Recent recoveries

Here is a list of recent recoveries that Ivel Ringing Group has received: LESSER REDPOLL, ringed Sandy Smith Nature Reserve (Bedfordshire) 24/11/12, controlled Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire 05/05/13. 275 km, 162 days, NNW. SISKIN, ringed Sandy Smith Nature Reserve 08/12/12, controlled Callander, Stirling 530 km, 154 days, NNW. SISKIN, ringed Wibrin, Luxembourg, BELGIUM 24/02/12, controlled Sandy Smith Nature Reserve 08/08/12. 474km, 288 days, WNW. REED BUNTING, ringed Sandy Smith Nature Reserve 26/05/12, field observation Southill, (Bedfordshire) 12/04/13. 6 km, 321 days, NE. MAGPIE, ringed Chalton STW (Bedfordshire) 29/09/12, road casualty, Haynes (Bedfordshire) 10/03/13. 14 km, 162 days, NNE. CHAFFINCH, ringed Everton (Bedfordshire) 07/08/11, found dead, Little Paxton 10/03/13. 12 km, 581 days, N. BLUE TIT, ringed Carlton (Bedfordshire) 22/10/12, controlled Olney, Milton Keynes 19/05/13. 8 km, 209 days. SWALLOW, ringed Marston Moretaine (Bedfordshire) 02/09/12, controlled Rainworth, Nottinghamshire 14/05/13. 125 km, 254 days.

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

February 12th, Priory Country Park

More severe wind has left me slobbing around at home when I'd much prefer being out and ringing. However, yesterday I did find some shelter at Priory Country Park and put a few nets up.

The following turned up (in order of appearance):

Long Tailed Tit 2
Blue Tit 11
Dunnock 2
Chaffinch 3
Great Tit 7
Song Thrush 1
Treecreeper 1
Blackbird 2



Above: A male chaffinch. 2 were found in the net at the same time. A single female was ringed later on.



Above: A Song Thrush.



Above: A treecreeper (the best bird of the day).



Above & Below: Two different Great Tits. The one in the photograph above, I noticed, has a partially bleached (?) tail. The photograph below is a 'normal' Great Tit tail.



In all, 21 new birds were ringed with 8 retraps (the longest known age being a Blue Tit hatched in 2008).

My January highlights

The weather has been variable recently, to say the least. December was freezing and with all the snow, this stopped ringing activities. By the new year the snow had gone and a session Sandy Smith Nature Reserve (SSNR) on 8th Jan produced just 3 birds; a Coal Tit, Blue Tit and this:



Above: A Kingfisher that had survived the December freeze!

SSNR on 22nd Jan: 4 Blue Tits, 5 Great Tits and 1 Coal Tit.

SSNR on 30th Jan: 4 Blue Tits, 2 Great Tits, 1 Robin, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Coal Tit and 2 new species ringed for the site, 2 Goldfinch and 1 Blackbird.



Above: The first Goldfinch ringed at SSNR.



Above: The first Blackbird ringed at SSNR.



Above: A female Chaffinch.