Attenborough, Tuesday 22 March

Myself, Mick, Pete and photographer, Ben Andrew, made our first visit to Attenborough on Tuesday to see how the breeding Cormorants and Grey Herons were doing. Ben is doing a photo essay on breeding inland Cormorants and wanted to see some ringed and their nests. We managed this and he went away happy and they may appear in BBC Wildlife one day.

Our impression with the herons is that numbers are down and it's a later breeding season than some years. Several nests had gone and a few new ones had appeared in the more sheltered eastern end of the reserve. Nevertheless, we ringed five heron nestlings and a brood of four cormorants. We plan to return in a few days when there should be more to do.

Jim

 (photo (c) Ben Andrew/Mick Pearson)

Toton Blackcap, Saturday 26 March

Early last Saturday morning, the 19th, as I was loading the car ready for the trip to Wales I thought I heard a Blackcap give a short burst of song. I stopped what I was doing and listened but of course I did not hear it again, then the rest of the team arrived and I forgot all about it.

The following morning as I was sitting at home looking out of the patio window I saw a male Blackcap hop out of the conifers and onto a bird feeder containing sunflower hearts. I was a little surprised as the spring arrivals had certainly not made it to these parts yet. Later that morning when the sun was out the bird was in full song.

It was then seen regularly each day on the same feeder, I surmised that this was probably an overwintering bird that was putting on weight before heading towards central Europe for the summer. I do very little ringing in the garden but when I do I usually use traps rather than mist nets. I usually keep a couple of chardonnerets out and baited with mixed seed, almost like supplementary feeders - but not set for trapping. On Wednesday I added sunflower hearts to the feed tray in one of the traps and within a few minutes the Blackcap was in the trap feeding!

This morning the bird was still coming in to feed so I set the traps and soon caught it. As I picked the bird out of the trap I could feel it was no lightweight and when I weighed it topped the scales at 25.7g and on inspection it had a fat score of 5. I had a quick look at Blackcap weights on our IPMR system and of the 3518 weight records we have for Blackcaps in Nott’s this was the equal second highest weight recorded, the highest being 26.1g. This weight and the other 25.7g weight we have on our database were both recorded in the Autumn period, as have all weight records we have over 24g. So a nice capture and as I suspected it probably is an overwintering bird that is about to head into central Europe.

Kev

 (photo: Christine Hemsley)

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 13 March

Duncan, Gary and I made another visit to Sutton Bonington in very still conditions with variable cloud cover. Catching was steady throughout the morning, tending to be a bit better when the thicker cloud obscured the sun a little.

We ended with a total of 37 birds including 12 retraps. The only surprise was a Linnet, the first for the site. The species totals were (new/retrap): Dunnock 1/5, Goldfinch 3/0, Greenfinch 5/0, Linnet 1/0, Yellowhammer 6/1, Reed Bunting 2/2, Robin 1/3, Blackbird 1/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Great Tit 1/0, Wren 0/1, Long-tailed Tit 3/0. The retraps were all recently ringed birds.

There were at least 3 Buzzards around, a few small parties of Fieldfares passing overhead and Lapwings were in still in the field.

Kev

2014 Report

The group's report for 2014 is now available. Please click on the 'Reports' tab at the top for details of how you can obtain a copy of this or previous reports.

Pete

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 6 March

Another decent day for mist-netting and Alex, Tom, Gary and I were joined by Mike Murray at Sutton Bonington. The bait had gone down considerably when I went to bait the site on the previous Wednesday and again today but unfortunately this was not reflected in the catch size. The first catch was relatively small and each catch subsequent to that was low with a total of just 28 birds including 7 retraps.

The species totals were (new/retrap): Dunnock 2/1, Chaffinch 2/0, Goldfinch 6/0, Greenfinch 4/0, Yellowhammer 2/0, Reed Bunting 1/0, Robin 1/2, Blackbird 1/1, Blue Tit 0/1, Great Tit 0/2, Song Thrush 2/0.

The retraps were all recently ringed birds. There were still few small parties of Fieldfares about and Lapwings were in the field.

Kev

Sibthorpe, Monday 29 February

In order to avoid any proposals of marriage, I stayed in the garden today and did some solitary bird ringing. I opened the nets just after dawn and closed at one o’clock, by which time I had processed 68 birds (58 new, 10 retrap) and entered them all on IMPR. Sixty-six of these were all caught in the one 18m net.

Finches dominated the catch. There was only one retrap among the 32 Goldfinches, which shows how mobile they must be at the moment. Star birds, at this newish site, were a fine adult male Reed Bunting (which we’ve not seen here before) and an unusual female Greater Spotted Woodpecker (see picture). Interesting to hear what group members would age it as, i.e. first winter or adult (or not sure...)!

Totals as follows (new/retrap): Great Spotted Woodpecker 1/0, Wren 1/1, Dunnock 1/2, Robin 0/2, Blackbird 4/0, Long-tailed Tit 0/2, Blue Tit 2/0, Great Tit 0/1, Starling 1/0, House Sparrow 2/0, Tree Sparrow 1/1, Greenfinch 13/0, Goldfinch 31/1, Reed Bunting 1/0.

Jim

Sutton Bonington, Saturday 27 February

At last a decent day for mist netting at a weekend, so Gary, Alex, Tom, Sue and I made the most of it at Sutton Bonington. We got the nets up fairly quickly despite having to replace the guys in the Hawthorne hedge that had recently been flayed!

There were a few Yellowhammers around on the last visit and they had been there the day before when I went to check the bait. The first catch was good (and included Yellowhammers) and subsequent catches were OK, giving us a steady morning with a total of 35 birds including 10 retraps.

The species totals were (new/retrap): Dunnock 2/2, Chaffinch 3/0, Goldfinch 8/3, Greenfinch 1/0, Yellowhammer 8/0, Reed Bunting 2/0, Robin 0/3, Blackbird 0/1, Blue Tit 1/1. The retraps were all recently ringed birds.

At one time there were 5 Buzzards visible in the sky and a few small parties of Fieldfares passed over.

Kev

Yellowhammer (S. Lakeman)

Brackenhurst, Wednesday 24 February

Kev, Gary, Jim and Duncan very kindly helped to undertake another ringing demonstration for the NTU students at Brackenhurst. The demonstration was advertised by NTU's Conservation Society and was well attended by students, some of whom stayed all morning!

We had a lot of birds at the start of the morning but a sharp decline towards midday. Nevertheless, there was a good variety of birds to show the students. Highlights were 21 Yellowhammers (a mixture of males and females of different ages to show the students), a good number of Chaffinches and 1 male Goldcrest. Interestingly, one of the Yellowhammers had a deformed bill - something the senior ringers had not noted in this species before.

We caught 51 birds, 21 of which were retraps. Species totals were as follows (new/retrap): Dunnock (2/4), Robin (0/3), Blackbird (1/0), Goldcrest (0/1), Blue Tit (1/0), Great Tit (4/4), Chaffinch (6/3), Goldfinch (1/0) and Yellowhammer (13/8). Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the day (to some) was the arrival of two of Simon's famous lemon drizzle cakes - YUM!

Thanks to the students who provided so many lovely photos too.

Louise

 

Notts Biodiversity Action Group Event

SNRG is a member of the Notts Biodiversity Action Group and so we can attend for just £6. If you aren't in a member organisation it's £10. Contact details at bottom. Click pics for larger versions.

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 14 February

Because of poor weather it had been a month since our last visit to Sutton Bonington. The weather for this visit was forecast to be a bit too breezy but we went ahead and were joined by Emma Wells, an MSc student at Nottingham University, studying Biological Photography.

There was a bit of a breeze as we put up the nets and this increased as the sun rose and ‘lit up’ the nets. The first round was quite productive but catches dropped quickly and we took down at 1030. It was at least encouraging that there were a few Yellowhammers around and we caught two of them.

We finished on 22 birds including 6 retraps, the species totals were (new/retrap): Dunnock 0/3, Chaffinch 2/0, Goldfinch 5/0, Greenfinch 4/0, Bullfinch 1/0, Yellowhammer 2/0, Reed Bunting 1/1, Robin 1/1, Blackbird 0/1.

The retraps were all recently ringed birds. A couple of Buzzards passed overhead along with a few small parties of Fieldfare and at least 1 Raven.

Kev

Brackenhurst, Wednesday 20 January

Kev, Gary, Jim, Duncan, Kate and Esther very kindly helped to undertake a ringing demonstration for the NTU students at Brackenhurst. Unfortunately, students didn't get much notice about the event but we still had a lot of interest, with many students staying out in the cold with us for a couple of hours!

We had a good steady number of birds, and a nice variety to show the students. Highlights were 16 Yellowhammers (a variety of males and females of different ages, plus plenty of feather mites), a Bullfinch (the twelfth for the site) , a very large Blackbird (probably Scandinavian) and a Siskin (a first for the site!).

We caught 44 birds in total, 20 of which were retraps. Species totals are as follows (new/retrap): Dunnock (1/4), Robin (2/2), Blackbird (2/0), Long-tailed Tit (0/2), Blue Tit (1/0), Great Tit (4/6), Chaffinch (1/1), Siskin (1/0), Bullfinch (1/0) and Yellowhammer (11/5). The best retraps were Yellowhammers from the winters of 2012/13 and 2013/14.

Hopefully we will be doing another demonstration for the Brackenhurst students in February.

Louise

Recent recoveries

3 Barn Owl recoveries have come in recently:

- a bird found dead on 7 November in South Muskham had originally been ringed at the nest in Caunton on 8 September
- a bird found injured in Radcliffe-on-Trent on 8 December had been ringed at the nest nearby in Cropwell Bishop in September (unfortunately it was too badly injured and was not released from the vets)
- a bird ringed at the nest in Hathern in September 2014 was found dead on the A6 near Loughborough

A Kestrel, ringed at the nest near Keyworth in June 2015 was found dead in Ashover, Derbyshire on New Year's Day, a movement of over 40km.

A Canada Goose, ringed as part of the University of Nottingham project at Highfields Park, was found near Trent Bridge in the city, where the metal ring was read (by me!) on 17 October 2015. It was originally ringed in June 2011, and was also fitted with a Colour ring, but this appears to have gone.

A Robin, ringed as a 3J near at Ramsdale Park Golf Club in August 2015, was taken by a cat in nearby Calverton on 15 January.

Three Lesser Redpoll (a species often controlled by ringing groups) have been controlled by us:

- a bird ringed at Chobham Common in Surrey in March 2014 was controlled at Bestwood in November (642 days, 190km)
- a bird ringed at Dalchork, Highlands in September 2014 was controlled at Shelton in December (480 days, 607km)
- a bird ringed at Watchtree Nature reserve in Cumbria in July 2015 was controlled at Ramsdale Golf Club in December (136 days, 241km)

Tom

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 17 January

Gary, Duncan and I met in the snow at Sutton Bonington in perfect mist netting conditions. We were joined by Nabegh, visiting from his new home in Liverpool and Mike Murray from East Leake who wanted to come along to see what ringing was all about. The first round was quite productive but catches dropped quickly and so we took down a little early. I can’t explain why the catch was so small as the snow cover would usually ensure a decent catch at a feeding site.

We finished on 24 birds including 9 retraps, the species totals were (new/retrap): Dunnock 2/0, Blue Tit 0/3, Great Tit 0/1, Chaffinch 1/2, Goldfinch 1/0, Greenfinch 9/0, Lesser Redpoll 1/0, Reed Bunting 1/0, Robin 0/3.

The retraps were all recently ringed birds. A Buzzard was around most of the morning and a few Fieldfares, Skylarks and a Raven passed overhead.

Kev

Sibthorpe, Sunday 17 January

Perfect ringing conditions have been hard to come by this winter, but this morning was as close as we've been. It was overcast and still and the first snow of the season had fallen overnight. Better still, Jim, Elaine and I enjoyed it from the warmth of their house as we looked onto the garden feeders and two nets with ringside seats.

The birds started going in before sunrise and continued steadily until lunchtime. We finished on 72 (58 new, 14 retrap), broken down as follows: Wren 0/1, Dunnock 4/2, Robin 2/1, Blackbird 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 5/0, Blue Tit 1/2, Great Tit 0/1, House Sparrow 3/1, Chaffinch 1/0, Greenfinch 15/0, Goldfinch 26/6.

One of the Goldfinches was a control - the second for the site in just 4 ringing sessions.

The odd Golden Plover flew over, as did a few thrushes and Skylarks and a single Redpoll was around the feeders but evaded capture.

Pete 

 Sunrise, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, House Sparrow (Pete Leonard)

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 3 January

Gary, Duncan, Alex, Tom and I met for the first 2016 ringing session at Sutton Bonington in fair mist netting conditions this morning. We were expecting an early finish as rain was forecast for later in the morning. The site was unusually quiet and at the first round the nets were empty. The second round produced just a retrap Blue Tit........very odd! The third round did give us a few birds but by then (0915) the rain had started early, this catch gave us 5 Goldfinch and a Greenfinch. As we were processing these a female Sparrowhawk was spotted in the top shelf of one of the nets but of course it had extracted itself before we were able to get to it. We took down and headed for home in the rain, again.

Kev