Barn Owl update

Some interesting stuff just back from BTO.

Male Barn Owl we controlled for the 3rd year running was initially ringed near Pocklington. He bred at one site in 2007 and reared 4 chicks and then moved to another site 3 miles away with a new female and reared 4 chicks in 2008. We controlled him this spring back at the first site with a 3rd female in March. This female was subsequently found dead 6 weeks later in Cheshire.

found freshly dead 12/5/09
Risley, near Warrington, Cheshire
45 days, 92km 232 degrees

To summarise we have one male from Pocklington and a male from Notts breeding in the area( one of which has had 3 females in 3 years), a female that has left at the start of the breeding season nearly 100km, a female and son that left a perfectly good breeding site and pair up together 10 miles away and another female that's still going strong after she was initially ringed as a 3 year old in 2004.....and a dark breasted bird that had the "experts" equally spilt on whether or not it was a guttata.

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My Garden Birds Disappear

During the late summer it seems that the majority of the birds disappear from the garden. I only see an occasional House Sparrow or Starling instead of the large numbers we had visiting earlier in the year.No Blue Tits or Great Tits visit the feeders or hang upside down on the fat balls. I do now recall however, having been reminded by writing that last sentence, that I saw two Blue Tits last

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Herring Gulls in Garden

I Am in the isle of Man at the moment for a few days. i would like to thank Chris Sharpe from Manx Bird life for giving me permission to ring in my garden on the Isle of Man.

My Garden

views from bottom of garden

Got the ball rolling with 2 Adult Herring Gulls this afternoon.

NOTICE THE GLOVES

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Barn Owl control

Andy has just phoned me telling me of a Barn Owl we ringed this March in Wharfdale, an adult female in a box with a male. Has been found dead in Cheshire. More details to come.

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Twite Yellow Hammer and Tree Sparrows

Out at Deer Hill on Friday 18 more Twite caught 15 of them being new birds.

On Thursday was at Kirk Burton again it was quite compared to last time but with a Yellow Hammer caught and 2 more House Sparrows and a Tree Sparrow very nice.

Tuesday me and Andy where back at Rodley Nature Reserve.

2 Sedge Warblers ringed and 2 more Reed Warblers

plus Blackcaps, Tits, Blackbird, Bullfinch, Willow Warbler and Dunnocks.

Thanks to Barbara for the photo.

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The Sparrowhawk

I have just seen a Sparrowhawk from the kitchen window, circling high overhead, but travelling swiftly away due to the very windy conditions. Obviously it was checking out the gardens looking for suitable prey. The Sparrowhawk became scarce in Britain during the 20th century because it was badly affected by the liberal use of pesticides. Indeed though I grew up in a rural area, I cannot remember

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Deer Hill Twite

n the 8 August 2007 and 2008 me and Andy have caught good numbers of Twite at Deer Hill. This year i was cutting the grass and placing food down on the 1 August and after 4 visits nothing not a bird in sight.

Last Night i got an email of Dave Pogson telling me he had seen 27 there that afternoon.

So this morning i set off and invited Judit, who is one of the nest ringers working for the RSPB, to come along .

20 Twite caught, 18 new birds, 2 Nick and Judits birds.

Also caught a Wheatear.

After we packed up Judit was going to check on a few of her last nests and ask if i wanted to come along.

She took me to a site where a pair of Twite had made four different nests in a 30 metre area and each time the eggs had failed to hatch. One of the birds being infertile.

In the last week i have ringed 48 Juvenile Twite and Nick and Judit have rung 250 Twite pulli

So nearly 300 young birds so far this year.

Lets hope in the coming weeks we get to ring a load more and maybe this breeding season will not be a bad one.

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Rodley Nature reserve

Andy has got permission to ring at Rodley Nature Reserve and this morning we met up at 6:30 for our first session.

What a fantastic site with acres of Reed bed and scrub land.

12 Reed Warbler ringed

6 Willow Warbler

2 Chiffchaff

2 Blackbirds

1 Kingfisher

1 Dunnock

1 Reed Bunting

and a hell of a lot of potential.

Great Morning

Many Thanks to Barbara and Peter

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Kirk Burton Tree Sparrows

While i have been ringing at Cooper Bridge i have been talking to Doc Sykes the local birder down there. I was asking if he knew of any Tree Sparrow Colonies in the area as i would like to pin them down and do some ringing and see if we can find out if the ones at Clifton are interspersing with other small colonies near by. Doc was telling me of one near Kirk Burton not 2 miles away from Cooper Bridge and 5 miles from Clifton. Doc left me ringing and off he went . 20 Minutes later he returned saying he had been down to the Tree Sparrow site and spoke to the land owner who would be very pleased to let me set up. So this morning off i set.

19 Tree Sparrow Ringed

13 House Sparrow

1 Blackbird

1 Chaffinch

1 Blue Tit

1 Greenfinch

and some Fantastic Habitat.

Thanks to Doc for his help and to Christine for letting me ring on her land and to everybody else who has let us, without you permission for access there would be very little ringing done.

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Sunday evening

Forgot to mention met up with Andy on Sunday Evening for a Swallow roost . Very enjoyable evening 11 Swallows Ringed. other birds about Grasshopper Warbler, Sedge Warbler. Barn Owl.

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Twite

42 Twite caught at Whiteholme reservoir this week . 32 of them this years young and unringed.

8 Were birds Nick had rung as pulli this year.

1 was a male in full moult that i had ringed in Rishworth quarry last October.

and 1 was a bird i individually colour coded for Nick in Rishworth Quarry this March.

for the 2009 Autumn season we are using a white/red split ring
above or below the site ring depending on site.

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This Week

Out With Andy on Thursday another new site with 20 Birds ringed half of which were Warblers. Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcaps.

Down at Cooper Bridge today with over 40 birds ringed.

Chiff Chaffs, Blackcaps, Greenfinchs, Robins, Willow Warblers, Song Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Blue Tit, Gt Tit , Blackbird. Gt Spotted Woodpecker and a nice juvenile Green Woodpecker.

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Back from Hols

Been away for a few weeks to The Isle Of Man and the weather was good compared to wind swept rain torn Calderdale.

Andy has been out a few times weather permitting and ringed a Grasshopper Warbler at one of his new sites. I was out with him on Sunday , 16 birds caught with young Willow Tit Chiffchaff Bullfinch Blackbird Blackcap Chaffinch & Robin ringed.

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Woodpigeon in the Rain

From Saturday 1st August 2009The heavily laden branches of the Pear tree are bending under the sheer weight of unripe fruit and the downward curvature imparted thus lends a look of sadness to the tree. This mournful expression is all the more apparent by the greyness of the sky and the incessant falling of the rain.One bunch of the pears accidentally forms a natural cover over a platform on the

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