Recent Recoveries

A couple of local Barn Owl recoveries kick off the most recent round of recoveries for the group:

• a bird ringed in the nest in July this year in Plungar, was found dead in September in nearby Sutton-cum-Granby
• a bird ringed as a chick in Tollerton in July 2007, was found dead on the road in Gamston, also in September this year (maybe this bird stayed local for 8 years?)

In other owl news, a Tawny Owl ringed in May this year in Netherfield, was found dead over the river in nearby Shelford at the end of August. (The bird was identified as a Hen Harrier, which would have been interesting, but I don't think many breed in nest-boxes in Netherfield...)

Two birds ringed at Attenborough on 23 April this year have been recovered. One was a Grey Heron, which was found in nearby Borrowash, with an injured wing and leg. The other was a Cormorant, which travelled a little further, being found at Cley in Norfolk where its colour rings were read in the field.

And finally, a Common Tern, also ringed in the nest at Attenborough, was seen at Cropston reservoir in Leicestershire in August. The observer managed to read the metal ring, which is great, especially as the bird was ringed 14 years ago. This is the second Common Tern from Attenborough recovered this year which had been ringed over a decade ago, showing the importance of long term monitoring schemes such as ours at the reserve.

Tom