Half Yearly Catch Up

Incredible as it seems we are already well past the summer solstice, so now that we have packed away our Druidic robes for another year it is time to see what the group has been up to. Spring and Summer tend to be slow as returning birds keep a low profile while breeding and the end of the year migrants are yet to turn up. Despite heatwaves (we are currently in our third), the group has been out for 31 sessions; most weekends and the occasional mid weeker. We have ringed all the way from the Apple ride in Blowers Bay round to the Northants Reed Bed plus the Leicester Paddock and Reed Bed. 

We have ringed 37 species to give a total of 1,314 new birds, an excellent effort! The most common species is, of course, our old friends the Blackcaps (228) followed by Blue Tits (155).  All our warblers are finally here, with a promising population of six adult Grasshopper Warblers, so that looks like three breeding pairs... fingers crossed.

 

Finally...  

However we were starting to despair about Lesser Whitethroats which normally arrive from April onwards, but there was no sign of them until the end of June, when three juveniles and an adult were ringed, which came as some relief, as we all have a soft spot for these lovely little birds.

 Kingfisher were a bit slow to get going too, most years we get to ring about a half dozen or so, so again delighted to have one turn up in the 60' net in the Paddock, clearly on the way to somewhere important. This was a young female, hopefully there will be a couple more nest-mates coming our way. 

At the end of July migration starts and we are all looking forward to that. Stanstock, our annual week long celebration of all things migratory, starts on Saturday 15th August, it's not really all that far away. Time to unpack tents and check inflatable mattresses. Can't wait! 

PMN 

Spring into Summer

After an excellent April, May has proved to be a bit of a let down with only 438 new birds ringed compared to last years 527, against a best ever total of 687 back in 2022.The reason for this drop in numbers can be put down to the lack of success with our nest boxes. We have had large numbers of nest boxes predated this year which has resulted in about a 50% reduction in Great Tit pulli and 66% reduction in Blue Tits. 

Other than that, adult numbers are about the same as usual, except for Lesser Whitethroat; we are yet to catch one this year and by now we are usually in double figures, which is a bit concerning. On the plus side, we seem to have two pairs of breeding Grasshopper Warblers, a species which has not bred at Stanford since 2021.  

 A very welcome surprise for 2026!

However, the undoubted highlight of the month was a Nightingale, caught on the 23rd May in the woods behind the rail-track ringing station, the first since 1994 and only the second ringed on site. 

The other bit of good news is that after floating out two more tern rafts late last month we have Common Terns breeding on all three and for the first time, a Black-headed Gull has bred on the reservoir and has thus far hatched its eggs. Fingers crossed. On the Leicester side, Water Rail took up residence in the large reed bed and have presumably bred. If so this will only be the second time they have been recorded breeding.

MJT 

Ring-necked Duck – Second Record for Stanford Reservoir – or Perhaps Not!

Ring-necked Duck at Stanford

 

Steve Nichols and I have often talked about the lack of Ring-necked Duck records at Stanford, especially given the number of Tufted Ducks and Pochard we get over the autumn and winter. So, with duck numbers down I was delighted when the first bird I got on, in a small group of Tufted Ducks, on Sunday May 3rd was a dapper drake Ring-necked Duck. 

As always, it is worth checking all salient features to remove any doubt of a hybrid. Having rattled off a few record shots, I went about confirming the key features:

• Typical high, egg-shaped head
• Bill grey with white line at the base, broad pale subterminal band and black tip
• Greyish wash to the flanks moving to white at the front

  Same duck, different orientation

I checked the Stanford records and this appeared to be the second for the site, the first being back
in 1978. The late John Cranfield in his “Species Status Comments” in the 'Flora and Fauna' tab on the SRG website references a bird in January / February of 1978 (unsexed) and there is a question mark against it in the species list.
Back in 1978 Ring-necked Duck was a national rarity and required submission to the British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC). Having reviewed the 1978 and 1979 issues of British Birds there is no mention of a record at Stanford Reservoir in the accepted or rejected section. I have also reviewed the Birds of Leicestershire and Rutland, the LROS county report and records archive for that year and asked Bob Bullock to check the Northants reports – again nothing listed for this record from any local sources.
So all in all it’s a bit of a mystery. Perhaps an oversight by the observer not to submit the
record (a lesson for us all). The only thing in its favour is that there was an influx of at least
22 birds into the UK between November 1977 and March 1978. However, if I take a purist
approach, BBRC did not receive a description and therefore the 1978 record should be
removed, promoting the May 2026 bird to the first record of Ring-necked Duck for the site.
Chris Hubbard

Return to Ringing in 2026!

 

Jo and Heather taking part in a bit of scrub bashing

After Scrub bashing for the last four months it was great to get back to ringing on the 4th of April. Dawn had already done a session on the Leicester side in late March, catching 10 new birds and 8 retraps just to ease herself back into the swing of things and dust the ringing kit off.

The weather during April has been pretty good and this has been reflected in our best ever total of 272 new birds ringed (our previous best being 213 last year). During this time we also caught 246 birds that we had previously ringed. Of these we had 147 individuals, the best being a nine year old Blackbird, a seven year old Garden Warbler and a six year old Sedge Warbler and similar Whitethroat.

All the way from San Sebastian in northern Spain; a lovely Sedge Warbler

During April we had the first passerine controls of the year, all Sedge Warbler, and all ringed overseas; one from France, one from Jersey and another on the 5th of May from Spain, truly remarkable! Of the 272 birds ringed in April we managed 24 species and of this total only 68 were resident birds that over wintered at Stanford. What's happening to our residents every year? We seem to catch fewer, even with the habitat getting better!

Dave and Mark (from Severn Trent) towing a Tern raft into Blowers Bay

On a brighter note the tern rafts have been refurbished and refloated this last week, so with plenty of Common Terns about we are hopeful of a good breeding season; it would also appear that a pair of Black Headed Gulls have already taken up residence as well, if so this will be a first breeding attempt for Stanford.

MJT 

2025 Annual Report Out Now

 'I used to be a Goldcrest, until I read the SRG 2025 Annual Report', available from: 2025 Report

 

Look what happened to me!

‘I’ll have mine with lots of ice please’

Our sightings officer, Chris H, has been out and about staring at gulls on the water at Stanford. Here he gives us an update on some unusual winter birds:

Freezing conditions over the past week have meant that much of the main water is frozen over. This doesn’t stop the gulls coming in at the end of the day, albeit in smaller numbers, and it also provides the opportunity to check for birds with colour rings. Successes this week include:

Caspian Gull – Yellow Ring XLVH 

 

Initially picked up on Sunday 4th January, the ring proved difficult to decipher due to distance and light. Some video and stills were taken and eventually it was confirmed as XLVH, a German ringed ‘Caspo’ which I last saw at Stanford on January 19th 2024. It has also been seen at Shawell and is a regular returner to Northants often being seen at Naseby Reservoir. It did show much better on the 6th when the ring was easier to read.

Black-headed Gull – White Ring 2AR1
2AR1 has some history with Stanford. I first saw this bird on January 28th 2023 and then again on August 23rd 2024. It was then present in the winter of 2025, on January 10th. Then, just under a year later, it appeared again on  January 6th 2026, I wonder where it has been in between? It was originally ringed at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire on June 25th 2022 and seems to have taken a liking to Stanford.

Common Gull – White Ring XN16   

I first caught a glimpse of this bird on January 5th when I read three digits. A possible scheme was located and Arne Kohler came straight back to say it was probably one of their birds but the code was incomplete. He did give me some confidence that Common Gulls are a creature of habit and he felt that it would come back to the same spot again. I couldn’t find it on the 6th but managed to pick it up on the 7th and confirm the code as XN16. It was ringed at Langenwerder (a small uninhabited island in northern Germany) on June 23rd 2024 and has also been seen at Rutland Water on March 23rd 2025.

Hopefully, more ring reading to come.

Winding Down for 2025

Stanstock was at the end of August, so what have we been up to since then? As it turns out, quite a lot. A total of 32 sessions have been subsequently undertaken, bringing in a total of 5,663 birds. This is largely because September and October are hot months for migratory birds including large numbers of Blackcaps, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and many others. For Stanford, rarities might include Dusky, Radde's or Yellow Browed Warblers, or Firecrest, or really any other vagrant. Unfortunately, these didn't actually turn up (yet!) but this is  clearly not for want of trying.

So what have we got recently? Well, the summer seems to have evaporated very quickly, and the winter is really just round the corner. So from now on in, it's migratory Thrushes and thermals on. Here is the group working hard on 09/11/25, quite a productive day, with a total of 59 new birds and 34 retraps. This includes an evening Starling roost organised by AGH, plus birds ringed in the Paddock by DS.

Jo scribing, Heather, Kate, Matt, Adam, Isla and Mark ringing. Sensible clothing much on display... stylish too.  

 

Fieldfare- regular winter visitor

 

Ringing a Redwing... looks like an adult, just a thin smear of white on the tertials. 

New birds were: Starling 22, Redwing 12, Chiffchaff 7, Blue Tit 7, Blackbird 5, Reed Bunting 5, Great Tit 2 and singles of Cetti's Warbler, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Long Tailed Tit, Lesser Redpoll, Reed Bunting, Robin, Song Thrush and Yellowhammer.

So nothing rare, but a representative selection of late autumn birds. It is always nice to finish on a spectacular species, so here is the best from the day:  

 

Male adult Sprrowhawk; it can't be comfortable to be a Blue Tit and to see those claws bearing down on you!

 

Finally, this will probably be the last blog of the year (unless anything exciting happens), so keep an eye out for news of scrub bashing in 2026, and notification of the publication of the annual report on our website.