Sculthorpe Moor - 16th May 2026

To the sight and sound of Cuckoos overhead, CL, DKL and OHK worked the beavers' enclosure this morning. There were 20 birds all told, and we were pleased to retrap a Grasshopper Warbler from last year. It got even better when a Spanish Sedge Warbler was controlled, and considering it's possible to go an entire year without a foreign control, could hardly believe it when a second foreign ring, also on a Sedge Warbler was read. The second bird was ringed under a Moroccan scheme, an extremely good record for Norfolk as few birds ringed under that scheme have been controlled in the UK.

Sedge Warbler ringed in Morocco

Sedge Warbler ringed in Spain

Male Grasshopper Warbler, back for a second year.

Just to round the morning off there was also a Jay for OHK.

Total: 11 (9)

Blackbird - 1
Blackcap - 1
Blue Tit - 0 (1)
Grasshopper Warbler - (1)
Great Tit - 1 (1) 
Jay - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 0 (1)
Reed Bunting - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Robin - 1 (1)
Sedge Warbler - 2 (3 including Spanish and Moroccan ringed birds)
Wren - 2 (1)

Norfolk Rivers Trust, Ingoldisthorpe - 9th May 2026

 On the last chance to get out before a spell of poor weather we managed 22 birds, including 7 retraps, a couple being their third year of capture.

Reed Warbler

Male Whitethroat

The male Barn owl was hunting but disappeared quite quickly as he was successful within 2 minutes of turning up, and after sitting in the trees by our base for a short while, set off, presumably for one of the boxes on the farm, with the vole that he'd caught.

Total: 15 (7)

Blackcap - 4
Cetti's Warbler - 0 (1)
Chiffchaff - 2 (1)
Reed Warbler - 3 (2)
Sedge Warbler - 3 (1)
Song Thrush - 1
Whitethroat - 2 (1)
Wren - 0 (1)

Deepdale Farm - 7th May 2026

 Finally possible to get out following my operation we started with a small and relatively easy site. We put up 5 nets and managed 23 birds.

We had fewer retraps than expected and the Whitethroats were a bit of a surprise as they have usually used the field next to us, but that has no bird seed crop currently probably explaining the switch to nettles and brambles for feeding areas.

Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat

Total: 17 (6)

Blackcap - 3
Blue Tit - 1 (1)
Chiffchaff - 0 (3)
Dunnock - 0 (2)
Lesser Whitethroat - 3
Long-tailed Tit - 1
Whitethroat - 7
Wren - 2

Deepdale Farm - 14th April 2026

 A windy return to Deepdale after the Whitethroats heard at Morston yesterday promised the chance of more Whitethroats at Hilly Piece. Unfortunately the site didn't deliver and there was only a single of that species captured. We did rather better for Blackcaps with several singing when we arrived, but moving on before long. The record sheet tells the tale with only 2 birds ringed after 9:20am.

Female Blackcap

Total: 12 (5)

Blackcap - 8
Blue Tit - 0 (1)
Chiffchaff - 1 (2)
Dunnock - 0 (1)
Song Thrush - 1
Whitethroat - 1
Wren - 1 (1)

Morston - 13th April 2026

We're trying to make the most of these mornings with decent weather so made a first trip out to Morston this year. We arrived to hear quite a lot of Whitethroat song and managed to catch the first few for the year, although the only bird caught after 08:30am was a Wren from last year.

First Whitethroat of the year

Total: 12 (1)

Blackbird - 1
Blackcap - 1
Blue Tit - 1
Dunnock - 2
Sedge Warbler - 1
Song Thrush - 1
Whitethroat - 4
Wren - 1 (1)

Sculthorpe Moor - 10th April 2026

We captured 18 birds at the moor today. The session was particularly notable, not for what we captured, but rather for what we didn't. Despite singing Blackcap and Chiffchaff, we didn't catch a single one. This particularly contrasts with our last couple of days out with Chiffchaffs captured, but not one today. We think this is down to no birds going through and all the birds we could hear having settled into their own territories.

We caught our first Sedge Warblers of the year and also a second Willow Warbler. Considering that we only caught two throughout the entirety of 2026 let's hope this heralds a better season for the Willow Warblers.

Willow Warbler

Sedge Warbler

This male Blackbird was ringed as an adult in 2024. I didn't photograph it then, 

so may not have had the flecking of white feathers at that time.

Total: 14 (3)

Blackbird - 1 (1)
Blue Tit - 1
Dunnock - 1
Great Tit - 3 (1)
Long-tailed Tit - 2
Robin - 1
Sedge Warbler - 4 (1)
Willow Warbler - 1 

Deepdale Farm - 8th April 2026

 On arrival there was quite a bit of birdsong from the copse and we were quite hopeful of a decent catch. The nets were all up inside of an hour and we had caught 7 birds by the first round. The most striking thing about the session was the number of female Chiffchaffs captured. We've been hearing Chiffs for a couple of weeks now, but most caught have been males. The females caught today were probably recently in due to number ( there are usually only three or four pairs breeding there in the summer) and some were carrying fat. There were Blackcaps with fat too, five of the six being male. We've noticed before that males usually arrive ahead of the females for some migrant species. Our best bird of the day was undoubtedly a Willow Warbler, and we were pleased to get a Jay and control Chiffchaff and Long-tailed Tit.

Willow Warbler

Controlled Chiffchaff

Jay

Total: 22 (7)

Blackcap - 6
Chiffchaff - 10 (2)
Dunnock - 0 (2)
Goldcrest - 1 (1)
Great Tit - 1
Jay - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 0 (2)
Robin - 2
Willow Warbler - 1