This is a summary of the activities of Alice, one of my C-permit holding trainees. She is currently working on a PhD at Oxford University and, because of travel, Covid-19 restrictions (between lockdowns), was able to find Hogacre Common Eco Park and get permission to ring there.
The site is adjacent to the sports grounds of a number of Oxford colleges. It is early days yet at the site. It can take a year or so to get the optimum net positions, unless you are lucky.
This is Alice’s summary of her activities on the site in November and December 2020:
Between the 10th November and 15th December 2020, six bird ringing sessions were run at Hogacre Common. Just over 100 birds were processed from ten different species (Table 1, Fig.1). Since these were the first bird ringing surveys at Hogacre, most individuals caught were ‘new’ birds that had not previously been ringed (85%); while 15% of birds were retrapped in a subsequent session. Over 25 species were observed on site during the surveys, with two Lesser Redpoll being a particularly pleasing sighting in mid-November.
The following list is of bird species seen/heard at Hogacre Common from November – December 2020. It does not include birds flying over that were not using the site: Mallard; Moorhen; Pheasant; Woodpigeon; Collared Dove; Buzzard; Red Kite; Sparrowhawk; Kestrel; Green Woodpecker; Great Spotted Woodpecker; Dunnock; Wren; Blackbird; Song Thrush; Redwing; Fieldfare; Robin; Goldcrest; Chiffchaff; Blue Tit; Great Tit; Long-tailed Tit; Nuthatch; Magpie; Carrion Crow; Goldfinch; Chaffinch; Lesser Redpoll.
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 