A farm in North Norfolk - 26th November 2025

 

A good morning at this farm with CJH just back from completing a summer contract on Fair Isle. They got a chance to become reacquainted with the likes of Blue Tits and Dunnocks, and did rather more birds in a session than was usually available at the observatory. Of course, they have rather more unusual species, but we did get another inter-site Reed Bunting and a few Yellowhammers including a rather dull female.

Female Yellowhammer

Goldfinch

Total: 46 (17)

Blackbird - 2 (1)
Blue Tit - 7 (5)
Dunnock - 6 (1)
Goldfinch - 2
Great Tit - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 1 (8)
Reed Bunting - 17 (1)
Robin - 3
Wren - 0 (1)
Yellowhammer - 7

Sculthorpe Moor - 24th November 2025

 At this time of year it's possible to do some thermalling and still get home to make dinner for a reasonable time so we started off with a couple of nets for roosting Reed Buntings then tried the north fields, working around the showers.

The Reed Buntings only resulted in 12 birds before nets had to be pushed up in the rain, but it was still worthwhile as a recaptured bird was from the North Norfolk farm and had been ringed by us on the 8th of November. We are starting to build up a picture of how Reed Buntings use sites in Norfolk as we've had three separate movements between four of our sites in the last month.

The clouds were threatening more rain by the time we got to the north fields so I didn't try for owls. The field that has been too dry until very recently was now flooded and although CL saw 100+ Snipe and 4 Woodcock was only able to capture 2 Meadow Pipits.

Total: 12 (2)

Meadow Pipit - 2
Reed Bunting - 10 (2)

A farm in North Norfolk - 21st November 2025

 A window of opportunity before the wind and rain resumes, no trainees available unfortunately to help with the 92 birds captured today. Reed Bunting was the leading species and we were very pleased to recatch a bird that we ringed at the Ingoldisthorpe site as a 3J in the middle of August earlier this year. Many of the REEBUs were colour ringed for the project. Yellowhammer was the second most frequently captured with a few tits, Robins, Dunnocks, Wrens and Blackbirds making up the numbers.

Adult male Yellowhammer

Yellowhammer juvenile (above) and adult (below) tails for comparison.

In addition to the retrices shape on these two males, note extent of white and shape of the dark pigment along the feather shaft.

The wild bird seed crop is doing well this winter.

Observation of a Woodcock in the access track on the way out.

Totals: 85 (7)

Blackbird - 2
Blue Tit - 8 (2)
Dunnock - 2
Great Tit - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 13 (2)
Reed Bunting - 31 (3)
Robin - 3
Wren - 4
Yellowhammer - 21

A farm in North West Norfolk - 18th November 2025

 Three double nets were erected and 27 birds captured. There was a single retrap, a Reed Bunting ringed by us at the Rivers Trust lagoons Ingoldisthorpe on 30th July this year. Leading species was Yellowhammer with 13. Five Reed Buntings were colour ringed for our project.

We almost caught a Kestrel that was seen to hit the net, but did not fall into the panel.

Total: 26 (1)

Blackbird - 1
Blue Tit - 1
Dunnock - 2
Reed Bunting - 5 (1)
Robin - 1
Wren - 3
Yellowhammer - 13

Morston - 9th November 2025

 No large influx of Blackbirds unfortunately, or unusual vagrants this morning. A net in the wood on the hill brought 5 Goldcrest to the record sheet and the most unexpected capture was a young Kingfisher that found the net, placed for birds flying along the drainage channel.

3M Kingfisher

Goldcrest

Total: 16 (3)

Blackbird - 2
Blue Tit - 1 (1)
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Dunnock - 2 (1)
Goldcrest - 5
Kingfisher - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 2
Reed Bunting - 1
Wren - 1 (1)

A farm in North Norfolk - 8th November 2025

 A first session of the winter ringing program at this farm. The wild bird seed crop has done much better than last year and the total captured was probably our best ever at this site.

Total birds captured 119, of which 115 were new. Ringing team of CL, DKL and Sophia a prospective trainee that found herself rather more involved than expected as she scribed throughout the session on her first outing with us. Things are looking good for Bunting and possibly Finch ringing at this farm.

Yellowhammer male

Male Reed Bunting

Adult female Starling

Total: 115 (4)

Blackbird - 2
Blue Tit - 19 (1)
Chaffinch - 3
Dunnock - 8
Goldcrest - 4
Long-tailed Tit - 8 (3)
Redwing - 2
Reed Bunting - 51
Robin - 2
Starling - 1
Yellowhammer - 14
Wren - 1

Water Pipit project - Autumn 2025

 Now that autumn is definitely here the winter migrants are with us, so it's time to try for new birds for the Water Pipit project. The last two seasons have been poor,  but things seem to be looking up as 6 birds have already been marked by the Stour Ringing Group in Dorset.

One of the October 2025 captures from Lytchett Bay, 

image by Stour Ringing Group

One of our birds has also appeared in the 2024 BTO ringing report and has taken the longevity record in the United Kingdom. The bird ringed at Cantley Beet Factory on 26/11/2020 was then observed at Strumpshaw fen on 15 & 19 November 2024.

There were 2 other contenders before this bird clinched the record in November 2024. 

Photographer: Stephen Vickers