Frequently Asked Questions

The group produced this document a while ago to give to new recruits and other interested people. I've now added an extra page for it as you can see on the bar above.

Pete

Recent Recoveries

Just two recoveries just in. The first was one of the few Barn Owl chicks ringed this year which met its end after 65 days having travelled 17km from Halam to Alverton. This is pretty standard stuff. The second recovery is something a little more out of the ordinary, being a Brambling ringed by Mick P near Bestwood on Christmas Eve 2010. This bird was trapped in Norway on 24 September this year over 1000 days later and over 2000km away. Happy Christmas Mick!

Brackenhurst, Sunday 15 December

Thankfully the forecast was wrong in the right way and we were greeted with calm weather when we got to Brack just before dawn today. It was cool and frost formed with the sunrise temperature dip. The wind picked up later and it started to rain as we got back to the vehicles. This week our team was Alex, Gary, Ian, Tom and myself. We processed 58 individual birds, and with the 'soft' weather at the moment I would have taken that beforehand. Also, Orwin's caught zero birds, probably because this numpty forgot the sound lure.

The majority of the birds were retraps, but we had two new species for the winter in Wren and Tree Sparrow. From the retraps, the Great Spotted Woodpecker was the best, being ringed as an adult in 2008, and there were also Chaffinches from 2009 and 2010, two Great Tits and a Robin from 2010.

Totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (25/33): Great Spotted Woodpecker 0/1, Blue Tit 6/5, Great Tit 3/13, Wren 1/0, Robin 0/5, Dunnock 0/1, Tree Sparrow 2/0, Chaffinch 2/7, Yellowhammer 11/3.

Jim

Recent Recoveries

There's been a very interesting record of a Black-headed Gull which was ringed at Attenborough back in December 1989 which turned up in Copenhagen, Denmark, in April 2000 and had it's ring read by an observer in the field by sight!

A Cormorant ringed as a chick at Attenborough in June 2013 was present at Carsington Water in Derbyshire a month later where the bird's colour ring was read.

A Tawny Owl ringed as a chick at Averham Park in April 2012 was killed by a vehicle at the same site in August 2012.
  
A Reed Warbler ringed in Maine-et-Loire, France, in August 2009 was controlled at Holme Pierrepont in June 2013. Another ringed in Spain in August 2007 was also controlled at HPP in August 2013.

A Tree Sparrow ringed at Attenborough in December 2011 was found dead at West Torrington, Lincolnshire in September 2013 having travelled a distance of 78km.

A Lesser Redpoll ringed at Bestwood in November 2011 was controlled at Aros Moss, Argyll and Bute in May 2013 having travelled a distance of 395km.

And then there's the usual stack of Barn Owl records as follows:

A chick ringed at Girton in July 2009 was controlled at Collingham in August 2013.
A chick ringed at Auckley, South Yorkshire, in July 2006 was controlled at Caunton in August 2013.
Another ringed at Crowland, Peterborough, in May 2013 was controlled at Radcliffe on Trent in June 2013.
A chick ringed at Plungar in June 2011 was controlled at Westwoodside, North Lincolnshire in August 2013, having travelled a distance of 63km.
A chick ringed at Cotgrave in June 2007 was killed by a vehicle at Cropwell Butler in August 2013.
A chick ringed at Fiskerton in June 2009 was controlled at Hawton in August 2013.
A chick ringed at Muston in July 2012 was controlled at Sutton in September 2013.
A chick ringed at Trowell in July 2012 was controlled at Moorgreen in July 2013.
A chick ringed at Elton in July 2012 was controlled at Tithby in July 2013.
A chick ringed at Collingham in July 2011 was controlled at Newark in August 2013.
A chick ringed at Shelton in September 2013 was found dead at nearby Thoroton in October 2013.

Ian

Brackenhurst, Sunday 8 December

Another marvellous dawn met us at Brackenhurst this Sunday, but this time we also had a yellow card from the shepherd which meant increasing blustery south-westerly winds. Our ringing team grew again, and included (left to right in pic) Gary, Duncan, Pete S, Kev, Chris (from Tring RG), Liz, Emma, Tom, Sue and myself (behind the camera...).

It being 8 degrees warmer and more blowy than previously, conditions did not make for quite such a good catch. However, we still managed 73 birds, which were split equally between being ringed and unringed.

Orwin's was sheltered from the wind and the 'magic' sound lure brought in another 10 Redwing. It's very nice to catch more than just the odd one, and a have a look at the moult on first winter and adult individuals. The bird below had several old greater coverts as well as fault bars in the remiges and rectrices.

The Blue and Great Tits kept coming, but the mild, windy weather attracted fewer Chaffinches and Yellowhammers. However, 'star bird' was a first winter male Brambling. Note the old alula and primary coverts.

(All photos by JL)

Totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (37/36): Goldcrest 1/0, Blue Tit 4/6, Great Tit 4/16, Dunnock 3/1, Blackbird 0/1, Redwing 10/0, Robin 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 3/4, Brambling 1/0, Chaffinch 3/2, Yellowhammer 7/6.

Jim

Brackenhurst, Sunday 1 December

Weatherman, he say: mild overnight with northerly winds 5-8 mph, but when Kev, Gary, Pete S, Emma, Duncan, Rebecca and I got to the Brack feeders this morning just before dawn, it was calm and very frosty. It turned into a bright and sunny day and it was great to be out ringing in good company.

The overnight cold maybe made the birds keener and we managed to process 98 birds with a nice mix of 12 species. Great Tit, Chaffinch and Yellowhammer were the main species caught, but nine Redwing were an excellent bonus, all attracted to a new sound lure (we've only ringed 16 in the last 5 winters). It's the norm to catch Long-tailed Tits in flocks, with the calling netted birds pulling the others. However, we caught four single birds today and one of them had originally been ringed five years and five days ago!

As we walked down to the ringing site, it was obvious there were a fair few thrushes roosting in the hedges, and we also heard a Tawny Owl calling.

Totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (58/40): Great Spotted Woodpecker 0/1, Blue Tit 1/5, Great Tit 5/10, Dunnock 2/6, Blackbird 4/0, Redwing 9/0, Robin 2/2, Long-tailed Tit 2/2, Chaffinch 14/6, Goldfinch 4/0, Bullfinch 1/0, Yellowhammer 14/8.

Jim

Brackenhurst, Saturday 23 November

A whole gaggle of group members turned up at Brackenhurst for the first session of the winter at the feeding site. Regulars included Kev, Gary, Pete S, Duncan and myself, plus ringer Liz White who has moved into the area recently and student Rebecca Culling who's looking at the preponderance of feather mites in relation to brightness in Yellowhammers.

The morning was milder than expected, and after an early breeze was quite calm and slightly overcast; just the job for mist netting and we had a decent session with 71 birds of eight species processed.

After the cold spring, a lower than usual number of tits caught was not unexpected. Seven out of ten Great Tits were aged as adults indicating poor breeding success. You would expect juvenile birds to outnumber adults at this time of year. Chaffinches dominated the catch, accounting for about a third of the total. Besides retraps from last winter, we also caught Chaffinches from 2009 and 2010 and Yellowhammers from 2010 and 2011.

Winter thrushes were thin on the ground, but Gary did pick out a Peregrine giving the Wood Pigeons a fright and a Little Owl was calling at dawn.

Totals for individual species ringed/retrapped (53/18) were: Goldcrest 1/0, Dunnock 3/2, Robin 3/0, Long-tailed Tit 6/2, Blue Tit 5/0, Great Tit 4/6, Chaffinch 22/3, Yellowhammer 9/5.

Jim

Ian's Little Owl boxes

This Autumn, the talented construction students at Brooksby Melton College, where I work, built me ten Little Owl nest boxes for a small project around Cropwell Butler where I live. I'd like to find out more about Little Owl preferences, dispersal and breeding success and I am hoping this is a good place to start.

The boxes are based on the Bob Sheppard dimensions which I am led to believe is one of the designs which Little Owls will take to more readily. In fact, as they are known to nest in anything from hay stacks to rabbit burrows it'll be interesting to see what occupancy rates I get with a concentrated effort.

This weekend I erected the last of the boxes around the cow and sheep fields which surround the village, along hedgerows and mainly in mature apple, ash and oak trees. After doing so, I have a fresh appreciation for the hard work that goes into projects like this and a bigger respect for the dedicated conservationists who conduct large scale and long term schemes.

The other evening I was out with my lamp hoping to find Woodcock and ended up catching a young Little Owl which was a pleasant surprise and definitely shows that they are present in the areas where I erected the boxes. Here's hoping for a mild winter and a good breeding season next year.

Ian

Rushcliffe Community Partnership Awards

On Thursday 7 November, Kev, Jim, Duncan and I attended the Rushcliffe Community Partnership Awards 2013 on behalf of SNRG. We had been nominated for an award in the Protecting and Enhancing our Environment category by Gordon Dyne.

We were up against strong opposition and there were 12 other nominees. The award was presented to another very devoted and worthy group, the Friends of Sharphill Wood, but we are still very proud to have been nominated.

However, it's lucky we did not leave in a cob after that though, because for the very last award, the Mayor's special award, the Mayor, Cllr Brian Buschman, had shortlisted us for his own award. We didn't win it, but it was very nice to finish joint second! We received a certificate and memento as recognition of this nomination.

It was a very prestigious event with lots of worthy volunteers receiving recognition for their tireless and selfless efforts in all areas of community volunteering.

Fingers crossed for next year.


Mick P

 

Common Redpoll at Bestwood

I caught a Common Redpoll at Bestwood today. It was in the net with 2 Lesser Redpolls so it really stuck out. It had a wing length of 75mm and weighed 11.8g. The only other birds caught were a Tree Sparrow (with a primary moult score of 48), a Reed Bunting, a Blackbird and a retrap Great Tit.

Mick P

Barn Owls - a final encore?

A single Barn Owl chick ringed near Bottesford today concludes the 2013 breeding season monitoring. There had been 4 chicks there a month ago. It'll need a large slice of good fortune to make it through to breed in 2014. Let's hope for a kind winter and better times with the owls in 2014.

Jim

Barn Owls - Autumn Update

We managed to ring another eight barn owl chicks on Saturday. As seems to be the norm, seven of these were ringed at Normanton, nr Bottesford, which is a hot spot for late broods. The Indian summer is being kind to them and the BOs are finding enough food at the moment. This is unusual as late breeders tend to have very small clutches and or fail entirely once the autumn gales and rain kick in. Last year I ringed 88 pullus, with seven of those ringed in September. So far this year I've ringed 38 pullus, but 27 of them have been ringed since 1st September and there's still one more brood to hopefully ring in November!

Jim

Attenborough Ringing Demo, Sunday 6 October

We had a good turn out of ringers for the demo at Attenborough on Sunday on a glorious morning with a light westerly breeze. Unfortunately we had very few birds and not very many visitors. The total catch was just 9 new birds comprising 3 Blue Tits, 1 Great Tit, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Robin 1 Tree Sparrow and 2 Dunnocks. Despite the lack of birds and visitors it was nice to have time to catch up with people and have a chat. Thanks to Jim, Mick P, Alex, Sue, Kate and Sophie for helping out and as usual many thanks to the staff at the visitor centre for keeping us fed and watered throughout.

Kev

Recent Recoveries

This time we have a number of reports, mainly of Barn Owls, which were ringed as chicks and controlled at nest boxes during June 2013:

From Costock in August 2008 to Hickling Pastures
From Caunton in June 2009 to Kirklington
From Plumtree in June 2009 to Costock
From Bingham in July 2010 to Plungar
From Screveton in July 2011 to Screveton
From Screveton in July 2011 to Shelton
From Shelford in May 2012 to Claypool, Lincolnshire
From Upper Broughton in July 2012 to Cotgrave
From Aslockton in September 2012 to Upper Broughton
From Collingham in June 2011 to Girton

In addition to the Barn Owls, we also have some other findings:

A Kestrel ringed as a chick at Shelton in June 2012 was found dead in a cattle trough at Scarrington in March 2012.

A House Sparrow ringed at Hucknall in December 2011 was discovered dead in a Hucknall nest box in May 2013.

A Tree Sparrow ringed at Bestwood in March 2012 was also found dead in a nest box at Bestwood in April 2013.

A young Blackcap ringed at Holme Pierrepont in August 2012 was controlled at Cambridge in June 2013.

A young Waxwing ringed at Manchester in February 2013 was captured again in April at Clifton.

A young Garden Warbler ringed at Wraysbury Gravel Pits, Windsor and Maidenhead in August 2011 was captured again at Attenborough in June 2013.

A Reed Warbler ringed at Pitsford Reservoir, Northampton in July 2012 was captured at Holme Pierrepont in June 2013.

Ian

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 23 September

Kev, Gary, Duncan, Tom, Alex, Sue and I spent most of the final session of the season sun-bathing on an unusually warm and still September morning. The site didn't feel particularly busy with birds and it may be that many summer migrants have left. A few small flocks comprised mainly Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, with a sprinkling of Blue and Long-tailed Tits, but there were no enormous flocks.

The total number of birds trapped was 24 (18 new/6 retrap), comprising: Robin: 4/2, Blue Tit: 2/1, Blackbird: 1/1, Dunnock: 2/1, Wren: 0/1, Chiffchaff: 3/0, Blackcap: 4/0, Whitethroat: 1/0, Reed Warbler: 1/0. The oldest retrap was the Blackbird at 3 years.

Chiffchaff (Pete Leonard)

It's been an odd season and despite the lack of gales and floods that we've become accustomed to, many species don't appear to have had a particularly good year. But as always, it is difficult to gauge this sort of thing until a much broader data set is available.

Away from the nets, Meadow Pipit passage was regular throughout the morning and a handful of Swallows were the only hirundines. A couple of Buzzards soared over and Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Green and Great-spotted Woodpeckers were all around. Snipe bombed over on a couple of occasions and wildfowl numbers are already building with good rafts of Tufted Duck and Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall and Wigeon all present in small numbers. Butterflies included Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Speckled Wood and what were probably a couple of Small Coppers whizzing by. Good numbers of hawker dragonflies were most likely Migrant Hawkers. And just as we were leaving we watched a Hobby circling near the A52.


Pete