new box site at Epperstone. A long dead male Kestrel with its head missing - and it was ringed! I would imagine its assailant was either a Tawny Owl or a stoat. EN series rings were first used in the 1980s so it will be interesting to hear of its origins in due course.

Jim

Attenborough CES Visit 5, Saturday 14 June

A perfect morning for mist netting, no wind and overcast. Gary, Nick and I set the nets pretty quickly despite having to clear the rides a little as the vegetation had sprung up amazingly since visit 4 a couple of weeks ago.

The totals were 26 new birds and 10 retraps made up as follows: Blackcap 2/0, Great Tit 6/3, Blue Tit 0/1, Robin 4/0, Dunnock 1/1, Reed Warbler 4/2, Wren 6/1, Bullfinch 2/0, Treecreeper 1/1, Reed Bunting 0/1.

The oldest retrap was a Blue Tit from 2011. The Treecreeper retrap was from 2013 and is the first bird caught this year that has started its wing moult, with a score of 7. Overall we have had better catches this year than last (apart from visit 1) but the extra birds are resident species not warblers, there is a distinct lack of warblers at the site this year.

Kev

Wales, Sunday 8 June

Gary, Mick P, Duncan, Alex, Tom and I made the trip to Wales on Sunday to ring the Pied Flycatcher chicks. We had received varying reports about the season but generally they implied that the birds had arrived back and started laying over a longish period of time. This was borne out by what we found on site. The timing of the visit was about as right as it could be and we ringed 68 pulli Pied Flycatchers and 7 adults. We left 50 chicks unringed because they were too small, there were about 40 eggs still to hatch and 4 broods had fledged. We also did an adult Redstart but the two Redstart nests we found had eggs and small chicks. To end the day we mist-netted a Wood Warbler. Yet again there were no Buzzards nesting although there were a few around and Tom and I had excellent views of a Red Kite.

Kev

 Pied Flycatcher with 3 obvious juvenile greater coverts indicating a bird born the previous year. (G. Goddard)

Wood Warbler (G. Goddard)

Attenborough CES Visit 4, Sunday 1 June

What a contrast to last week, the sun was out from the start, not a cloud in the sky all morning. This undoubtedly affected the catch as the nets were lit up but I was still surprised at how few birds we caught. There seemed to be very little movement of birds at the site generally. Still, it was a pleasant morning for Sue, Duncan, Gary, Nick, Alex and I to spend sitting in the sun, or at least it would have been if the mosquitoes had left us alone!

The totals were 16 new and 7 retraps made up as follows: Blackcap 3/1, Great Tit 1/1, Chiffchaff 0/1, Robin 3/0, Dunnock 1/1, Garden Warbler 0/1, Reed Warbler 1/1, Wren 2/0, Blackbird 3/0, Cetti’s Warbler 0/1, Chaffinch 1/0, Reed Bunting 1/0. The oldest retrap was the Garden Warbler from 2010 that we also caught last week. We did catch our first juvenile warbler of the year, a Blackcap.

Kev

 Juvenile Robin (Sue Lakeman)

Box checking in the Vale

Well, I ringed more owls yesterday alone than in the whole of 2013, so things are looking up. I'd been a bit concerned after a week of incessant rain, but it seems that many pairs were well ahead of schedule with good sized young that were perhaps more able to weather the storms.

I began with Kestrel boxes and found a wide range from birds on eggs up to a brood of 5 that must have been half grown. The pic below also shows the head of the sixth sibling which had become breakfast at some point (the fifth is hidden in the far left hand corner, perhaps hoping to avoid the same fate)...

Next were two boxes with large Little Owl chicks. Talking to several people, these appear to have had a good year in 2013, unlike Tawny and Barn Owls. I wonder if we are now seeing the result of that? (Yes, Penny decided that an old bridesmaid's dress was the correct attire for box-checking...)

Lastly, 2 of 3 Barn Owl broods I found were big enough to ring and seemingly doing well with a few prey items cached.

Fingers crossed for not too much more wet weather.


Pete