Sculthorpe Moor - 6th August 2025

 The first of the Sculthorpe Moor Discovery days in August. It was rather windier than we would have liked, but we went ahead and completed our usual monitoring of birds using the beaver enclosure. It was rather quiet, possibly due to the strong SW to NNW winds yesterday, and the adult Reed and Sedge Warblers had already moved on. A recently fledged Cetti's Warbler was the best bird of the day.

Team of CL, DKL, PWL, EGB & LC.

Total: 29 (3)

Blackcap - 4
Blue Tit - 2 (2)
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Chiffchaff - 6
Great Tit - 1 (1)
Reed Warbler - 4
Sedge Warbler - 2
Wren - 6

An evening return for swallows attracted a small group that ultimately roosted away from our netted area. Only one Swallow was captured with a few, mostly juvenile Reed Warblers in the early evening.

Total:     (1)

Reed Bunting - 1
Reed Warbler - 9 (1)
Sedge Warbler - 5
Swallow - 1

Sculthorpe Moor - 2nd August 2025

 An evening session before bad weather sets in tomorrow. We put up three single 18m nets hoping to get some Reed Warblers and perhaps even encourage a few Swallows to roost in the reeds around the old scrape area. We tried this last year and not a single hirundine turned up.

We started at around 7pm and before long were catching Acrocephalus warblers. As the light began to fail we played for Swallow and birds began to accumulate. Many seemed more interested in making low sweeps, possibly feeding, over the wet scrape than forming up into a pre-roost flock, some even settling loudly among the stems before the main drop in. We were fortunate to get quite a few birds in one of the nets well before the birds that were following the usual behaviour of gradually descending pre-roost circuits dropped in for the night. We decided to push that early catch net together to avoid catching too many birds with just the two of us to process them. Later there were 10 or so birds in the final net so not too may and they didn't need overnight roosting as it was not dark when they were released, although there wasn't much light as we took in the last two nets. Of all the Hirundines captured, there was just one adult Swallow and adult Sand Martin, so captures were predominantly inexperienced young birds and that may explain their behaviour.  We were right to have shut the nets as we found rather a lot of bats feeding along the ride, probably attracted to insects that we were disturbing, as we took down.

To top off the evening we also saw a Barn Owl fly through the ringing area.

Juvenile Swallow

Total: 55 (1)

Sand Martin - 1
Swallow - 36
Sedge Warbler - 4
Reed Warbler - 14 (1)

Norfolk Rivers Trust, Ingoldisthorpe Lagoons - 30th July 2025

 A good result today, 58 birds and no tits at all!

Reed Warbler was the leading species 14 & 3 recaptures, followed by Blackcap with 15 new birds. We haven't been catching a great deal of Whitethroats, so 9 juveniles  presumably a sign that they are on the move after the adults disappeared a few weeks ago.

Juvenile Whitethroat

Total: 51 (7)

Blackbird - 1
Blackcap - 15
Cetti's Warbler - 0 (1)
Chiffchaff - 5
Dunnock - 2
Reed Bunting - 1
Reed Warbler - 14 (3)
Robin - 1
Sedge Warbler - 2 (2)
Whitethroat - 9
Wren - 1 (1)

Norfolk Rivers Trust, Ingoldisthorpe lagoons/Dersingham Bog - 25th July 2025

 A total of 37 birds today, 9 being birds previously captured at this site. Clear signs of the breeding season drawing to a close among the Reed Warblers with females now showing BP4 or BP5 and some known males now without CP. There are young around, mostly now foraging into the adjacent farm field. A few are showing accumulation of fat in preparation for moving away from the lagoons.

Best birds were a recently fledged Cetti's Warbler and juvenile Kingfisher, This is the first Kingfisher known to have been around the lagoons, so the land owner was extremely pleased with that record.

3F Kingfisher

3J Cetti's Warbler in post-juvenile moult.

Total: 28 (9)

Blackcap - 6
Blue Tit - 1 (1)
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Chiffchaff - 4 (1)
Dunnock - 1 (1)
Kingfisher - 1
Reed Warbler - 9 (5)
Robin - 2
Sedge Warbler - 2 (1)
Song Thrush - 1

A brief session at Dersingham Bog later that afternoon allowed us to gather more evidence on Nightjar movements beyond Dersingham Bog by retrieval of a GPS tracker from a female Nightjar, with an incidental pellet, cast while in the bird bag retained. This will be examined for further evidence regarding feeding behaviour. Also three young ringed from 2 nests.

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