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

Sibthorpe, Christmas 2015

This time last year, we were ringing Fieldfares in a frozen orchard in Flintham. What a difference betwixt winters. I’ve been feeding the garden birds here at Sibthorpe since September, and started the ringing over Christmas. We managed an hour on Christmas day before the rains came, and had another go on the morning of the 27th. 99 birds was pleasing for a new site, but I think the House Sparrows know where the nets are now. A nice surprise was a ringed Lesser Redpoll which was a control!

Species totals were 93/6 (new/retrap): Wren 2, Dunnock 8, Robin 3, Redwing 1, Coal Tit 1, Blue Tit 9, Great Tit 2/1, House Sparrow 37/3, Tree Sparrow 1, Chaffinch 2, Greenfinch 3, Goldfinch 24/1, Lesser Redpoll –/1.

Jim

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 27 December

Gary, Duncan and I met for another ringing session at Sutton Bonington in perfect mist-netting conditions, overcast and dead calm. Catching was steady all morning and we had a reasonable catch but less than I would have expected in the conditions. The Redwing tape was used again first thing but failed to pull in any birds as did a Fieldfare tape.

We finished on 36 birds including 9 retraps. The species totals were (new/retrap): Wren 1/1, Goldcrest 1/0, Dunnock 2/1, Blue Tit 4/3, Chaffinch 1/1, Goldfinch 5/0, Greenfinch 6/0, Lesser Redpoll 1/0, Reed Bunting 5/2, Robin 0/1, Blackbird 1/0.

The retraps were all recently ringed birds. There were decent numbers off birds around including Fieldfares and Yellowhammers.

Kev

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 20 December

The forecast was suggesting it would be too windy today and when the wind whistling and rain beating against the window woke me up at 0430 I thought I would be calling it off. But a couple of hours later the rain had stopped and the wind was considerably lighter but still blowing.

So Gary, Sue, Duncan and I met for another ringing session at Sutton Bonington. The nets went up quickly in the less than ideal breeze and the Redwing tape was deployed again and produced 2 birds on the first round, along with a couple of Chaffinch.

The wind picked up as the morning progressed and certainly hampered catching which was further affected when the sun came up (yes, really the sun, long time no see). We decided to give in to the elements by 1030 and finished on just 11 birds including 4 retraps.

The species totals were (new/retrap): Great Tit 0/1, Blue Tit 0/3, Chaffinch 2/0, Goldfinch 2/0, Greenfinch 1/0, Redwing 2/0. The retraps were all recently ringed birds. There were a decent number off birds around including a few Yellowhammers along with a few Fieldfare and a Buzzard.

Kev

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 13 December

Gary, Sue, Alex and I held the third ringing session at this site this morning in calm overcast conditions with slight drizzle on and off all morning. The Redwing tape was again deployed first thing and produced 4 birds. It was then successfully switched to Goldfinch. Catching was steady throughout after a first round 20+ catch, another 2 new Grey Wagtails was a pleasant surprise. We finished on 51 birds including 12 retraps.

The species totals were (new/retrap): Wren 0/1, Great Tit 0/3, Blue Tit 2/4, Robin 0/2, Chaffinch 3/0, Goldfinch 17/1, Reed Bunting 6/1, Dunnock 3/0, Greenfinch 2/0, Redwing 4/0, Grey Wagtail 2/0.

The retraps were all recently ringed birds. No Yellowhammers caught but there were a couple around along with a few Fieldfare and a Buzzard.

Kev

 Reed Bunting & Grey Wagtails (S. Lakeman)

Ramsdale Park Golf Centre, Tuesday 8 December

I have been trying for weeks to get in a visit to Ramsdale, as much as anything just to see what birds are using the site in the winter. The weather had always been too windy and/or wet, so this week I was determined to get there even if the weather was not great and this morning Mick P and I managed to get a visit in. We had to delay putting up the nets for a while as a shower went over just after we got on site and the wind was stronger than I would have liked, so we just went for 4 x 18m nets and Redwing song playing on an MP3 player.

The first round produced over 20 birds but no Redwing so we changed the call to Lesser Redpoll and put out another MP3 playing Goldfinch. Another couple of good rounds followed but then it died off quickly as the wind stiffened and the sun came out. We finished on 57 birds including 5 retraps and a control Lesser Redpoll. The species totals were (new/recapture): Long-tailed Tit 1/0, Goldcrest 2/0, Dunnock 0/1, Robin 0/1, Lesser Redpoll 21/1, Bullfinch 9/3, Chaffinch 2/0, Goldfinch 5/0, Greenfinch 5/0, Blackbird 6/0.

It was surprising to get 12 Bullfinch, particularly as they were all from the first net round.

Kev

Recent Recoveries

We get many recoveries of Barn Owls; more than any other species. Most are over the autumn/winter period, when birds born in the previous summer disperse, and unfortunately, usually fall foul of our roads and other perils. The poor breeding season this year may be reflected in the fact that not many Barn Owl recoveries seem to be coming in. Only two have been reported in the last few weeks:

• a bird ringed in the nest in Kirklington, Southwell, on 8 September was found dead in nearby Hockerton on 26 October, a road casualty
• another bird, ringed in July 2014 at Scarrington, fared a little better, and was controlled by ringers in Cheshire in August this year, at Buwardsley Hall Farm, not far from Crewe

A couple of passerines next:

• a Starling, which was ringed in June this year in Hucknall, was killed by a cat in the same area on 25 October
• a Blackcap, ringed at Holme Pierrepont on 6 September, was controlled by ringers at Titchfield Haven in Hampshire on 3 October

Then there's a recovery round-up regular: a Cormorant colour-ringed at Attenborough as a chick in May 2014, has been seen for the third time since it was ringed. Each time has been at various sites across South Yorkshire. It was seen this time at Orgreave Lakes on 9 May this year, and has previously been seen at Rother Valley Country Park, and Old Moor in Barnsley.

Finally, an odd recovery, in the form of a ring found in Bulwell, on 13 November. The ring was originally fitted to a Mute Swan in August 1983, in West Bridgford. As only the ring was found, it's a bit of a mystery what happened to the bird, so doesn't tell us much, but its an interesting record nonetheless.

Tom

Brackenhurst, Thursday 26 November

Ringer availability and a rare calm day allowed Kevin, Gary, Duncan & myself to set the nets at the Brack feeders and down in Orwin's on Thursday. Conditions were ideal, that is calm and overcast, but admittedly very mild. Basically, wintering birds are less hungry when it’s mild and therefore lose less weight overnight and visit the feeders less often. And so it proved with only nine birds caught at them. Orwin's produced 16 birds with half those being Redwings responding to the sound lure.

Highlights on a very slow morning were the first Blackcap ringed at Brackenhurst in winter time and the first Coal Tit for four years to the day. There were few birds about, but a skein of 150 Pink-footed Geese heading NW was good to see.

The species totals were (new/retrap) 25(16/9): Blackcap 1/0, Blue Tit 1/2, Chaffinch 2/0, Coal Tit 1/0, Dunnock 0/1, Goldcrest 0/1, Goldfinch 3/0, Great Tit 0/2, Redwing 8/0, Robin 0/3. The oldest retraps were a Robin from 2010 and a 2012 Great Tit.

Jim

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 22 November

Gary, Duncan, Alex and I held the second ringing session at this new site this morning in perfect mist-netting conditions: no wind and overcast with a slight frost. We tried a Redwing tape first thing again but that produced nothing so we switched to Goldfinch which was much better and we caught 24.

Catching was generally steady throughout but dropped a little when the sun broke through late morning. We finished on 80 birds including 17 retraps.

The species totals were (new/retrap): Long-tailed Tit 1/9, Wren 1/0, Great Tit 3/2, Blue Tit 14/4, Robin 2/2, Chaffinch 2/0, Goldfinch 24/0, Lesser Redpoll 5/0, Reed Bunting 1/0, Dunnock 4/0, Greenfinch 5/0, Blackbird 1/0. The retraps were all birds we caught on the first visit, including the Long-tailed Tit from Kingston.

There were a few Yellowhammers around and plenty of Fieldfare passing over.

Kev

Sutton Bonington, Sunday 8 November

Last winter we tried a new winter feeding site on Nottingham University land at Kingston on Soar, which started well but faded quickly and produced little in the way of farmland birds. Having discussed the failure with Mike Davies, the Universities farm manager, he suggested another site at Sutton Bonington which I had a look at with him in August and decided it was worth a try.

Two weeks ago Gary, Duncan and I set up the feeders and today we set nets for the first time. The morning started very calm after yesterday's strong winds but the forecast was for some rain and increasing wind. We tried a Redwing tape first thing and went fingers crossed for the first net round. The catch was ok and included a Redwing but otherwise mostly tits and no farmland birds!

The morning progressed and things got better until the rain started just after 9am which made us rush to the cars to hang the birds in to keep them dry and then close the nets, as the rain was heavy. We waited in the cars and when the rain stopped we opened the nets again, they had been closed for about an hour.

We took the nets down just after 11am as the wind increased and ended with a catch of 38. This included a single retrap, a Long-tailed Tit from Kingston last winter, a movement of under 2km.

The species totals were Long-tailed Tit 10, Wren 2, Great Tit 4, Blue Tit 7, Robin 2, Lesser Redpoll 6, Reed Bunting 3, Yellowhammer 1, Song thrush 1, Redwing 1, Grey Wagtail 1.

It was good to catch both Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting on this first visit and the Lesser Redpolls and Grey Wagtail added nice variety, the later in particular bringing a smile to Duncan’s face.

Kev

 Grey Wagtail (Gary Goddard)

Brackenhurst, Sunday 1 November

We got to Brackenhurst at 06:00am this morning in the dark and foggy gloom half expecting to see stragglers going home from the All Hallows celebrations. The autumnal mist hung around ‘til the middle of the day and the sun never really made it until we were packing up.

 

We had a steady catch through the morning of 55 birds with a nice mix of 14 species. Points of note were the high catch, for Orwin's, of eight Goldcrest, which is maybe linked to the high numbers migrating from the continent this autumn? Only two of the Great Tits were birds of the year; suggesting they’ve had a poor breeding season.

 

The species totals were (new/retrap) 55(41/14): Bullfinch 1/0, Blue Tit 5/2, Chaffinch 5/2, Dunnock 2/1, Fieldfare 1/0, Goldcrest 8/0, Great Spotted Woodpecker 0/2, Great Tit 2/6, Long-tailed Tit 9/1, Redwing 2/0, Robin 2/0, Song Thrush 1/0, Wren 2/0, Yellowhammer 1/0. The oldest retraps were  Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Great Tit (2) from winter 2012/13.

 

Jim

 

 Great Spotted Woodpecker & Fieldfare (A. Phillips)