Swallows fledge young at a natural site

Ian Kerr writes:

A thriving Swallow population has long been a feature of my regular patch on Holy Island, Northumberland and 2014 has proved to be by far the best year since I started nest recording and ringing the species a decade ago.

This year around 75 nests, most of them around the village, harbour and at St Coombs Farm, fledged at least 260 young. Many pairs produced two broods with a small number of nests producing a third brood, although it was impossible to say if the same pairs were involved. Whatever the circumstance, the 2014 breeding season far surpassed the previous record year of 2009 when 56 pairs fledged around 150 young.

Juvenile Swallow - Jill Pakenham

Excitingly, for the first time a pair used a natural site, the first record of its kind for Northumberland. This nest was in a crevice under an overhanging turf at the top of an eroding low boulder clay bank near Emmanuel Head, the eastern most point of our tidal island. At high tides the waves would have been just eight feet below the nest. The nest was discovered by a friend, George Moody, summer warden for Lindisfarne’s Little Tern colony. When I visited the site a few days later these birds had disappeared but there were large amounts of droppings indicating the chicks had fledged. When I climbed up I found a fully-feathered dead chick in the cup which must have perished at about the time its siblings fledged.

The white droppings making this nest more obvious - Ian Kerr

Swallows using natural nesting sites are very rare in Britain although obviously at one time in the remote past they must have been the norm. Keith Bowey knows of a nest in County Durham in the early 1970s which was situated on the side of a horizontal branch on a Beech tree in Sunderland and Martin Davison reported Swallows nesting near the entrance to a sea cave near Oban on the west coast of Scotland. I will certainly be checking the bank site next spring in case these birds return.

Editor's comment - we also heard that Mark Lawrence found two Swallow nests on cliffs in Devon this year. Luckily, he found them in time to ring them!

Nice weather for nesting

Having put up with dampened breeding success in 2012 and a chilled start to the season in 2013, how are breeding birds faring this year following the relatively fine winter and spring? This timely question from BBC Springwatch prompted the Demog team to appeal to BTO nest recorders and ringers for any mid-season information they could pull together. True to form, an amazing 112 responses were received from recorders in just two days, which we've summarised below for seven representative species.

Barn Owl

Last breeding season was a very poor one for Barn Owl because of the adverse spring weather and lack of voles. Many birds did not even attempt to nest. Preliminary reports for 2014 from the nine recorders who contacted us about Barn Owl are much more positive, however: high site occupancy rates, laying 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule in places, large clutch sizes and large broods. There has also been some exceptionally early laying: Peter Rose in Northumberland found a Barn Owl pair on eggs in late February. This season's promising start has no doubt been aided by mild conditions but, as Colin Shawyer anticipated in his forecast for the season, the most important feature has been the incredibly high vole numbers, confirmed by the large food caches being reported in boxes.

A Barn Owl box with young looking out. Barn Owl box occupancy rates are reported to be back up this year after many birds didn't breed in 2013. Photo by Dave Short

Kestrel

Reports form BTO nest recorders in Lancashire, Cheshire and Lincolnshire suggest that laying is 1-2 weeks earlier than average in 2014 and up to three weeks earlier than last year. As with Barn Owls, this may reflect a plentiful food supply in addition to the warm temperatures. Clutch and brood sizes seem to be above average, again due to the large amount of mammalian prey. The reported early start will give young more time to build up strength and learn to hunt before winter, which may increase survival.

A brood of five Kestrel chicks in a box inspected by Essex nest recorder Steve Baines last week. Photo by Steve Baines

Peregrine

Reports from nest recorders in southwest England and Shropshire suggest that laying dates are not significantly different from the average. In contrast to the vole-dependent raptors like Kestrel and Barn Owl, Peregrines seem to be having an average to poor year in terms of numbers of breeding pairs and brood sizes. The wet weather in late spring may have reduced female condition, resulting in suspension of breeding and/or small clutches. Wet summers can adversely affect Peregrines by reducing prey activity levels and therefore hunting efficiency.

Swallow

Reports from 25 recorders suggest that laying is occurring a week or so earlier than last year, which is similar timing to previous warm years, such as 2011, and within typical levels of annual variation. As with Reed Warblers, the odd early attempt was noted: John Lloyd in Carmarthernshire recorded his first April eggs in 40 years of monitoring. A reasonably early start bodes well for repeat broods this year, so long as there isn't prolonged heavy rain, which can prevent birds hunting for airbourne insects. Large clutch sizes have also been reported this season.

Reed Warbler

This long-distance migrant rarely gets going before May - there are only 11 Reed Warbler nest records with April laying dates out of an NRS dataset of 10,000 - but this season several nests with eggs in April have been monitored by recorders in south Wales, Avon and Norfolk. However, it appears that these few early nesting attempts, enabled by warm weather stimulating good, early reed growth, were followed by a delay of 1-2 weeks before the main body of birds began laying at the normal time. This may have been due to delays on passage caused by cold, wet weather in southern France and Spain. BirdTrack data show that the timing of arrival in the UK was similar to recent years, from the second week of April onwards.

The peak breeding period for Reed Warbler, a long-distance migrant, begins in mid-May and finishes at the end of July. A pair will have 1-2 broods a year. Photo by John Harding

Blue Tit

Last season was one of the latest for nesting Blue Tit since the mid-1960s. From early reports this season, however, it appears this is one of the earliest on record, with laying 2-3 weeks earlier than normal. Andy Turner in Oxfordshire recorded a mean first egg date of 9th April, almost a month earlier than 2013 (6th May). Clutch sizes appear to have been average to below average - this could be down to high adult abundance, and therefore competition, following the good survival prospects over the 2013/14 warm winter. However, warmer springs also tend to be poor for productivity as, although birds advance their laying, caterpillars advance emergence by a greater amount, therefore reducing the synchrony between demand from chicks and availability of insect food. Moreover, the recent wet weather appears to have had a negative impact on chick survival - wet summers in general are problematic as they wash much of the insect food from the canopy.

Long-tailed Tit

Despite the warm weather in February and March, reported laying dates this season are close to the average, if towards the early end, with most clutches being built between late March and mid April. The wet weather in late winter may have delayed breeding somewhat if it meant that females struggled to find food and began the season in poor condition. Preliminary reports from ringers suggest that numbers of fledglings are much higher this season compared to 2013, which was particularly poor for Long-tailed Tit, owing to the very low temperatures in late winter and early spring. Warm, dry weather benefits fledgling survival as small birds can chill easily when wet.

Long-tailed Tit is one of our earliest breeders, typically laying from late March until early May. They only have one brood per year, although may relay if the first fails. Photo by Elspeth Rowe

Many thanks indeed to

Alan Ball, Bob Sheppard & Keith Bowden, James Anderson, Steve Baines, Tim Ball, Batty and Bateman, Phil Belman, BIAZA Nest Recording Project, Derek & Mary Bickerton, Rorger Bird, Bristol Naturalists Society, Paul Cammack, Steve Carter, Barry Caudwell, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Charnwood Ringing Group, Michael Colquhoun, Brenda Cook, Simon Cox, Ruth Croger, Crombie Country Park, Cwm Clydach RSPB Reserve, Robert Danson, Chris Dee, Richard Denyer, Derek Holman, Karl Ivens and Andy Glover, Thomas Dewdney, Ed Drewitt, David Dutton, East Dales Ringing Group, Chris Evans, Mark Fletcher, Jeremy Gates, Adrian George, Steve Gray, Philip Hanmer, David Harazny, Ian Hartley, John High, Kenneth Hindmarch, Peter Holmes, Mike Hounsome, Michael Hunt, Cynthia Hyde, Iain Inglis, Peter Johnson, Kelvin Jones, Tom Kittle, Lancaster & District Birdwatching Society, John Lawton Roberts, Alan Levitt, Jerry Lewis, John Lloyd, Garth Lowe, John Mark, Frank Mawby, Philip May, Kevin May, Michael McDowall, David Mckee, Merseyside Ringing Group, Minsmere RSPB Reserve, Colin Moody, Gerald Murphy, Mervyn Needham, Ian Nicholson, North Cotswold OS, North-west Norfolk Ringing Group, NT Farne Islands, Parc Natur Penglais Support Group, Keith Parkes, Pinley Abbey Nature Reserve, Pitsford Reservoir, Andrew Ramsay, Derek Robertson, Paul Robinson, Peter Rose, Paul Roughley, RSPB Fowlmere, RSPB Grange Farm, Salisbury Plain MOD Conservation Group, Malcolm Samuels, Robin Scott, Keith Seaton, Dave Short, Shropshire Peregrine Group, Doug Simpson, Judith Smith, Sorby Breck Ringing Group, South Derbyshire (Souder) Ringing Group, South Devon Nestbox Group, South East Cheshire Ornithological Society, South West Lancashire Ringing Group, South West Peregrine Group, Derek Spooner, Ian Standivan, Suffolk Community Barn Owl Project, Tay Ringing Group, Simon Taylor, Roger Taylor, John Thompson, Treswell Wood IPM Group, Andy Turner, Stephanie Tyler, David Warden, Barrie Watson, Waveney Ringing Group, Denise Wawman, West Midland Bird Club, West Midland Bird Club Boddenham, Williams and Tabor, Wirral Barn Owl Trust, Ian Wrisdale

Late brood

Time is ticking

For many birds, this years nesting season has been hampered with wet weather and low temperatures. As a result, some have been recorded nesting later than they would normally.

On 2 October we received an email from Linda Adam in Devon, who still had a pair of Swallows feeding a brood of chicks! The nest records database shows that of the 45,000 Swallow nest records collected since 1939, only 16 have still had chicks in the nest in October. So this is indeed a very late brood!

Luckily a local ringer Nick Ward was on hand to inspect and ring these chicks, which have now fledged. They will have to gain weight and refine their flying skills quickly before heading south with the other Swallows that are now migrating to South Africa.

Northumbria Swallow roost

Richard Barnes writes:

Northumbria Ringing Group have attempted to catch Swallows at a roost in reedbeds at Birtley Sewage Works in Gateshead since 2006, and up to 2011 have caught almost 5500 birds.

This year, a combination of an easily netted roost site and suitable weather conditions have allowed 9 visits to be made to the roost, resulting in catches of between 205 to 637 birds, giving a total of almost 3500.

In 2010 a Swallow turned up in a mist net on the adjacent CES site bearing a South African ring,  having been ringed in Zambia on 23 Nov 2009. Only 25 Swallows have been caught in Britain or Ireland wearing a South African ring, and on 22 September 2012 we caught another one!

A selection of recoveries of Swallows that were ringed by Northumbria Ringing Group are mapped below (double click to zoom in) but not those recovered by Northumbria Ringing Group and ringed elsewhere.


View Swallow recoveries for Northumbria Ringing Group in a full screen map

Thanks to Linda Adam and Richard Barnes for letting us know and to John Harding for the photo.

Strange Swallow

Ringers are well aware that unusual bird movements or bird moult can hint at something yet to be discovered. While ringing in his Nottinghamshire garden Adrian Blackburn has caught over 700 Swallows this year, with most of them being juveniles but with some adults also. One of these was wearing a Spanish ring but more interestingly one bird seemed to be both adult and juvenile at first glance.

Juvenile Swallow

Unfortunately this Swallow was unringed (so origin unknown) but the most remarkable thing about this bird is that it was a juvenile that was going through its main moult into adult plumage, and replacing its wing feathers! British Swallows normally do this in Africa so a bird moulting in Nottinghamshire is was very unusual. The 'old' juvenile wing and tail feathers were much browner compared to the new growing feathers and this hints that this bird has been in a sunny location so unlikely to be in Nottinghamshire.

Swallow with older brown feathers and new blue feathers

Could this bird have hatched in Iberia and moved North to the UK instead of South to Africa (similar to reverse migration) or did this bird hatch in the far North and started moult before reaching its wintering grounds? Hopefully this bird will be captured again by a ringer further on in its journey and start to answer some of these questions.

Swallow tails with older feathers but replaced blue rump feathers

Thanks to Adrian Blackburn for letting us know and for the photos.

10 Millionth Milestone continued...

Back in Feburary we posted a story regarding a Swallow that was the 10 millionth record to be added into the EURING databank (click here to read that post) .

This female Swallow was ringed on 16 April 2011 in Malta, while on passage and was later caught by another ringer in Raby, Czech Republic on 19 Jun 2011. She would have then travelled to South Africa for the winter, and we have just heard that this bird is now back at her breeding site in the Czech Republic!

Current reports of Swallow breeding success in the UK have not been good so far this year. Growth of chicks has been slower than normal and some failed attempts have been reported, especially during the wet and stormy weather. Hopefully the latter half of summer will be more benificial to Swallows.

Thanks to Dick Jeeves for the photo.

Return of the Hirundo

Seeing the first Swallow of the year is always a very welcome sight and they are now begining to increase in numbers in Britain and Ireland. To see the current situation see the birdtrack Swallow page.

After having a Swallow from Retford reported in South Africa in a previous post, I didn't think we'd get any more interesting recoveries of Swallows...I was wrong. This morning we received an email from our colleagues at Birdlife Malta regarding two Swallows their ringers had caught wearing BTO rings.


The Swallows were caught at Ghadira Nature Reserve, Mellieha (blue pin). One bird, X861373 (red pin), was caught last night 09 April 2012, and was ringed as a juvenile on 07 August 2009 near Boughton, Stoke Ferry, Norfolk (2144km). They also managed to catch L486230 this morning 10 April 2012, which was ringed as juvenile on 31 August 2010 at Westwick, near Bishop Monkton, North Yorkshire (2408km).


View Malta Swallow in a larger map

Malta has been quite a hostile environment for birds and we have received very few recoveries from here. This will be the 24th and 25th report of a British or Irish ringed bird of any species reported in Malta and the first ever Swallows! A Malta ringed Swallow was controlled in Starbotton, North Yorkshire on 20 August 1982 but nothing since.

These Swallows were caught in a roost of about 150 birds so fingers crossed a few of their ringed birds get controlled in Britain or Ireland this summer.

Thanks to Jill Pakenham for the photo.

10 Millionth Milestone

The British and Irish ringing scheme is part of a much wider group of ringing schemes across Europe called the European Union for Bird Ringing (EURING), which was formed nearly 50 years ago. EURING encourages co-operation, common standards and data exchange across Europe.

The EURING databank is currently located at the BTO and its purpose is to collate information on bird demography. This makes data much more accessible for scientific studies. It holds records dating back over 100 years, covering 552 different bird species.


A female Swallow, ringed in Malta (blue pin) has now become famous after being the 10 millionth entry into the EURING databank. It was ringed on 16 April 2011 during passage, and was caught by another ringer during routine ringing operations on 19 June 2011 in Raby, Czech Republic (red pin)!


Recent studies using the EURING data have examined flyways, migratory divides, connectivity, irruption, evolution, phenological changes, moult migration, dispersal of sedentary species and birds as vectors of diseases. Other studies have focussed on survival, mortality, habitat use and population trends.

For more information on EURING see their website.

Thanks to George H Higginbotham for the photo.

African Swallow Roost

What best to celebrate the turn of the Equionox than the recovery of a UK ringed swallow in South Africa! Andrew Pickels controlled this bird on the 30th of November in Umzumbe (in the area of Southern Kwazulu Natal), his ringing patch where he rings at a roost 2-3 times a week. This year the Umzumbe roost hosted an impressive 1-1.5 million swallows. Fittingly, the controlled swallow had been ringed by North Notts Ringing Group on the 16th of September in Retford - very close to where Andrew himself was born.

We believe that now all the UK's migrant birds have reached their furthest wintering destinations in the African continent. Of course, we are so pleased to hear that all five cuckoos tracked by BTO are alive in or close to the Congo Basin, and we also have news of other controlled birds in The Gambia (a blog post to come about this shortly - watch this space!)


To find out more about Umzumbe and about Andrew's ringing activities visit his own blog http://barbetbirding.blogspot.com/. Thanks to Andrew for controlling the bird and for sharing the story and his photographs with us. Merry Christmas everybody and thank you for reading!

Swallow marathon and recorder movements

Ringing never ceases to surprise you. In a recent batch of recoveries reported via www.ring.ac two reports caught my eye:

A Swallow, ring number P768667, ringed as a juvenile in August 2002 at Icklesham, Sussex, was found on 23 April 2010 ( 7 years 4 months later) in Pulborough, Sussex freshly dead under a nest in the barn where it has probably been nesting every year since it first took to the wing back in 2002.


As we know Swallows from UK winter in South Africa so this bird has flown around 64,000km in its lifetime, pretty impressive!

A young American from Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, USA, took a backpacking trip recently which included stopping in Dublin, Eire. Whilst walking in the Park in Dublin City she happened to spot a Robin and managed to read part of the metal ring and record the colour rings on its other leg, she also took some photos. We managed to trace the bird, ring V091085, and it was ringed as a juvenile in November 2006 in Dublin City. So whilst this bird has lead a fairly sedentary life so far, the finder has certainly travelled some distance to record one of the BTO's ringed birds!!

Posted on behalf of Bridget Griffin, Ringing Data Manager and photo by Edmund Fellowes

South African Swallows...

...well actually perhaps 'our' Swallows in South Africa, but that's semantics!

We were contacted recently by ringers in Soutn Africa who have been ringing a large Swallow roost in the Durbanville area of the Cape (red marker on the map below). At last count they'd caught around 1500 birds and had 5 controls - four British and one Spanish. We'll keep the blog updated as and when they get more controls, but so far:


View South African Swallows in a larger map

Thanks to Lee Silks for keeping us up to date with the roost catches.

Belated Broods?

Every year we receive a few reports of late broods in September and October. However this year, we seem to be getting ten times as many! Even now in October, House Martins and Swallows are still feeding their young in the nest. Surely such late fledging must be costly for post juvenile survival- especially during their migration back to Africa!


However, it's not just Hirundines which have been making the most of the mild weather. Redpoll, Meadow Pipit, Goldfinch, Blackbird and Bullfinch are just some of the species which have continued to breed late on in the season. BTO ringers have reported an incredible number of young birds still undergoing their post juvenile moult.

The BIG question- Is this an abnormal year or will climate change make this a more regular occurrence?

Thanks to all BTO nest recorders and ringers, and thanks to John Harding for the photo.

More bizarre nest sites

Following on from the railway Oystercatcher, a couple of other bizarre nests have come to light this week...

Just last weekend I was shown this Blackbird which is nesting in a coiled up hosepipe right out in the open on the side of a house in Skegness. The female seems quite happy there, and tolerates regular trips to the garage!


Also in Lincolnshire is this Robin family. The nest is just two 2 ft from the back door of the house, where the comings and goings of the adults are regularly watched by 5 english setters. After years of not being used, as soon as the box acquired a decorative Kingfisher, the birds moved in!


Since 2005 this Swallow has chosen to nest on top of a motorbike wheel in a barn in Hoylake, Wirral. They've successfully raising chicks in all five years, with 20 raised so far.


Thanks to John Elliott for the Swallow photo, Keith Bowden for the Robin photo, and Mick Briggs for showing me the Blackbird.