Recent Recoveries

The usual Barn Owl recoveries were in this most recent batch, however they were unusual in that they weren't just local recoveries of road casualties, but rather birds that had either travelled far, or had been recovered a good time after ringing.

• A bird ringed in June 2007 as a chick in Barton-in-Fabis, near Clifton, was the most local recovery, being found as a road casualty in nearby Borrowash in April this year, almost 8 years after it was ringed.
• A chick ringed in Greasley in September 2011 was found as a road casualty near Kings Mill Reservoir in Mansfield, in April this year, 4 years on.
• Another chick, ringed in 2011 in Radcliffe, was found dead in Shropshire in March this year, 4 years on.
• A bird found injured in Staffordshire in April this year had been ringed last June in Eaton, Leics. It had travelled a fair bit and the fate of this Barn owl is unknown.
• And finally a bird ringed in Rolleston was controlled in Norfolk at Welney in February this year.

Another interesting recovery is of a Teal, of which we do not ring many. The bird was ringed at Holme Pierrepont in November last year, and was controlled by ringers at Holme in Norfolk, 2 months later.

There were also a few passerine recoveries:

A tree sparrow ringed as a chick at Beckingham Marshes in May last year was controlled by the group at Bestwood this February. This is the second control Tree Sparrow the group has had from Beckingham Marshes this year, both initially ringed by Chris de Feu last year.

A Long-tailed Tit, which was ringed at Hazelford Weir was retrapped by Mick at the same site seven and a half years later. This is quite impressive for a Long-tailed tit as the longevity record for the species is eight years and eight months, so it's not far off!

And a Chaffinch ringed at Brackenhurst in March 2013, met its end against a window in April this year. It must be a local breeder as it was found nearby in Halloughton.

Tom

Holme Pierrepont, Sunday 26 April

Tom, Duncan, Gary and I managed a Sunday visit to Holme Pierrepont, despite the weather forecast predicting it would not be possible! There was hardly a cloud in the sky and only a slight breeze was blowing. We erected 12 nets including a couple in new sites.

We finished on 47 birds including 18 recaptures. The catch was made up of (new/retrap): Blackbird 2/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Dunnock 0/2, Wren 2/0, Robin 1/3, Reed Warbler 4/1, Sedge Warbler 4/0, Blackcap 8/3, Garden Warbler 0/1, Chiffchaff 0/1, Willow Warbler 3/3, Blue Tit 2/0, Long-tailed Tit 0/2, Bullfinch 2/0, Reed Bunting 0/2.

There were a couple of Whitethroats around but they managed to avoid the nets, as did a calling Cuckoo. The oldest retraps of the morning were a Robin and a Garden Warbler from 2011. An added extra was a couple of Blackcap controls.

Kev

 Willow Warbler with pollen deposit on bill from migration (T. Shields)

Attenborough Herons, Thursday 23 April

Pete S, Gary, Mick and I had a great day out on the reserve at Attenborough today. We handled 22 Grey Heron chicks - fitting BTO metal rings to 17 chicks and adding 18 colour rings to those that were big enough. It helped that they're more synchronous this year, but very noticeable that the
western, more exposed nests, are a week or two later than those more sheltered on the east side of the reserve. We also ringed a brood of 4 Cormorant chicks, the rest on the main island colony were too big to approach safely.

Jim

 Jim with a personalised heron chick... (Photos by Gary Goddard)

Holme Pierrepont, Saturday 18 April

Nick, Gary and I, along with guest Lucy Jones held the first ringing session at the Grange end of Holme Pierrepont on Saturday morning. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and a good breeze was blowing from first thing. Sheltered spots at the site also had a ground frost on them so we quickly erected eight nets, missing out the exposed reedbed nets.

Catching was steady most of the morning and I was pleasantly surprised with a total catch of 44 birds, 29 of them being warblers. A Green Woodpecker towards the end of the session in one of the nets was nice as it had been around all morning.

The catch was made up of (new/retrap): Green Woodpecker 1/0, Blackbird 0/1, Song Thrush 1/0, Dunnock 2/0, Wren 0/2, Robin 0/1, Reed Warbler 0/1, Sedge Warbler 4/0, Blackcap 14/2, Chiffchaff 2/1, Willow Warbler 4/1, Long-tailed Tit 2/0, Treecreeper 1/1, Reed Bunting 2/1.

There were plenty of Blackcaps around but I did not see or hear any Reed Warblers; until we caught one! Along with one of the Blackcaps they were the oldest retraps of the morning, both being returning birds from 2010 - but curiously neither had been caught in the intervening years. A good start, more to follow next weekend if the weather allows!

Kev

 Green Woodpecker (Nick Humphreys)

Brackenhurst, Sunday 5 April

A fairly quiet morning at Brackenhurst, with only 16 birds processed, but variety with 10 species handled. Our team was Gary, Alex, Kate, Kev and myself. Several Chiffchaffs gave us a welcoming chorus and it was nice to be ringing our first summer migrants of the year. However, there were few Yellowhammers about. This perhaps reflects the mild winter as in previous Aprils we've caught good numbers of them following on from a hard winter.

The more interesting of the retraps were Great and Blue Tits, both ringed on 02/11/2012, a Yellowhammer from 19/03/2011 which had not been caught since, and a Chiffchaff from last March.

Captures were (new/retraps) 16(8/8): Blue Tit 0/1, Chaffinch 1/0, Chiffchaff 3/1, Goldcrest 1/0, Goldfinch 1/0, Great Spotted Woodpecker 0/1, Great Tit 0/4, Robin 1/0, Wren 1/0, Yellowhammer 0/1.

Jim

Recent Recoveries

Nine recent Barn Owl recoveries have come in. Five were found in February this year:

• A chick ringed in Watnall in June last year, made it to Hykeham near Lincoln, where it was killed on the roads.
• Another chick was ringed in Brock Hill, Leics, in 2011. It was found freshly dead in the same area.
• A Lambley born bird was ringed in July last year and got hit on the roads near Bingham.
• A young bird ringed in Halam, Southwell was also a victim of the roads, being found in Wymeswold.
• A bird ringed as a chick in Stragglethorpe in 2005, not too far from Holme Pierrepont, was eventually killed on the roads, 10 years later in Cosby, Leics.

In March, a further four Barn Owls were reported:

• Yet another Road Casualty, this time a young bird ringed in Hawton last June, found in nearby Shelton.
• Another youngster, ringed in Clifton Wood in June 2013, was found not too far away, in Draycott, having been predated by a mystery animal.
• A bird ringed as a youngster in Caunton last June was killed on the railways near North Muskham.
• And finally, a bird ringed as a breeding adult in Bunny last June, was found dead in the same area.

And now the non-Barn owls:

• A Blackbird ringed in Hucknall in June 2012, was found dead in the same area 3 years later in March this year.
• A net-friendly Blackcap which was originally ringed as a 3J female on 20/8/14 in Bestwood, was controlled twice in the space of 5 days by the Farlington ringing group in Warsash, near Southampton, in September of the same year.

Tom

Granby, Sunday 15 March

The ringing outlook bode well this morning. It being cold and overcast, with lighter than forecast winds. So Alex, Gary and I, together with guest ringers, Kate Moore & Natasja Groenink, quickly got the nets up. The first round produced 13 birds which were mainly Yellowhammers. A decent start, but we only had nine more birds after that and started taking down by 10:30 am. Hard to explain the low numbers, but it was generally quiet bird wise, though the Jays were still about and there are still some winter thrushes flying about.

The oldest of the retraps were: Great Tit from 2011/12; Yellowhammer from 2011/12 and 2012/13. The older male Yellowhammer was interesting in that we've just caught him annually every March since 2012, which suggests he's a fairly local breeder.

Captures were (new/retraps) 22(7/15): Blue Tit 1/4, Chaffinch 1/0, Dunnock 0/1, Great Tit 0/7, Robin 0/1, Yellowhammer 5/2.

Jim

Granby, Sunday 8 March

After beautiful sunny Saturday, it was a rather windy start packing the Landie at Vicars Croft. Only Jim, Gary and myself made it for the morning session. The usual nets were quickly put up and there was plenty of evidence of birds moving around the site, including lots of Yellowhammers and pair of Jays.

It was a steady morning with each net round producing around 10 birds – just enough for me to process on my own and get my eye in on aging and sexing Yellowhammers. The majority of the birds caught were Great Tits, Chaffinch and a number of new Yellowhammers. The final net round added a bit of variety with Tree Sparrow, Long-tailed Tits and one of the Jays that had been calling all morning.

Other birds noted included Buzzard, Green Woodpecker and Skylark.

The majority of the retraps were from last winter, bar a Great Tit from 2011/12 and single Blue and Great Tits from 2010/11.

Total captures were 63 (25 new / 29 retrap): Blue Tit 3/9, Chaffinch 8/2, Dunnock 1/2, Great Tit 3/10, Jay 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 2/0, Robin 3/0, Tree Sparrow 1/0, Yellowhammer 14/4.

Alex

 Tree Sparrow and Jay (A. Phillips)

Further recoveries

Following on from the previous recoveries, we have had details of two birds that we have reported.

The first was a Cormorant, ringed as a young bird at Abberton Reservoir in Essex in 2007, which had its colour ring (Black on orange, CD3) read 7 years later at Attenborough in October.

The second was a Tree Sparrow which was caught at Brackenhurst in January this year, with a B ring on, meaning it was ringed as a youngster. It was ringed by Chris de Feu at the nest in Beckingham in June last year. This bird found the net shortly after Duncan and Jim were remarking how we very rarely get any control or even retrap Tree Sparrows!

Tom

Recent Recoveries

The first big batch of 2015 recoveries has come in and as usual there are a good few Barn Owls amongst them. Most recoveries of this species are local birds which have been either found dead or controlled, but this time only 2 fell into this catergory, a bird ringed at the nest in Claypole near Newark whose leg and ring was found in the same area 4 months later in January this year, and another which was found as a road casualty in Balderton in January after it was ringed 4km away at the nest in Hawton in June last year.

A little further afield was a Barn Owl controlled by SNRG friend Garry Barker as an adult in Long Clawson last June, which we ringed as a chick 21km away in Allington, Lincs in July 2013. Even further afield was a bird which reached Dronfield in Derbyshire, 38 km away from its nest site in Kirklington, where it was ringed in June last year. It was picked up as a road casualty in February.

Anything further than this is less common, but a bird ringed in Woolsthorpe near Belvoir in June last year, travelled to Warwickshire where it was killed on the roads in February this year, 93km away. Lastly, a bird ringed as a chick in Clifton Wood in September decided to have a trip to Skegness where it was found freshly dead in January, having travelled 107 km from its nest site.

In non-owl news, a female Pied Flycatcher which was ringed as an adult during the trip to Wales in 2012, was controlled 35km away in Herefordshire, in May last year.

One of Attenborough's Cormorants ringed at the nest in 2013 is still residing at Priory Water in Leicestershire, having its colour ring read in the field again. This bird (CTH, black on yellow) was reported from the same site in October last year.

And finally, a Lesser Redpoll, ringed nearly 40 years ago at Cotgrave Forest on 28 May 1977, was controlled 13 months later on 28 June 1978, 437km away near Antwerp in Belgium (see map below). A good movement, which is often the case with these finches... but maybe the Belgians need to get up to date with their ringing data!

Tom

 A Lesser Redpoll movement from 1978...

Brackenhurst, Wednesday 11 February - Student ringing demonstration

It was the perfect morning for ringing - cold with clear skies and little wind. Jim, Gary, Liz, Geoff, Duncan, Simon, Esther and myself set off for the ringing site with David Roberts from NTU's Conservation Society. We set up the usual nets at the ringing site (where food is currently being topped up every other day) plus extra nets nearby.

The morning started off well with over 25 birds on the first catch and 100 birds in total. Just under half of the birds caught were retraps, and all but one were from this and last winter, perhaps indicative of the relatively mild winters we have had following the harsher winter of 2012/3. There was a diverse range of species including House Sparrow, Goldcrest, plenty of new Yellowhammers and a noticeable number of retrap Great Tits (although very few Blue Tits).

Capture totals were (new/retraps) 100(59/41): Blackbird 5/3, Blue Tit 1/3, Chaffinch 4/4, Dunnock 4/1, Goldcrest 1/0, Great Tit 2/22, House Sparrow 3/0, Robin 5/3, Tree Sparrow 1/0, Yellowhammer 35/4.

We were joined at hourly intervals over the morning by NTU students interested in finding out more about bird ringing. Jim did a grand job of showing the students the different birds and explaining exactly what everyone was doing and why. The students were really interested and asked plenty of inquisitive questions. It was a great opportunity for them to see and learn about wildlife monitoring in practice rather than just in lectures. Approximately 30 students plus several members of staff joined us over the morning and we have a similar number coming along to another ringing demonstration next month. Many thanks to the Conservation Society for helping to organise the morning.

Nevertheless, the highlight of the day, which even surpassed Simon's famous lemon drizzle cake (double drizzled!), was a migrant adult male Blackbird from Heligoland. Apparently, Jim had just been discussing large migrant Blackbirds with the students so this was perfect timing! Heligoland is a small group of islands in the North Sea, home to one of the world's first ornithological observatories, and a major migration stopover for birds crossing the North Sea. It is approximately 600km (373 miles) from Southwell as the 'Blackbird' flies, with a shortest land route of around 950km (590 miles), so the bird certainly travelled quite a distance! The bird was noticeably larger than our resident Blackbirds, with a wing length around a centimetre longer than usual. Luckily, the bird didn't seem to mind everyone's excitement, and obligingly posed for photos - the perfect end to the perfect morning!

Louise

The German Blackbird and Brack students at the demo (G. Goddard)

Granby, Sunday 8 February

It was a beautiful, calm and clear morning at Granby with enough members to merit two trips in the Landie to get us all into the site. Tom, Alex, Duncan, Nick, Gary, Kev, Jim and Pete set the normal nets and an additional pair with a thrush tape above the cutting. A young female Sparrowhawk found its way into one of the latter before the sun had come up and got us off to a good start.

With the exception of a single Song Thrush, Blackbirds were the only thrushes in evidence around the nets and only a trickle of Redwings and Fieldfares were noted elsewhere. The most numerous species trapped were Great Tits and Robins whilst finches, bunting and sparrows were conspicuous by their absence.

In total we captured 48 birds (28 new/20 retrap) comprising: Blackbird 6/2, Blue Tit 2/2, Chaffinch 1/0, Dunnock 1/0, Great Tit 11/6, Robin 3/9, Sparrowhawk 1/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 1/0 and Yellowhammer 1/1.
 

The majority of the retraps were from last winter, bar a Blackbird from 2009/10, a Great Tit from 2011/12 and three Robins from 2010/11, 2011/12 & 2012/13.

Elsewhere around the site we noted Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Green Woodpecker, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, a few Reed Buntings and a single Greenfinch. In general it felt quiet, but we enjoyed the sunshine.

Pete & Jim

Setting up at dawn, young female Sparrowhawk and a view from the bridge (all photos PML)

Kingston, Sunday 25 January

Not sure where to start really, first session at Kingston late last year was excellent but each session since then has been poor with this last session being memorable for all the wrong reasons. Gary, Sue, Tom, Alex and I met at the site and quickly had the nets set. The bait in the feeders had gone down more in the last week than in any other week but the site seemed quiet. The first round produced only one bird and it didn't get better. We called it a day about 1100 having had just 3 birds, all new, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Song Thrush and a Blackbird. Not sure where we go from here other than to keep it baited and hope it improves.

Kev

2013 SNRG Report

The group's 2013 Report is now available as a pdf. For details of how to obtain one, please see the 'Reports' page (tab at the top).

Granby, Friday 23 January

Sunday's forecast and commitments elsewhere, meant Gary and I gave Granby a go today. We had the three Cs, calm, cold and clear weather, though the breeze did build up without any appreciable impact on the catching. A Tawny Owl flew across the bonnet as we drove up to the lengthsman hut.

The 3Cs gave up good conditions for catching 'keen' birds, and we processed 102 individuals. Pleasingly, Yellowhammers made up nearly a third; our best total of the winter so far. As often happens after Christmas, there was an influx of new tits amongst the retraps.

The majority of the retraps were from last winter, bar Blackbird and Yellowhammer from 2012/13, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Robin (2) and Yellowhammer (2) from 2011/12 and Blue Tit and Great Tit from 2010/11.

Total captures were (new/retrap) 102 (59/43): Blackbird 3/1, Blue Tit 9/12, Chaffinch 10/5, Dunnock 2/1, Great Tit 6/12, Robin 3/3, Tree Sparrow 5/0, Wren 0/1, Yellowhammer 21/8.

Jim