Ringing recoveries

Hello

The last batch of ringing receoveries associated with Northants Ringing Group activities are as follows:-

1. A male Nuthatch was caught and ringed in Scaldwell village on 6th November 2020 and was reportedly killed by a cat in the same village on 6th May 2021, 181 days later;

2. A first year female Blackbird was caught and ringed in a Scaldwell village garden on 9th February 2021. She was subsequently found dead after colliding with a window at a place called Kristianstad in Sweden on 13th April 2021. This bird had travelled 1060km in a east/north/east direction (within 63 days). Seemingly a classic case of a Scandanavian Blackbird wintering in the UK and returning home;

3. A juvenile female Greenfinch was caught and ringed at Harrington Airfield on 26th August 2020 and found freshly dead at Rothwell on 12th May 2021, 259 days later and having travelled just 5km;

4. A juvenile Great Tit was caught and ringed at Stortons Pits on 2nd July 2020 and found freshly dead in Northampton on 22nd May 2021, some 324 days later;

5. A first year female Goldfinch was caught and ringed at Hanging Houghton on 11th December 2020 and was reportedly killed by a cat at Seafield, West Lothian, Scotland 164 days later after having travelled 428km in a NWN direction. This fits the pattern of Scottish Goldfinches wintering in middle England;

6. A first year female Blue Tit was caught and ringed at Kelmarsh Hall on 6th March 2017 and then caught again by ringers at Stanford Reservoir fourteen km to the west on 10th April 2021 (1496 days later) when she was effectively five years old;

7. An adult female Starling was caught and ringed at Hanging Houghton on 27th January 2021 and was subsequently found dead on or about 28th May near Brandenburg, Germany. During the 121 days she had flown east some 990km and represents perhaps another example of a central European passerine wintering in the UK.

A returning Green Sandpiper at Earls Barton Pits today will be a post-breeding bird from northern Europe - this species often signals the start of the autumn migration - looks like we've jumped from a cool wintry spring straight into autumn with perhaps the predicted heatwave this week-end being our summer!

Regards

Neil M

House Sparrow.

Starling.

Red Kite.

Red Fox.

All images courtesy of
John Tilly.