Raptor Round Up

Sunday, June 14th 2020

The raptor breeding season is almost over and it has been an extremely busy one for the Foxglove bird ringing team. This beautiful Peregrine Falcon chick is one of over 100 birds of prey ringed this spring.

Unusually, its nest was on the ground and was shared by three siblings. All were ringed with colour rings so that they can be identified as individuals from a distance with a telescope. They were all in good health and were well fed with full crops.

Another brood of Kestrels was ringed last night bringing the total to over 60. There were 5 healthy chicks.

A new record was the discovery of the latest Tawny Owl chicks we've known. There were four of them, one of which (the white one in the centre of the picture) was still too small to be ringed! Mid June is really quite late for them to fledge.

The team only found one Little Owl nest this year. This small owl was introduced to the UK in the 19th century. It can be seen in the daylight, usually perching on a tree branch, telegraph pole or rock. It will bob its head up and down when alarmed. In flight it has long, rounded wings, rapid wingbeats and flies with a slight undulation. Breeding Bird Survey data suggest that little owl numbers are declining. They eat small mammals and birds, beetles and worms. Here is the adult female.

She managed to rear three chicks, here are two of them at around three weeks old.

Buzzards breed later than the other birds of prey and the ringers have just started to visit their tree top nests, with the help of local tree surgeon (and climber) Sean from Yorkshire Tree Specialists!

Whilst out checking the last few boxes, the group have been keeping an eye on the wild Greylag Geese and so far nine goslings have been ringed too.

Finally, there is an article about the reserve in this weeks Darlington and Stockton Times.

(0) Comments:

There are no comments for this blog post yet. Why not start the discussion? - use the form below:

Back to Top

Help Support Foxglove

Friends of Foxglove

The Friends of Foxglove Covert is for those individuals, families and organisations who would like to support the reserve through an annual membership subscription. Friends receive a regular newsletter and invitations to attend our various activities and social events.

More Details

Upcoming Events

Foxglove Covert LNR AGM

Wednesday 26th January 2022 | 7.00pm start

The Annual General Meeting will be held via zoom. Please contact the Reserve Managers if you would like the link to participate.

LANTRA Chainsaw Maintenance, Cross-cutting, Felling and Processing Trees up to 380mm

Monday 31st January 2022 | 5 day course with 8.30 am starts

An opportunity has arisen for 3 people to join this recognised LANTRA course.

From first cuts to full-on felling, this five-day course will teach you all you need to know about using a chainsaw. This is a hands-on course that delivers both practical skills and health and safety guidance as well as demonstrating that you and your employer have completed sufficient training to meet the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).

Booking for this is through KNW Training in Bedale, please contact them for details and costs.

VIEW ALL EVENTS