Barn Owl boxes - 23rd July 2025

Another day spent checking boxes. We are in the fortunate position of having 15 boxes in use, another 4 empty and suitable for occupation. A further 2 that we haven't been able to check and another 10 that need to be moved, or replaced for them to be useable and in a position where monitoring can be completed safely. Renewing the boxes, put up over 30 years ago and without inspection hatches, is a work in progress.

Fledged juvenile female

Thanks to some inside information from one of the farmers, we were able to add a well grown Lapwing chick to the colour ringed project.

Lapwing chick

Recent harvesting left the Hares somewhat exposed.

Chris all set for pulli capture.

 Total: 10

Barn Owl - 9
Lapwing - 1

Scolt Head Sandwich Terns - up date on birds ringed in June 2025

 After ringing over 300 gulls and terns, of which 128 were Sandwich Terns, we are now beginning to get resightings reported.

To date there have been no Mediterranean gulls and we're curious to to find out about their dispersal. There have been two Black-headed gulls seen, both at Titchwell, so only quite local movements recorded at present.

The Sandwich Tern reports have all been from north of Scolt Head. Resighted individuals are now into double figures with the majority coming from Kilnsea, Beacon Ponds in East Yorkshire with some birds remaining there for several days. There have been two other sightings, one from Coquet Island, Northumberland on the 13th July and this bird was also recorded at Beacon Ponds either side of the Northumberland record. The newest report is of a bird that has reached Wrecked Craigs, Port Sedon, Mid Lothian on the 19th, via Beacon Ponds on the 10th, so we expect further resightings from Scotland to follow.

Juvenile Sandwich Tern. Image courtesy of Tate Lloyd

We have some idea of where these birds are likely to turn up next and await further records to support our expectations of how Scolt Head juvenile Sandwich Terns usually disperse from the site.

Sightings of our birds can be made via https://iceni.shinyapps.io/sightings/

Use the app for an immediate history with map. Photographs are particularly welcome.

Sculthorpe Moor - 17th July 2025

 A good morning session with 62 birds trapped. Leading species Chiffchaff followed by the resident tit species, only three of these being Marsh Tits, two being new and added to the darvic ringed birds for the project.

Singles of Kingfisher, Grasshopper Warbler and Whitethroat amongst the 15 species.

3M Kingfisher

3JP Marsh Tit

To finish off the ringing for the day, we also returned to the second Barn Owl box where there had been two small chicks and an unhatched egg last month. A single, but well grown owlet remained.

Total: 57 (6)

Barn Owl - 1
Blackcap - 3
Blue Tit - 8
Bullfinch - 1
Chiffchaff - 12
Dunnock - 1
Grasshopper Warbler - 1
Great Tit - 8 (1)
Kingfisher - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 4
Marsh Tit - 2 (1)
Reed Warbler - 5 (1)
Robin - 2
Sedge Warbler - 1 (3)
Whitethroat - 1
Wren - 6

Barn Owl boxes - 14th July 2025

 We have been putting the Barn Owl circuits off this year. We have been fortunate to have owlets at the Hawk and Owl Trust, having ringed 2 Tawny young earlier in the year and one box of 2 Barn Owl owlets already ringed with a second pair's brood to be ringed shortly.  But so many people have had boxes with no sign of breeding attempts that we decided to leave it until later in the hope that breeding may be delayed due to the warm weather in March followed by a rather wet spell.

We checked 15 sites (some have 2 or 3 boxes in close proximity), and were please to ring 3, 2 & 4 from 3 boxes. Another box has 4 smaller young that will need a call back.

We still have more boxes to check so there may be more.

Total: 9 (1)

Barn Owl adult - 1 (1)
Barn Owl pullus - 9

Deepdale Farm - 13th July 2025

 Six hours at Hilly Piece and we finished with 42 birds on the sheet. There were no retraps at all and apart from a couple of Dunnocks, all were juveniles. There were rather too many tits for our liking. However, one was showing an unusual colour aberration.

The head and upper body did not show the usual colours for Blue Tit. It was just a shame that post juvenile moult had not begun in these areas, as it would have been interesting to see what the emerging feathers were like.

Lesser Whitethroat

Total: 42

Blackcap - 4
Blue Tit - 14
Chiffchaff - 3
Dunnock - 5
Great Tit - 6
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Robin - 3
Whitethroat - 2
Wren - 4

Sculthorpe Moor - 10th July 2025

 We managed to get the monitoring of the sedge beds in before the temperature rose to be too hot, with nets away shortly after 11am.

The French Sedge Warbler had moved out of the beaver enclosure where we caught it last week. We caught 10 species with just over two thirds of the catch being youngsters.

Adult Sedge Warbler

Juvenile Marsh Tit with project darvic 22

Total: 30 (6)

Blackcap - 1
Blue Tit - 6
Chiffchaff - 4 (1)
Great Tit - 2
Long-tailed Tit - 1
Marsh Tit - 1
Reed Warbler - 3
Robin- 2
Sedge Warbler - 6 (5)
Wren - 4 

Norfolk Rivers Trust, Ingoldisthorpe Lagoons - 9th July 2025

 Some good captures today although juvenile Acrocephalus warblers are still thin on the ground. Some Sedge and Reed Warblers adults no longer have breeding condition, body moulting has started and some birds are already starting to accumulate fat. There were some nice records of birds ringed in 2024 with one    Reed Warbler ringed when an adult in 2023.

Adult (left) and juvenile (right) Sedge Warblers

Juvenile (in post juvenile moult) and adult Sedge Warblers

Total: 40 (9)

Blackbird - 1
Blackcap - 14
Blue Tit - 3
Chiffchaff - 4
Dunnock - 1
Great Tit - 1
Reed Bunting - 1
Reed Warbler - 9 (4)
Robin - 1
Sedge Warbler - 3 (4)
Whitethroat - 2
Wren - 0 (1)

Blakeney Point - 5th July 2025

 It was a clear, bright and very windy day as we trundled along the beach on our way to meet EMS and the team of wardens to find and mark Little Tern chicks. Two years ago there had been more than 50 of a suitable size to be ringed with darvics, although last year had been a disaster with an eventual mass desertion and there had been no attempt to ring any of the birds.

As we slowly walked the beach it became increasingly clear that this appeared to be another poor year. Apart from a handful of juveniles that had already fledged there were just a few very small chicks, too small to take  a ring, with 4 that could be marked and some nests still with eggs. The Black-headed gull numbers looked to be on the increase and their colony was rather too close to where the terns were nesting.

We were seeing adults bringing food in, and I hope that perhaps there are more nests and young in an area away from where we checked, although that doesn't seem very likely. There is a second colony that wasn't looked at and we hope that there will be more youngsters not far from fledging there.

Our time was limited and we ended having marked just 4 birds. An Oystercatcher chick was a bonus.

Total: 5

Little Tern - 4
Oystercatcher - 1

Sculthorpe Moor - 4th July 2025

 We caught 31 birds before closing at 11am due to a freshening wind. We tried a net in a new position where we often see birds moving into the reeds around the scrape. It turned out to be a good choice as one of the Sedge Warblers was carrying a ring from the French Museum de Paris scheme. This bird was almost certainly bred in the UK, possibly at Sculthorpe Moor, and would have been captured and ringed on the migration south through France. 

Sedge Warbler ringed under French ringing scheme

Museum de Paris ring

We will await details of where this bird was trapped and ringed. Every summer there is a massive ringing effort in France, trapping birds using the reedbeds as many sites are supporting efforts for the Acrola project, recording migrating Aquatic Warblers.

There were only three retraps with a lot of recently fledged birds turning up in the nets.

Juvenile Grasshopper Warbler

Of the 11 species represented there were juveniles of Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Grasshopper Warbler, Great Tit, Wren, Dunnock and Jay.

Totals: 28 (3)

Blackbird - 1
Blackcap - 1
Chiffchaff - 8
Dunnock - 1
Grasshopper Warbler - 1
Great Tit - 1
Jay - 1

Reed Warbler - 5
Sedge Warbler - 6 (2 including a French control)
Whitethroat - 1
Wren - 2 (1)

 

GPS tracking of Nightjars - 3rd July 2025

Today we spent more time on the project to confirm foraging areas for the Dersingham Bog Nightjars. This work is being undertaken as most feeding happens away from the breeding area and a project to increase areas of reedbed along the North Norfolk coast may affect the areas that Nightjars rely on.

GPS tracker being attached to the central tail feathers

Birds are processed as normal then have the tracker fitted. 

We managed to retrieve a fourth tracker and deploy a fifth. Trackers are fitted using a feather mount and must be retrieved about a week after fitting, or will fall off a couple of weeks later, should the bird not be recaptured. Retrieval is required in order to download the information. Routes taken on each night are shown separately and the retrieved tags are already informing on areas used, extending all the way to the coast and will help protect areas important for the Nightjars when the planning for extension of reedbeds is finalised.

All necessary endorsements to conduct this GPS tag fitting work held.