I've reported already that at this time of year our main activities revolve around checking nest and ringing chicks--and preparing for the start of the main ringing period from July onwards.
We recently gained the permission to take on a well established Pied Flycatcher nestbox scheme south west of Ludlow. Kev and Gareth have visited the site to check on where the boxes are, and I dropped in last week to see how chick development was going.
After a very disappointing visit to Lundy for Kevin--missing the mega-Suphur Bellied Warbler there, he and Gareth were undaunted and very hopeful as they set off for the nestboxes yesterday. They weren't disappointed......They ringed a total of 50 Pied Flycatcher chicks from 8 broods--here's a well developed chick..
Unfortunately a couple of boxes had been predated--and in one box we think the culprit may have been a Wood Mouse which jumped out of the box leaving a few eggshells behind. They also found a healthy brood of 6 Nuthatches in another one of the boxes too. This site is very exciting and we think there is potential for more boxes and more species when we get to know the site better.
After a quick bite the intrepid pair set off to a nearby wood for a liaison with our good pal Paul and a couple of his colleagues from the Shropshire Ringing Group. We have a great relationship with the group and this was just one example of sharing--to enable in this case Kev and Gareth to get experience ringing chicks of Goshawk. This is a large bird of prey and in many ways it's almost a large version of the much more common Sparrowhawk. They got to ring the three chicks from the nest...
These healthy brutes are just right for ringing--the two on the left are females, the other is a male--size differences especially in leg thickness is a good clue to gender in this species. You can also see that they have been fitted with Darvic plastic rings with clear markings which can be read using a telescope
on birds in the field.
Continuing the raptor ( bird of prey) theme, Friday morning saw us visit our old favourite Kestrel nest box at BP farm. There were 4 very healthy chicks so in the last few years this pair have raised 14 youngsters!! One of the previous year's chicks ( we think), has also managed to establish itself in the other nestbox at a different part of the farm. We knew that the bird has been hanging around the box, but we hadn't had any evidence of a mate. However, when we climbed up the ladder we were met with a clutch of 4 warm eggs, and a calling bird in the nearby trees. So a quick descent and quit the area to let them get back to business--another cracking success story.
This morning Pete and I popped to the end of my road where there is a lovely little nature reserve run by local volunteers. They had asked us to check on a Barn Owl box which we knew had Stock Doves nesting in it having seen the adults visiting on several occasions. So it was that we ringed 2 healthy Stock Dove chicks with bulging crops showing that they are being really well fed by their parents. Not the most beautiful of chicks I admit--but knowing they are doing quite well in our area is good news for an amber listed species.
On a less exciting but absolutely necessary front, Pete and I spent last Sunday afternoon putting up all of my Belvide nets (22 in all) to check their state ready for the new season at the start of July. The good news was that all the nets were in good condition although a few needed some attention to the loops--a job which took me a couple of hours next day. The site at Belvide is looking good, and the water levels seem low enough for us to be able to access all sites without needing to don waders--never a pleasant experience at 4 am!!
Yesterday morning a small but beautifully put together team Glynn, Pat, Tom and daughter Holly and yours truly spent a couple of hours at our Jack snipe site trying to hold back the incursion of willow scrub. It's a thankless task but absolutely necessary if we are to keep the site suitable for Jacks.
News from Gareth about a recent expedition coming soon--with some pictures of stunning birds.....
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