Beaulieu Oystercatcher radio tracking project - 1st to 3rd June 2026

 CL, DKL, PWL & GD travelled down to meet members of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust team to learn about a conservation initiative on Oystercatcher chicks. The project will look as alternative methods of nest protection and also study chick foraging areas and predation.

Currently at the preparation stage, Iceni trainer ringers received training for radio tagging of chicks in order to be able to cascade training for Natural England staff next year.

The challenges facing Oystercatcher productivity on the south coast and in North Norfolk differ somewhat, however the experience of MS, ER and their GWCT team in the study and protection of young waders will be invaluable in setting up the initiative in North Norfolk.

Many thanks to all the team for your time and willing support over the three days, and no doubt into the future.

Photo courtesy of P. Littler. Antennae attachment. The device is then 

camouflaged prior to release.

Photo courtesy of P. Littler. Radio trackers ready 

for preparation for fitting.

The habitat at Beauleiu is rather different to Scolt Head.

Open Farm Sunday Deepdale Farm - 31st May 2026

 This year we had a ringing demonstration followed by a stand at the main event. As usual we were worried that we'd have many birds for the visitors to see at the demo, but 14 of a range of species made for a good visitor experience. 

The two families enjoyed seeing Robins, Dunnocks, Blackcaps, Common and Lesser Whitethroat and a rather unexpected Wood Pigeon. 

The gentleman that released the last bird was surprised by the strength of the wing flaps and subsequent take off!

On then to the stand with information about Sculthorpe Moor and our general ringing activities.

Total: 13 (1)

Blackcap - 2
Dunnock - 2
Lesser Whitethroat - 0 (1)
Robin - 4
Whitethroat - 4
Wood Pigeon - 1

Undisclosed site - 29th May 2026

 In previous years we have been asked to give these birds a wide berth and not look for them, but now there are a few more pairs on the site we got the all clear, and although we missed what would have been the optimum day for finding some due to other monitoring taking place when we had booked to look for pulli, we at least managed this single chick today.

Stone Curlew chick

We also checked a Barn Owl box near by, finding 4 young that well be ready in four weeks or so. The parents were both in the box and the female captured, as she departed, and ringed.

Appropriate licences held for all ringed species.

Total: 2

Barn Owl - 1
Stone Curlew - 1

Sculthorpe Moor - 24th May 2026

 Only 15 birds caught today, but 4 were retraps and it's always nice to get returning summer migrants. The other particularly interesting thing was an adult Marsh Tit already well into primary and secondary moult and that was unexpected. Later in the morning we also caught another Marsh Tit, this time hatched this year but had already completed its post juvenile moult, prompting the question so exactly how early did its parents actually nest and lay eggs!

Adult MARTI, no breeding condition

Primary moult 0000000133

Juvenile Marsh Tit 3O

Adult male Treecreeper

Total: 11 (4)

Blackbird - 1
Blackcap - 2
Jay - 1
Marsh Tit - 2
Robin - 0 (1)
Reed Warbler - 0 (1)
Sedge Warbler - 4 (1)
Treecreeper - 1
Whitethroat - 0 (1)

Eveshill Farm - 22nd May 2026

 The Little Owls would probably be fledged by the time we go back for the Barn Owls so we took a trip down this afternoon.

Both adults were in the box, and 4 eggs had failed to hatch, but there was at least one healthy, decently sized owlet.

Female

Male

Owlet

Total:

Little Owl - 3

Another fortnight and it would definitely have been too late!

Morston - 18th May 2026

We were on site for 05:30am to find the weather forecast had been overly optimistic and it was windier than expected. We kept nets up until 11am and finished on 18 birds of only 4 species.

We thought there may have been Sedge Warblers going through as we seemed to catch rather a lot considering the habitat is not really suitable for breeding. A bird carrying fat score 2 seemed to add weight to that idea.

Whitethroat

Sedge Warbler

Total: 14 (4)

Dunnock - 0 (1)
Sedge Warbler - 7 (1)
Whitethroat - 6 (1)
Wren - 1 (1)

We then checked out some local owl boxes, finding no Barn Owls, but ringing a couple of Jackdaw young from one box, and a brood of 10 Blue Tits from a tit box fitted to the wall of  the barn.

One of two Jackdaw pulli

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. Up until 2024 there had only been 6 Sedge Warblers captured, with rings from the Moroccan scheme, 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

Norfolk Rivers Trust, Ingoldisthorpe - 6th April 2026

 It's been a few months since we visited this site and arrived to find that there had been work to cut the larger shrubs and small trees from the banks of the lagoons. This resulted in a change to where we had planned to place some of the nets as some areas are now more open with nothing to obscure nets.

We limited ourselves to a double 18m and three singles but still managed a  catch of 25 birds.

We will leave it a couple of months before trying there again as there was a lot of raptor activity, at one point a pair of Red Kites, a couple of Buzzards and four Marsh Harriers interacting over the adjacent field and the harriers are quite likely to select somewhere within the lagoon complex as a nest site.

Chiffchaff

Treecreeper

Total: 20 (5)

Blackcap - 1
Blue Tit - 0 (3)
Cetti's Warbler - 2 (1)
Chiffchaff - 8
Dunnock - 0 (1)
Goldcrest - 3
Long-taileed Tit - 1
Reed Bunting - 1
Treecreeper - 1
Wren - 3

Sculthorpe Moor - 1st April 2026

 Today was the first session of the year in the beaver enclosure and twenty birds were captured. This included four birds from previous years and amongst the new birds, our first Blackcap of the year and a pair of Cetti's Warbler.

5M Blackcap

Cetti's Warbler

6M Goldfinch

Total: 16 (4)

Blackbird - 0 (1)
Blackcap - 1
Blue Tit - 2
Cetti's Warbler - 2
Chiffchaff - 5 (2)
Goldfinch - 3
Reed Bunting - 1
Robin - 2
Wren - 0 (1)

Deepdale Farm - 23rd March 2026

 We worked Hilly Piece at the farm today managing to capture 17 birds from 5 nets. Not too bad a total considering all the summer migrants with the exception of Chiffchaff have yet to arrive.

We were surprised by the way rides were so clear, with new animal runs emerging from under low vegetation, signs of digging and hair caught on bramble in several places. It looks like there is an active Badger sett quite close by. This is quite likely to affect our breeding Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler as both nest close to or on the ground and Badgers are opportunistic predators that will take birds eggs and nestlings.

Adult Coal Tit

Total: 13 (4)

Blackbird - 1
Blue Tit - 1
Chiffchaff - 4 (1)
Coal Tit - 2
Dunnock - 1 (1)
Goldcrest - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 1 (1)
Robin - 1
Wren - 1 (1)

Sculthorpe Moor - 20th March 2026

 Our first 5am alarm of the year, just CL and myself started the general ringing sessions for the year. It was a shaky start, with a padlock on the first gate, not encountered since early last summer that took us some time to locate the code. Three double 5 panel18m nets were put up and we actually managed to catch 20 birds. We were particularly pleased with eight retraps, including some Chiffchaffs ringed in 2024.

6M Bullfinch

The first returning summer migrant of the year, Chiffchaff NTV624.

Coal Tit 6F

Total: 12 (8)

Blackbird - 2
Blue Tit - 0 (2)
Bullfinch - 1
Chiffchaff - 4 (4)
Coal Tit - 1 (1)
Great Tit - 3
Robin - 0 (1)
Wren - 1

Sculthorpe Moor - 17th March 2026

 Tried the Northfields with a hand net, recording some 40 Snipe, 3 Woodcock and a Teal. There was only one Jack Snipe seen, but that was captured and was a bird that we'd ringed on 10th December last year. Good to know that it's been in the area throughout the winter.

Total: 0 (1)

Jack Snipe - 0 (1)

Sculthorpe Moor - 9th March 2026

 It's that time of year when the summer migrant arrivals are still a way off, and yet the birds that came to see out the winter have disappeared. We put a couple of nets up for any roosting Reed Bunting that might be around and  captured 5 new birds, all hatched last year. There was also a recapture of one and a Cetti's Warbler.

While there, we also heard two very close Water Rail, saw a female Marsh Harrier emerge from the reed bed while birds were also seen overhead and saw a Goshawk take a Woodpigeon. There had been a couple of occasions when pigeons were disturbed from the trees and a hunting Goshawk was apparently the reason for their nervous behaviour.

It had been a busy day on the reserve with a couple of Tundra Bean Geese and  a Pink-footed Goose showing on the scrape. However, by 6pm there were no visitors left to witness the Goshawk kill. First of the Goshawk barged into the Woodpigeon, dislodging a load of feathers but the bird kept flying, for the Goshawk on a second to catch it and fly off with it. 

 Total: 5 (2)

Cetti's Warbler - 0 (1)
Reed Bunting - 5 (1)

Dersingham Bog - 7th March 2026

 Today we met up with CJH to try for Stonechats for the Natural England project. We had had previous reports of good numbers of birds back on site, but that wasn't the case today as overcast skies and a chilly breeze inhibited movements of Stonechats. At one location, three birds ignored the audio-lures, preferring instead to feed around the Galloway cattle as insects were disturbed by the browsing animals.

After 5 hours with 2 panel nets up at 6 locations we had only two birds on the record sheet with just one being a project target.

6M Stonechat

Total: 2

Meadow Pipit - 1
Stonechat - 1

St. Lucia - 23rd February to 3rd March 2026

 We booked a week away during the dry season, only to find there was rain every day, albeit mainly at night but when it did come down there was an awful lot! Added to this, temperatures were above those expected with afternoons reaching 34 degrees Celsius. Consequently, humidity was quite high despite the trade winds.

We spent 4 nights in the south, with its predominantly poorer areas, with another 4 nights in the north where tourism is concentrated and more money had been spent on roads and the provision of the island's only dam and reservoir.

It was necessary to be out shortly after first light to see many of the species before they retreated into the forested areas away from roads, tracks and paths.

Lesser Antillean Pewee

St Lucia Warbler

Des Cartier trail

Long-tailed Skipper

St Lucia Anole

St. Lucia Black Finch

Pearly-eyed Thrasher

Bananaquit, the most ubiquitous bird on the island

Antillean Crested Hummingbird

Purple-throated Carib

Bizzy Lizzy, edible and taste like green apples

Gray Trembler

After our tour of Sylvano's Grand Estate. We were pleased to see and identify a bird that he has been seeing over the last few years but couldn't identify. We were also able to get a record shot of the Black-throated Blue Warbler female.

Black-throated Blue Warbler (record shot), a rather rare winter visitor.

Pineapple, the fruit of a bromeliad, producing just one fruit per year.

Lesser Antillean Bullfinch male

Brown Booby and Magnificent Frigatebird on an small island just off Pigeon Island

Tropical Mockingbird

The view from Pigeon Island

Cassius Blue

Giant tree fern

 

Pitons behind Soufriere, the former island capital

One of the 21 skipper species on the island, possibly Fiery Skipper

Spectacled Thrush

Great Southern Whites

Horses and cows are tethered and left to graze wherever there is grass. 

The rain is just something to be ignored.

St Lucian Thrasher

    Typical house fronts in the coastal towns

Feu de Lance, an extremely venomous pit viper found dead on the track

Lesser Antillean Saltator

Gulf Fritillary

On this volcanic island there are some interesting rocks to be found.

Bird sanctuary at Millet

    Mobile green grocer at Pigeon Island

Silver linings after the rain

There was rather too much rain 

Shadow, guard dog at the second Air B'n'B and a very good boy.

Strong winds catch the surf on incoming waves

All mid to large sized housing had some form of veranda, 

many were also on stilts and bright colouring was a must.