A few recovery reports...

This week, the Ivel Ringing Group received a number of recovery reports from BTO. Here is a selection:

Cetti's Warbler ringed 26/08/12 at Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire. Controlled at Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire on 11/11/12. Movement of 63 km, WSW in 77 days.

Mute Swan ringed 03/10/12 at Brandon Creek, Norfolk. Controlled at St. Neots, Cambridgeshire on 15/10/12. Movement of 54 km, SW in 12 days.

Lesser Redpoll ringed on 13/10/12 near Bestwood, Nottinghamshire. Controlled at Priory Country Park, Bedford on 28/10/12. Movement of 113 km, SSE in 15 days.

Swallow ringed 09/07/12 near Hawnby, North Yorks. Controlled at Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire on 22/09/12. Movement of 258 km, S in 75 days.

Swallow ringed 13/07/12 near Hazleslack, Storth, Cumbria. Controlled at Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire on 03/09/12. Movement of 283 km SSE in 52 days.

Sand Martin ringed at Icklesham, East Sussex on 19/08/12. Controlled at Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire on 31/08/12. Movement of 154 km, NNW in 12 days. (This one is interesting - has it moved in the opposite direction to what would be expected? Perhaps it was prospecting for potential breeding sites for 2013!)

Goldfinch ringed at Links Wood, Newport, Fife on 10/08/12. Controlled at Eversholt, Bedfordshire on 15/11/12. Movement of 515 km, SSE in 97 days.

Cetti's at Marston and a new bird for Ivel Ringing Group

A session at Bromham Mill on Saturday 12th November resulted in 19 birds caught. Totals ringed are shown below, with those retrapped (birds that have been ringed previously and caught again) shown in brackets:

• Great Spotted Woodpecker 1


• Blue Tit 4 (+ 4 retraps)


• Great Tit 4 (+ 1 retrap)


• Coal Tit (1 retrap)


• Dunnock (1 retrap)


• Goldfinch 2


• Wren 1


• Total 12 (+ 7 retraps)

The Great Spotted Woodpecker, a female, was the first that I've ringed at Bromham Mill. The retrap Great Tit was ringed on 7/12/2010 - this was the first time she had been caught again since then; where has she been in the mean time? All the other retraps were ringed earlier this year.

Then on Sunday 13th November, I went to Marston Vale Millennium Country Park. The numbers of birds caught were low, but the quality was really high! Totals ringed were:

• Wren 3


• Cetti's Warbler 2


• Bearded Tit 1



• Total 6

Though there have been Bearded Tits present in the Country Park, we have not previously seen any in the area while we've been ringing. At least two were present, but just one caught and ringed. It was a definitely a male, possibly a young bird but we were not certain. This was the first Bearded Tit ringed by Ivel Ringing Group. See photo to the left and below to the right.

Other birds seen at Marston included: Teal, Little Grebe, Peregrine Falcon, Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrels, large flock of Lapwing, Yellowhammer, Reed Buntings, Redwings, good numbers of Skylarks overhead. A Red-breasted Merganser was also on the pool. A Dragonfly (spot the dragonfly on the reed stalk below; sorry - not sure of the species) was an unexpected sighting. Thank you Neil, David and Phil for your help today.

4 assorted views of a Cetti's Warbler.

Unknown 'Dragonfly'

Wren (back view)

Photos of Wren and Cetti's Warbler by Phil Candlish http://www.philcandlishphotography.co.uk

Heavenly singing, flashing lights - what was going on?

On Saturday 5th November, I went ringing at Bromham Mill again. There was a misty and cold start to the day, then conditions gradually improved. After a slow start, the numbers of birds caught increased. Most of the Blue Tits (see right) caught were looking really smart and seem to be in good shape.

Part way through the morning, I could hear singing coming from nearby. It was unusual, but not unpleasant. Not much later two police 'panda' cars parked at the entrance to the mill. Two others also turned up as well as an ambulance, all with their lights flashing. It turns out that an African religious group have been meeting for evening services by the river bank, combined with baptising (or maybe washing away sins/spiritual cleansing) in the River Ouse. Now the clocks have gone back, they had decided to meet on the Saturday morning instead. Someone saw this and misinterpreted what was going on. Hence the arrival of the emergency services!

Totals ringed for the day were (with retraps in brackets):

• Blue Tit 30 (2)


• Great Tit 7 (1)


• Chaffinch 1


• Nuthatch 1


• Blackcap 1


• Coal Tit (1)


• Total 40 (4)

3 of the retraps were ringed on Apple Day, 16th October; 1 Blue Tit had been ringed on 28th August. The Nuthatch (above left)was the 2nd I've ringed at the Mill this year. The female Blackcap (2nd from top, on the right) was the first I've ever ringed at Bromham Mill.

Other photos: Coal Tit (3rd from top, on the right), Chaffinch (lower right).

Thank you to Adrian Fett for the photos of the Chaffinch and Blackcap.

On Sunday 6th November I went back to Marston Vale Millennium Country Park, to see (in particular) what might be coming in to roost. With a northerly breeze, the temperate was low. The numbers of birds ringed was much less than on Saturday, but the ringing of the Cetti's Warbler, one of the 'star birds' of the site, more than made up for this. Totals ringed were as shown below (no birds were retrapped):

• Blue Tit 1


• Cetti's Warbler 1


• Wren 1


• Total: 3