Peregrines

Another collaboration between an undisclosed site, North Notts RG, South Notts RG and Access Techniques Ltd (who provide the expertise in accessing the nest), resulted in four Peregrine chicks being ringed on the 25 May 2022, all under the relevant licence requirements.

I am the latest person to monitor this natural nest site and have been doing so for about 8 years. Being a natural nest site its pretty difficult to monitor with any certainty, so much so, and the site are so keen, that a few years ago, during the Winter, they installed a camera to view the nest ledge. This proved invaluable for monitoring the nest and creating a nest record. It also captured a few upsetting episodes, like when a female adult peregrine died on the nest and another year when the eggs and freshly hatched chicks were predated. The adult bird was retrieved and sent away for analysis, though the results were inconclusive.
This was the start of a terrible run of failed nests, including another year when I saw chicks being fed but when returning to ring them a few days later they were not there.

Unfortunately, for me, the birds now nest on a different ledge, so I'm back to fleeting views, when the vegetation moves in the wind, and guesswork from quite a distance away. Take this year for example, I had seen the heads of three chicks so was surprised when there were four. A great result though.
Hopefully now the birds nest on this new ledge we will have a few successful breeding seasons!

Many thanks to the site and Access Techniques Ltd.

Mick P

Tawny Owls

Followers of the blog, and our activities, will know that at this time of year much of our time is spent monitoring nest boxes of several species to gather information on breeding outcomes. Many of these nest boxes have been put up following contact by a home-owner who has a keen interest in the natural world and who has a suitable location for a box. 

I checked such a box on 29/4/22 and ringed these two Tawny owl chicks, along with their mother. As you can see they are now keen to explore the outside world. Thanks to the home-owner for the photo which was taken some time after I visited.

Thanks to people like this, who buy and allow nest boxes to be put on their land and give us permission to visit every year, we are gathering a lot of valuable information about such birds. 

Mick P

Ravens

On 6 April 2022, trainee bird ringers from North Notts & South Notts Ringing Groups got their chance to ring Raven chicks at a Notts location that NNRG has been monitoring since 2014. The Ravens bred c10 days earlier than last year, but the earliest the chicks have been ringed there is 29 March.

This collaboration between the site (undisclosed), North Notts RG, South Notts RG and Access Techniques Ltd, who provide the expertise in accessing the nest, has resulted in 23 Raven chicks being ringed. There have been broods of 2 (x1), 3 (x3) and 4 (x3) chicks.

This effort has resulted in some interesting recoveries. One of the chicks (ringed on 9/4/14) was found dead at Holmbridge, W, Yorks on 1/1/16. Three other sightings all relate to the same brood which was ringed on 5/4/19. One was sighted on 18/12/19 at Duffield, one on 3/11/21 at Rotherham and the third on 5/5/21 at Bardney, Lincs. All were identified by their colour-rings being read in the field. The fourth chick ringed in this nest has, to date, not been re-sighted. 

The map shows the ringing site in Nottingham and the locations of the sightings and thanks to Jim for the photos.

Mick Pearson

2021 Report

 The 2021 SNRG report is now published and available. If you would like a copy, please email the address at the top of the 'Reports' page - see tab at the top.

 

Recent Recoveries

In many ways, it’s been a quiet winter ringing season, with small captures dominating most of the winter ringing sites and gardens. This could be down to a mix of factors, but certainly a poor breeding season for some species may have something to do with it, and the mild weather may well have reduced many birds dependence on artificial food supplies. The recoveries haven’t been particularly busy either, so perhaps this is down to similar reasons.

A Kestrel, ringed as a chick in Halloughton in July 2021, hit a window in Barrowden, Rutland in October the same year.

A Blue Tit, ringed in Thrussington, Leics in April 2021, was controlled in Toton in December, a fairly unusual movement for this rather sedentary species.

Redpoll recoveries continue to come in, with a bird ringed in the influx of 2020, in November at Bestwood controlled in Golspie in the Highlands in May 2021. Another Redpoll was ringed at Ramsdale in October 2021 and caught a month later in the Forest of Dean.

A Chiffchaff, caught at Ramsdale in September 2021, was caught a week later at Stanford Reservoir in Leics. Ringers at this site regularly control warblers that SNRG have caught at their summer sites at Holme Pierrepont and Ramsdale.

Also at Ramsdale, a Chiffchaff was caught in September 2021 which ad previously been ringed at Gibraltar Point on the Lincs coast in July the same year.

And finally, a Reed Warbler, caught at Holme Pierrepont in July 2020, was controlled in August the same year by ringers in Hainaut, Belgium.

Tom

Grey Herons & Cormorants at Attenborough NR, Friday 1 April

We visited the breeding colony on the reserve for a second time this year to ring and colour-ring chicks. We managed 10 Cormorant and 3 Heron chicks before the weather began to turn. The fortunes of the Herons didn't look too promising with some mortality noted and none of the chicks vomiting on us, suggesting they did not have full stomachs. Small chicks and eggs could be seen in a couple of inaccessible nests, but overall it looks as if it will be another poor year for Herons.

Mick P

Grey Heron (top two) and Cormorant (bottom two) chicks, Attenborough NR, 1 April 2022 (K. Hemsley)

Brackenhurst, Tuesday 29 March

Among the birds processed at the feeders was a retrap female Great Spotted Woodpecker. The Fringilla papillomavirus remains prevalent in the local Chaffinch population and we continue to release this species unringed. Occasionally it is noted in other species and about once a year we catch a Yellowhammer with symptoms. We can only hope that this does not become a more common sight. 

Jim

 

Photos by Victoria Shone

 

2022 - the first quarter in the south of our area

The year started with our efforts centred on the Sutton Bonington feeding site. There were no Covid ringing restrictions in place but an Avian Flu restriction zone came perilously close! Catching at the site was poor and we can’t work out why. Plenty of bait was being taken, including 150 fat balls but very few birds. Yes, there were pigeons and squirrels taking the seed but we had baffles on the seed hoppers to restrict the pigeons and still large quantities of seed were going without resulting in good passerine catches. This resulted in the decision to call an early finish to feeding there on 26 February. We made 5 visits in January and February, poor weather for a number of weeks prevented more visits being made. There were very few Blue and Great Tits at the site with just 6 individuals of each caught in January and February and none at all on the last visit. Another unusual event being not just zero Yellowhammers being caught, but zero sighted. Not sure what we do about a feeding site for next winter, new squirrel and pigeon proof feeders or a new site?

Left without a feeding site in March and with some potential new trainees to take taster sessions we made a couple of early visits to the Delta at Attenborough. These resulted in steady catches of the expected species but also a Mallard. The Mallard took off from a ditch near the nets as we approached and hit the next to top shelf of an 18m North Ronaldsay super-fine, amazingly it did not get out before I reached it.

Let's hope the next quarter of 2022 produces more birds.

Kev

 

Adult male Mallard, Attenborough NR, 27 March 2022 (K. Hemsley)

 

Heron sighting

A Grey Heron, ringed as a nestling at Attenborough Nature Reserve on 23 April 2015, was seen again by Samy Rendall on 7 March 2022. This individual has been seen on the reserve six times now, so is probably breeding itself on the reserve. Natal fidelity such as is this is fairly typical for this species. 

Grey Heron 'KL', Attenborough NR, 7 March 2022 (Samy Rendall)

Late season Barn Owl news

Lewis and I checked a few boxes towards the end of September for outcomes and possible second breeding attempts. In one Kirklington box we found a bird of the year (that probably fledged in July) seemingly paired up with a male. It had been ringed on Mansey Common in June 11 km away.  

On the same day we ringed 10 chicks from 3 late broods. One of these had a one-eyed female that had both eyes when ringed with her chicks less than a kilometre away in May. 

We also had a brood of 6 very small chicks at Barkestone-le-Vale that should fledge in November - weather allowing. On the downside, two clutches had been abandoned as is often the case with late barn Owl breeding.

Jim

 

Chicks of the one-eyed mother (Lewis Aaron)

 

 Releasing a male caught near Southwell. There are two boxes 75m apart here and we suspect he had fathered broods in both. (Lewis Aaron)

 

Recent Recoveries

The first recoveries round-up for a while kicks off with an 8-year-old Kestrel, a bird ringed in Kinoulton in 2013 and found dead in Claypole near Newark exactly 8 years later.

A Common Tern, ringed in 2016 at Attenborough, was seen at Straws Bridge in Ilkeston in May, the ring being read by the observer.

A Mute Swan met its fate hitting a tree in Hilton, Derbyshire in May, having been ringed in Linby in 2015.

The Attenborough Sand Martin colony continues to provide plenty of recoveries. Birds ringed elsewhere and controlled at the reserve include two from Rutland, and another from Bagworth Heath in Leics. An Attenborough-ringed bird was also controlled at one of the colonies in Rutland.

Another continuing source of recoveries are the Lesser Redpolls which were caught mainly at Bestwood and Holme Pierrepont in the huge influx of birds in autumn 2020. Several birds were controlled throughout the winter at Ramsley Moor in South Yorks, and this continued until late spring, with the last bird controlled on 16 May. After a gap of 3 months, another was controlled at the site in August.

Further afield, a bird ringed at Holme Pierrepont in October was controlled at a site near Dumfries in May, whilst a Bestwood-ringed bird was found dead near Brora, Highland in May.

One of the Siskins caught in late winter in Tom’s garden in Colwick was controlled at a site in Nethybridge, Highland. The same bird was found in a moribund state a few days later following some poor weather.

Continuing with finches, a Greenfinch ringed at Brackenhurst in November was found dead near Borrowash, Derbyshire in August. A Goldfinch ringed in Colwick in September was controlled in Cropwell Bishop in March. A Starling was also controlled at the same site in Cropwell Bishop in March, having been ringed in Sibthorpe in June 2020.

A Blackbird, ringed in 2017 at Stoke Bardolph, was seen in a nearby garden, where its ring was read by the Observer, 4 years on.

A Blue tit, rarely seen in the recoveries section, was controlled in Tom’s garden in August. It had been ringed at Oxton by Cliff the previous September.

This year's breeding season has resulted in a number of warbler recoveries:

A Chiffchaff, ringed at Ramsdale in 2019 was retrapped at Ulley CP by Sorby Breck ringers in July. Another Chiffchaff, ringed at Bestwood in August 2020, was retrapped by French ringers in Messanges in October the same year.

A Blackcap, ringed at Holme Pierrepont in September 2019 was caught in Southwick, Northants, in August this year. Another HP bird, caught in 2020, was trapped in Zerkegem, Belgium in April.

A Garden Warbler, ringed in august 2017 at Hazelford, was caught at Langford Lowfields this July.

Finally, a Reed Warbler was trapped at Holme Pierrepont in July this year, and 3 weeks later was caught again by ringers at Stanford reservoir on the Leics/Northants border.

Tom

A hat-trick of Grasshoppers

The morning of Sunday 25 July looked ideal for ringing, the only problem was that I had "dad duty" from 9 o'clock whilst my partner went for her last COVID vaccine.

I decided that an early 4am start would give me a few hours on Manor Floods, a site less than 5 minutes from my house. My 4-year-old twin son Isaac, decided that he wanted to join me. So we both set off into the first light.

Having not been at the site for 4 months I was greeted with waist-high grass. Given my time limitations and my son in tow, I decided just to put up just one 18m net across my favourite ride.

Obviously, Isaac was my lucky charm. That one net in just under four hours produced 19 birds, including 3 Grasshopper Warblers. Two juveniles and an adult male; the first Grasshopper Warblers caught by the group since 2018!

Total birds (new/retrap): Whitethroat 2/0, Willow Warbler 5/1, Grasshopper Warbler 3/0, Robin 1/0, Great Tit 2/0, Blue Tit 4/0, Blackcap 1/0

Alex

 

Attenborough CES - updates

CES Session 2 - 16 May

Mick T, Kevin, Gary, and I carried out the second CES in a break in the appalling weather we have been having this spring. Catching was steady throughout the morning with another new Song Thrush being caught and the first Garden Warbler of the year also processed. Birds overhead included Hobby and the first few flocks of Swifts.

Bird processed (new/retrap):
Wren 2/0, Long-tailed Tit 3/1, Robin 2/1, Garden Warbler 1/0, Blackcap 4/1, Great Tit 2/2, Blue Tit 3/0, Reed Warbler 1/0, Dunnock 1/1, Song Thrush 1/1, Blackbird 2/0, Treecreeper 0/1.


CES Session 3 - 23 May

A gap in the poor weather allowed us to get out to complete the third CES session. Catching remained slow throughout the morning with only 25 bird being processed. The variety, however, was nice with Goldcrest, the first juvenile of the CES sessions and another new feisty Jay being caught. The latter chewed through Alex’s fingers whilst both being extracted and processed – somehow more senior ringers felt that this would be a “good experience” for him!

Bird processed (new/retrap):
Jay 1/0, Blackbird 1/0, Great Tit 2/1, Blackcap 5/1, Reed Warbler 2/0, Blue Tit 4/1, Bullfinch 1/0, Chiffchaff 3/0, Wren 2/0, Goldcrest 1/0.

CES Session 4 - 31 May

Mick T, Kevin, Gary, and I made it out for the fourth CES. Despite the recent warm weather, most of the morning was quite cold and overcast, the cloud only lifted as we started to close the nets. Despite this, catching was steady for most of the morning, but only a handful of juveniles were caught. Given the poor spring this may be a portent of a poor breeding season, but only time and data will tell. Other birds included the first Cuckoo of the year heard and a Buzzard overhead.

Bird processed (new/retrap):
Blackbird 1/1, Dunnock 3/1, Blue Tit 3/1, Great Tit, 1/1, Robin 2/1, Bullfinch 1/0, Garden Warbler 1/0, Blackcap 1/0, Chiffchaff 4/2, Long-tailed Tit 8/4, Wren 1/1, Treecreeper 1/0, Cetti’s Warbler 0/1

Alex

Examining Blackcaps (A. Phillips)

 

 

CES Long-tailed Tit release

 

Brackenhurst Tawny Owls

Some nice footage of a Tawny Owl feeding young at one of our Brackenhurst boxes here:  https://twitter.com/louise_gentle/status/1393317025406140416?s=03 

This box has also held Kestrels and Stock Doves over the years. In 2021, the owls raised 2 chicks and the female was also trapped and ringed.