Quite the most astonishing month, for all sorts of reasons. Firstly, our biggest June catch to date:
The same number of species but more ringed and fewer retrapped. Of those ringed, we added Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Kingfisher, Marsh Tit, Meadow Pipit and Spotted Flycatcher and pulli from Lapwing and Stock Dove. Missing species this year, ringed in June last year, were the totally astonishing Redwing, not really surprising, and Yellowhammer and pulli from Jackdaw and Kestrel.
To those figures in more detail, the Canada Goose was, unsurprisingly, caught by Jonny at Langford Lakes. Andy and Ian have ringed Lapwing chicks out on SPTA Imber Ranges, indeed Ian did another there this month. The other 23 were ringed by Jonny and Aurora and the Project Peewit team – who invited me to ring my first ever chicks: three of them at one of my Barn Owl sites.
The two Stock Doves chicks were found, with their mother, by Jonny in a Barn Owl box. My experience of Stock Doves this month was somewhat less pleasant: the only box we found in the Braydon Forest area had an adult and two chicks: one was dead, the other looked in poor condition. We removed the dead one and left the other in peace. In my journeys out with the Salisbury Plain Raptor Group we have come across a few nests: one had two dead adults killed and eaten in the box, another had a dead adult uneaten in the box and a third had a clutch of two very cold eggs. We also saw four other boxes inhabited by pairs of Stock Dove but didn’t bother them.
On the Barn Owl front: they have started breeding much later this year: a lack of voles has pushed them back. One good thing about that is that the Jackdaws have finished breeding: so some rapid cleaning of boxes and there will be less competition for nest spaces from other species. We have done a lot better than on SPTA, who had ringed nothing on the Plain until just two last minute ones for Justine at one of her off Plain sites. We have ringed three broods, totalling eight chicks: one at Echo Lodge and two at Blakehill Farm. There are also two broods developing at Plain Farm and Drill Farm which will be ringed in July if all goes to plan. The numbers are lower than last year, but at least they are succeeding. One good point: we are finding dead voles inside the boxes.
With regard to the Jackdaw pulli, it is a lack of opportunity, due to my being out on Salisbury Plain and the Lower Wylye Valley checking their boxes, plus my lack of a roof rack after changing my car from a dead one to a much younger model. Thanks to Laura for providing the roof rack and car for our box checks.
The Kestrels last June were fortuitous, ringed by Jonny and myself because, in my case, Justine was away and unable to deal with the brood at an appropriate time, so I got to do them. This year the only Kestrel chicks ringed have been on Salisbury Plain: with quite a variety of age. They seem to have swapped diet from small mammals to small birds, with Goldfinch and Skylark appearing quite often in their diet.
I am hoping to put up some Kestrel boxes in the Braydon Forest for next year.
Amongst the other catches: there was a quite excellent haul of Marsh Tits ringed. It is our best June ringing catch ever. The previous highest was seven in June 2014. In fact, it is tied as our best monthly ringing catch with October 2019, which was influenced by supplementary feeding. Apart from that, 10 in August 2018 was the only other month when we ringed double figures of this species. The Meadow Pipit is also notable: two adults were caught on the Imber Ranges in June 2022, this is just the third June catch of the species by the Group.
For me, the best moment of my month had to be ringing three Lapwing chicks, but it was a real toss up between them and this:
This is only the thirteenth Spotted Flycatcher caught by the Group since January 2013 – and the ninth caught in the Braydon Forest. Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that this is the fifth caught in the Firs: the smallest of the five woods ringed in the Forest, at 10ha: a quarter of the size of Ravensroost Wood, one tenth the size of Red Lodge and one twentieth the size of both Somerford Common and Webb’s Wood.
Let’s hope that July delivers as well as June has.
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 