Nest Boxs Update!

I am writing this blog post late due to the fact I have been so busy with end of year mock exams and tests.

My sister and I went to check on the nest boxes we put up around school for our nest box project. All nests were Blue Tits and we had 11 nest attempts. From that, 36 young Blue Tits hatched, but only 23 chicks fledged. With the guidance of our trainer we ringed all the chicks and a few adults. The survival rate out of the chicks that hatched was 63.8%. All the results will be submitted to the BTO for NRS.

More information will be published in the BTO magazine 'Lifecyle' later in the year.

We cant wait to make further improvements to next year and seeing the results.

Nest Box Project

Abby, checking a box

My sister, Abby and I are being awarded a grant from Derbyshire Ornithological Society from a fund which was set up to help young ornithologist and we are very grateful for it.

We decided to carry out a nest box project at our school, this project has many variables (such as: where the hole is placed or where the box is placed and the effects of predation due to these variables.) and we will also ring the chicks. We placed 20 nest boxes around our school over the Easter holidays (10 in the woods on the outskirts of the school and 10 around the school buildings.) We have since been monitoring them and so far we have discovered 10 nests out of the 20 boxes.

Me, checking for a nest

From the fund we have invested in a pair of pliers, scales, a recording book and 2 rulers, in order to carry out the ringing of the chicks under the guidance of our trainer.

We hope by putting up these boxes my sister and I can spark an interest in other young people at our school.

We are going back tomorrow to check for further nests and nest development. We think the nests will mostly be Blue Tits and Great Tits. We are really looking forward to going back and finding out what is now in the boxes!

Ringing in Spring

This morning was a great ringing session and it was a beautiful, clear day with lots of sunshine. Which makes a change from the usual cold mornings! We had a wide variety of birds, including Reed Bunting, stunning Yellowhammers, Siskin and 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers (2 female and 1 male), which I was lucky enough to ring one of the females for the first time. They have such powerful beaks and wonderful plumage.

We saw an Osprey flying north, probably to Scotland, that was a fabulous sight to see so close to home, because the last time I saw an Osprey was a lot further away - Belize! We had lots of Redpoll zooming past our heads. We saw plenty of Curlew too. I love their call! Whilst ringing I heard a rustling in some bushes, so I went over to inspect and discovered a male and female common Lizard preparing for their midday sunbathe on a nearby stone! We then went looking for Adders, unfortunately we didn't see any. However we came across a few Toads.

To top it all off, later in the evening we spotted a Hedgehog visiting our garden - which was lovely to see.

BTO Work Experience

During my half term holiday I went to the BTO for a week of work experience. I wanted to do this through my school, however school wouldn't let me go out of area, as this was my dream placement I decided to go in my free time (I'm also  going to do work experience with school at the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust in March).

I worked in the ringing office, where I could begin to understand how the department runs. It was really fascinating seeing recoveries from the past and hearing the stories of how people had found rings on birds. I really enjoyed working in media, where I wrote 'Bird Of The Month' for March which is Long Tailed Tit and also learn more about National Nest Box Week, which I also wrote about and tweeted about when I did some social media work. It was really fun tweeting and doing Facebook, Ieuan sent me some stats on the amount of people some of the tweets potentionaly had reached and it was nearly 3 million views!!

I also spent time in the survey office, where I worked on BBS data and wrote some promotional information for BBS with Sarah in regions across the country (http://www.fyldebirdclub.org/noticeboard.html). This was very fascinating finding out what species were decreasing/increasing in different areas. I also discussed with Debbie how the BTO can further engage with young people.

My sister Abby looking after the birds!

During my week of work, Justin Walker and Lee Barber took my family and I ringing on the BTO reserve and to another local site. We caught many birds, including Robins, Tits, Finches, Lesser Redpolls, and Marsh Tits! The first session we did Nick Moran came with us and he spotted a Barn Owl, my favourite bird flying over the field near one of the owl boxes. On the second ringing session, Ieuan also came. I gained more experience removing birds from the nets and I am very grateful for Justin, Lee, Ieuan and Nick for passing on their knowledge. It was interesting to see the variations in different ringers techniques to that of my ringing group.

Sarah Harris and Neil Calbrade took me around the BTO reserve during our lunch break, where I learned a bit about the reserve which is a mixture of wetlands, woodland and pasture. The BTO offices are a great place to work at, having that reserve on their doorstep. We saw a lovely pair of Kingfishers and many other birds, it was interesting to see the collar rings on the geese that Lee has been ringing. They also took me to a local area known for Hawfinches, unfortunately we didn't see any!

I was also very lucky to get a chance to go out with Mike

Toms and Lee Barber to try and catch a Tawny Owl to ring as Mike and Lee need to study the population in Thetford Forest to secure funding for nest boxes. My family and I helped to get the nets up, a tape lure was set playing and we waited until we thought an Owl might have flown into then net and we checked the nets. After the second check a male Tawny Owl had made its way into the net. With the help of Lee I got the chance to ring the Owl, measure its wing and beak, then release it (Lee weighed it and worked out its age and sex). Thank you so much to Lee and Mike for giving me the opportunity to ring the 5th or 6th Tawny Owl in that forest!

 Thank you to Andy Clements for allowing me to come and work at the BTO.

Also, thank you to Viola Ross-Smith and Ieuan Evans for looking after me, you made me feel very welcome!

I would also like to thank everyone at the BTO for being so welcoming and supportive. It was great fun! I loved being there and it was much better than school which I didn't want to go back to!

I had a wonderful time, doing and learning amazing things that I will never forget. On the journey back home I was wishing I could stay, I smiled the whole way back, especially after having opening the Owl book!! I hope to be back for my year 12 work experience!

Avian Poxvirus

Avian Pox (Avian Poxvirus) is a virus that has become increasingly common in our garden birds. The birds develop a growth around its eye or beak area.

There are guidelines on the BTO website which explains that birds can catch Avian Pox from bird contact, biting from insects and contaminated areas, such as feeders. It is important to change your water daily and clean your feeders and disinfect often, to be free of any disease.

Watching our garden birds we noticed a Wood Pigeon with what seemed to have a growth on it's eye, we reported our findings to Garden Wildlife Health, a survey through the BTO, and they told us it was most likely to have Avian Pox. This disease affects species such as the Dunnock , House Sparrow, Starling and Wood Pigeon.  However, diagnosis of avian pox virus infection in garden birds is only really achieved on dead birds at post-mortem examination.

http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/gardens-wildlife/garden-birds/disease/avian-pox
gardenwildlifehealth.org 


I am very excited to start my work experience at the BTO next week, and I will be writing a blog about it when I am back!

Uttoxeter Ringing

Siberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus Tristis)

Last weekend we went ringing in Uttoxeter, plenty of different species came into the nets, such as Meadow Pipits, Redwings, Song Thrush and Grey Wagtails.

However, we did have one bird that was very exciting and I was lucky enough to ring it!! It was a Siberian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus Tristis) and to top that we caught the more common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) to compare the differences.

The Siberian Chiffchaff has a much more brown or brown/grey on the upper parts of the body and can have an olive-green tip on the edge of the wing., there is also no yellow underneath but eyelids and cheeks are very buffish.The Siberian Chiffchaff is quite a rare bird, especially in this area, as they are more likely to be spotted in the South of the UK.

Bakewell Ringing

It was a freezing cold morning for ringing, but everywhere looked beautiful covered with a blanket of frost. As soon as we arrived at the site we heard 2 Tawny Owls calling, which made me even more excited (I was already very excited because we were finally going out ringing after the Christmas break). Overall we caught 38 birds, including Wrens, Starlings, lots of Pied Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail.

We also caught a couple of Blackbirds, especially a very handsome male Blackbird with a bright orange beak. A small flock of Starlings were flying around and fortunately a couple came into the nets, as ever their plumage was stunning.
 
We were pleased to find a few Meadow Pipits, they must have been at the site because there was a plentiful supply of insects. Meadow Pipits are often found on lower ground in the Winter. According to 'The Birds of Derbyshire' "The longest movement by a Derbyshire ringed Meadow Pipit within the UK is 220km." The bird was recovered in Somerset.

I'm looking forward to going out again to see what else I can ring and learn new things about.