Dersingham Bog, Nightjar project - 17th June 2025

We are thrilled to be working with Natural England to learn more about Nightjar foraging routes beyond Dersingham Bog, and grateful to Greg Conway of the British Trust for Ornithology for training with regard to fitting and removal of GPS trackers.

We managed to catch three birds and fit tags that will record their movements. Most feeding occurs away from the breeding grounds, so knowledge of areas used by the birds is important, in order to preserve those sites in future years. One area of particular concern is the plan to increase the amount of reedbed along the North Norfolk coast as that may inadvertently destroy areas that the Nightjars depend on for feeding.

GPS tag fitted on adult female

 It is necessary to recapture the bird usually within a week or two, in order to collect the data before the tag falls off, so this work will require a sustained effort during the summer.

Total: 2 (1)

Nightjar - 2 (1) - all received GPS feather mounted trackers.

Marsh Harrier wing tagging - 17th June 2025

 There have been a few disappointments regarding Marsh Harrier this year. A few pairs didn't return to their usual areas and some known nests were predated. It was therefore a relief to tag a brood of three this afternoon. There was a definite male (requiring an F ring) and female (requiring the slightly larger G ring), with a third bird that had a toe span measurement that might have been either male or female. In such cases it is usual to err on the side of caution and fit the larger ring. In this case the weight and wing measurement pointed to it being a female.

Tag fitting of first chick, a definite female.

Processing complete, the chick is ready to be re bagged and wait 

while the other siblings are processed. 

The male weighed 470g compared to the other two at 620g & 670g

The final chick, measured, ringed, tagged and ready for return to the nest.

Total: 3

Marsh Harrier pulli - 3

Sculthorpe Moor - 16th June 2025

 

Captures totalled 31 today, including a Reed Warbler recorded for the third consecutive year. There were juveniles of several species, Wren, Kingfisher, Blue, Great, Coal Tit and also a young Marsh Tit that was fitted with a darvic for the ongoing project.

Some of the Long-tailed and Blue Tits are already starting their primary moult confirming that they've finished breeding.

4M Reed Warbler

Juvenile Marsh Tit

4M Whitethroat

Total: 22 (9)

Blue Tit - 6 (1)
Chiffchaff - 2 (2)
Coal Tit - 1
Great Tit - 3 (1)
Kingfisher - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 2 (2)

Marsh Tit - 1
Reed Warbler - 2 (1)
Robin - 1
Whitethroat - 1
Wren - 2 (2)

Deepdale Farm - 14th June 2025

 After some heavy rain in the night it was quite still at 6am, but soon began to get windier as forecast. Despite the light showers that affected us between about 08:30am and 10:00am, that had not been in the forecast, we managed without any problems and finished on 31 birds.

Recaptures included a Chiffchaff ringed as a 3J in 2022 and caught every year since and a male Yellowhammer ringed in 2022 and not seen since its recapture in June of that year.

Known age Yellowhammer, hatch year 2021

A new Yellowhammer, aged 5, had changed part of its tail.

There were some nice captures of juvenile Long-tailed Tit and Robin, out in largish groups and without any apparent parental supervision.

Red Kite nest, probably with chicks from the behaviour of the adults, also located.

Total: 26 (5)

Blackcap - 1
Blue Tit - 2
Chiffchaff - 5 (2)
Dunnock - 2
Goldcrest - 0 (1)
Long-tailed Tit - 9
Robin - 6
Whitethroat - 0 (1)
Yellowhammer - 1 (1)

Sculthorpe Moor, Hawk & Owl Trust - 13th June 2025

 Today we met up with Chris's trainee DW for Barn Owl ringing at the trust. One box with a video feed was known to have two owlets, pretty good going in a season when so many boxes are being found without eggs. There were also two other boxes to check with a third known to have recently fledged Jackdaws.

The owlets were assessed at 37 and 45 days old so their two eggs would have had other eggs laid between the laying dates. There was a single addled egg.

The older female chick getting a ring.

The second box had a pair exit the box as we approached. It seemed likely that there would be no chicks, but there were, about three weeks behind the family in the first box. They will need another visit in a few weeks.

The final box looked as though squirrels were the culprits that have filled the box with sticks. This box will be emptied later in the year along the one from the meadow that had Jackdaws earlier.

Total: 2

Barn Owl - 2

Norfolk Rivers Trust - Ingoldisthorpe 9th June 2025

 The wind was just low enough to allow a restricted mist netting session ( avoiding any risk of disturbing the nesting Marsh Harrier). The nest was also checked, via use of a drone, and the young found to be too young for ringing and tagging just yet. We were fairly sure, from another female's behaviour, there is a second nest close by but nothing could be found

We got a 9m up over the chalk stream, two 18m, 3 panel nets on the first bund after the base area, and a 12m net behind where the cars were parked.

Considering the limited number of nets up, a total of 28 birds wasn't bad. These included 5 retraps including a female Reed Warbler ringed as as an adult in2023. The number was swelled by a few recently fledged tits, and a Robin, Treecreeper and Blackcap.

Juvenile Treecreeper

Juvenile Robin

Juvenile Blackcap

Total: 23 (5)

Blackcap - 4 (1)
Blue Tit - 1
Dunnock - 1
Great Tit - 6
Long-tailed Tit - 3
Reed Bunting - 0 (1)
Reed Warbler - 2 (1)
Robin - 2
Sedge Warbler - 1 (2)
Song Thrush - 1
Treecreeper - 1
Wren - 1

Deepdale Farm, Open Farm Sunday - 1st June 2025

The day started with a ringing demonstration at 8:30am. We had 4 nets up in the rides most sheltered from the SW breeze. We had a few birds that were caught shortly after the nets went up, that had to be processed and returned due to the possibility that young were being feed.

It turned out to be a slightly odd, if brief session. First bird was a 3JJ Chiffchaff that was returned to the area where it had leapt into a net as the adults were calling in that area and probably feeding it before the bird becoming independent following fledging. The next bird was a retrap Blackcap, ringed at an adjacent ringing site by another group in August 2021. Since that time it has been recorded at Hilly Piece on three occasions, although not in 2023. The second half of that Blackcap pairing was a bird hatched last year that we had already ringed in April of this year. The next bird was an adult Dunnock.

By this point we had been joined by the six people booked in for the demonstration. First of all they were able to see two Whitethroats, then two lesser Whitethroats. Then an adult Wren, another Whitethroat and finally a Blue Tit already with a BP 5 and in full primary moult.

They seemed to find the session very interesting, although none were able to video a release successfully as the birds were just too fast. While taking the nets down we caught another pair of Blackcaps, this time a new male and a female that had been ringed by us on the same day as the first Blackcap female.

We were quite surprised to find a bird already well into wing moult on 1st June 2025.

Whitethroat

Totals: 10 (3)

Blackcap - 1 (3)
Blue Tit - 1
Chiffchaff - 1
Dunnock - 1
Lesser Whitethroat - 2
Whitethroat - 3
Wren - 1

Then once the nets were down we joined the exhibitors down at the farm and set up our stand with information and equipment linked to Iceni Bird Monitoring Group and some informative leaflets, miniature bird boxes and stuffed owls on loan from the Hawk and Owl Trust, Sculthorpe Moor. The day was very well attended and there was a great deal of interest in the work of the Hawk and Owl Trust and projects and monitoring undertaken by Iceni Bird Monitoring Group.