The Lincolnshire Bird Club

On Wednesday 6th June I checked the 22 nest boxes on my study sites in the Binbrook/Market Rasen area. I found 10 of the boxes were occupied by Barn Owls and there were 44 young and 5 eggs in total. The size of the young ranged through the whole spectrum - newly hatched to fully feathered. 30 were of ringable size and I also ringed one adult female. Three other boxes contained broods of 5 Kestrels, 10 of which were ringed - the others had just hatched. I also ringed an adult Kestrel. Only one of the boxes was unoccupied but the remainder were taken over by Jackdaws of which two nestlings were ringed. A first for me was a brood of 7 Barn Owls, all of which were very healthy and likely to fledge successfully. All those occupied by Barn Owls contained prey items - mainly field voles, house/wood mice, 2 rats and a small rabbit. Those who get excited by Barn Owls might change their minds after spending 5 hours putting their hands in that lot plus the rather liquid droppings/mashed up pellets etc. etc. !! It looks like being a bumper year and I will be interested to see how Alan Ball's boxes fared.

Would you be so kind as to explain what value this programme has. How is the information evaluated to the advantage of the birds that are being processed? What you have described above is interesting but is the interference justified and what does the ringing help to indicate?

John

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Lincolnshire Birds https://www.flickr.com/photos/120340949 ... 8078912016
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Contact: recorder_north@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

John, thank you for your comments and queries. I am one of many BOMP workers who submit their comprehensive data to the BTO. I suggest you look at www.bto.org/survey/bomp/index.htm This will give you a far better answer on the project nationally. On a personal note, I would not be taking part if I thought that the limited interference which is licensed and sanctioned by Natural England had the slightest detrimental affect on the species.

Thanks Stuart. A very informative and interesting link.

John

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Lincolnshire Birds https://www.flickr.com/photos/120340949 ... 8078912016
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Contact: recorder_north@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

A second visit to the boxes this morning was slighly disappointing. A further 6 chicks were ringed as well as two more Kestrels. One clutch of 5 eggs had gone from one of the boxes and replaced by 2 Stock Dove eggs. On the plus side, a previously empty box now contains six Barn Owl eggs - it looks as though there may well be some second broods. So far, 36 Barn Owls, 13 Kestrels and 2 Jackdaws have been ringed form 22 boxes.

Thks Stuart.

very interesting, lets hope they succeed

Dean...

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Regards
Dean Eades



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Visited a farm near Gainsborough were we have 6 Barn Owl nests in an area 2km x 2km. Ringed 11 young from 4 nests with 1 nest in a natural site holding 1 newly hatched and 4 eggs. The sixth nest is in an inaccessible part of the farmhouse roof with 4 strong, healthy looking young. The adults were logged bringing 9 prey items into this nest between 8.00pm and 9.00pm one night last week.

I made the final visit to the Programme this morning and ringed 5 young Barn Owls in the box that previously had 6 eggs. There was no sign of second broods in three other boxes checked. Nevertheless it has been a highly successful breeding season with forty young fledging from 10 nest boxes on my study site and a further 24 from 6 boxes elsewhere.

It really has been an excllent breeding year for owls - with most being unaffected by the wet weather. Bob Sheppard and I have ringed over 500 Barn Owl chicks from 160 pairs this year in Lincolnshire. We also checked sites today for second broods and, unlike Stuart, found several pairs that were attempting second broods. Perhaps it is the fenland areas that are doing well, as 20 sites today in the fens produced 13 pairs with second clutches of eggs or small chicks.

Alan

Revisited the farm at Morton last week. Of the six successful Barn Owl nests with young ringed in June three have second clutches of 4, 5 and 7 eggs.

Steve Wain

I sadly recovered a Barn Owl road casualty yesterday on the A158 at Edlington near Horncastle. It bore the BTO ring GH 99950. I have already notified the BTO but wondered if any of you ringers out there recognised the number as one of yours enabling the system of reporting to be speeded up and to share the information with the forum?

This ring is allocated to the Mid-Lincs Ringing Group and I have replied to Michael by Private Message.

Kevin Armstrong ringed a brood of three on October 15th at Nettleton - any other "late" records.

Still doing a few Stuart. Ringed one brood of 2 and another of 4 both near to fledging on 19th October. Still have a few with small chicks, but don't know how these will get on......most of the second broods have failed.

Alan

Likewise

We are still ringing a few the last one was a brood of 3 on 6 October which were quite large and seem well fed

Keith