Birds of Prey
Each year we normally locate a number of Buzzard, Long-eared Owl and Sparrowhawk nests, but due to restricted accessibility (no climbers), we only manage to reach a few of them. The university campus is our main haunt but we sometimes come across nests when further afield.
Sparrowhawk nest © JC
Long-eared Owl nest © JC
Long-eared Owls roost communally on the university campus in winter and when the conditions are right we have a few attempts at catching some. They are not an easy species to catch but we have had some success. The LEO pellets are also collected and examined and have produced rings, including a Siskin from Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire and a French size A ring, for which we are still awaiting information (5 years!!).
Long-eared Owl © JC
On top of the natural nests, John has 30 Kestrel boxes dotted about areas of suitable habitat. Unfortunately the only inhabitants to take up residence to date are Jackdaws and Grey Squirrels. There are also a couple of Barn Owl boxes but given that the local council population is perhaps one pair, the chances of uptake are slim.
Passage Waders/Shorebirds
Since 2016 we have been mist-netting roosting autumn waders in the Bann Estuary at night. We set the nets over an old Ox-bow lake in Grangemore, preferably when it has a bit of water in it, and play the infamous 'Killer Redshank' lure. Matching up a high tide just after sun down, good weather and availability of a suitable team has bene the limiting factor so far.
From our first attempt we had some great success catching a Curlew Sandpiper and two Ruff amongst a good catch. We are still in infancy of the project but we hope with time we can hone our skills and craft and improve the quantity and range of species we catch. In 2016 we caught seven species and as yet we have not had any recoveries but believe it is only a matter of time.
Curlew
From our first attempt we had some great success catching a Curlew Sandpiper and two Ruff amongst a good catch. We are still in infancy of the project but we hope with time we can hone our skills and craft and improve the quantity and range of species we catch. In 2016 we caught seven species and as yet we have not had any recoveries but believe it is only a matter of time.
Sand Martins
We currently ring at two Sand Martin colonies which are 13km apart and linked along the Lower Bann. The older site at Macfin is a large Sand Martin colony of around 150 pairs. In the first season we managed to catch 144 new birds and also one control from the south of England and one of our birds was caught in Wales on southerly migration. Catches of new birds are usually between 100-140 a year.
The second colony is a smaller one located at Grangemore in the Bann Estuary. The bank is on the outer bend of a tidal river so the face changes often but can hold up to 60-70 pairs. The first year of ringing at the site produced 91 new birds, two local controls from Macfin and a Portuguese bird.
Sand Martin © JC
Swallows
In and around the reedbeds of the Bann Estuary, there is a mobile Swallow roost which forms sporadically through the autumn. It can be difficult to pin down the roosting birds but it has been witnessed to be over 6000 birds. The first attempt to catch the birds was in 2014, with a top catch in one night of 125 Swallows and a single Sand Martin. The ringing site was originally amongst willow scrub, raised roughly 20 metres above the reed beds, close to the University Campus Boat House. The site wasn't the most reliable so we have since relocated to the Grangemore reedbeds where catches are much more consistent and a greater percentage of birds present being caught.
Swallow roost catch team © JC
Sandwich Terns
See separate tab
Blue/Great Tit RAS
To be updated. . .
Storm Petrels
In 2010 the group started to target Storm Petrels through July and August, passing the coast near Portstewart. The birds that we catch are generally believed to be non breeding birds, in that we are not that close to any breeding colonies. The nearest colonies are in Donegal to the west and Sanda Island, Scotland in the east. We have however caught one or two birds which have had an obvious brood patch and others that have regurgitated fish into the nets.
Storm Petrel © JC
To date (end of 2015 season) we have ringed 697 birds plus 13 retraps and caught 33 controls, with 21 of our birds recovered elsewhere. The controls and recoveries have come from across the UK and Ireland, although we have yet to trade birds with other European nations. Location maps for these are available under the Controls/Recoveries tab. The oldest bird caught so far was at least 8 years old and the biggest movement was from the Isle of May, Fife.
We have caught a couple of other species at night, when Storm Petrel ringing, including a couple of Oystercatchers, singles of Turnstone and Knot and plenty of Redshank. We are still waiting for a Leach's Petrel though!
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