HawkTalk Issue 94 Summer 2023

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HAWKTALK SUMMER 2023 ISSUE 94

PROJECT MONITORING From our next boxes last year, there have been over 369 confirmed fledglings from the four species we monitor, although some chicks will have fledged before nests were rechecked or camouflaged from sight so confirmation can be tricky. As so many nest boxes need to be checked all at the same time, actual numbers of fledging chicks will be much higher! Routine checks found that some boxes had many opportunistic Stock Doves and Jackdaws nesting in them. Once they have hatched, Matt monitors the chicks in our nest boxes and carefully fits identification rings, used to individually identify each bird even after it grows up and leaves the nest. Last year he ringed over 350 chicks, bringing the total to over 3,000 individuals ringed since the project started! Matt uses blue colour rings, each with their own unique identification code, to monitor Amber-listed Kestrel numbers as part of one of our other ongoing conservation projects – the Kestrel Colour Ring and Dispersal Project. Each re-sighting of these colour helps us to estimate how many chicks have survived, and how far they have travelled. Last year we had re-sightings of these rings from as far away as Somerset, north Wiltshire and even Coventry, showing how far these Kestrels spread out after leaving the nest.

Number of chicks fledged from our nest boxes in 2022

Species Tawny Owl Barn Owl Little Owl Kestrel

Number of chicks >20 >151 >10 >188 12 >369

Total target species

Jackdaw

>11 >11

Stock Dove Great Tit

>7

Total all species

12 >398

GIVING NATURE A HELPING HAND

Alongside maintaining and monitoring our next boxes, Dr Matt Stevens is often called on for his expert advice and guidance. Earlier this year, Matt was called to the same nest three times, once in a torrential thunderstorm, to reunite young Tawny Owl chicks with their family after falling out the nest! On the third reunion, Matt decided to rig a makeshift nest made out of tyres, designed to help the chicks stay put. We’re happy to share that upon further checks, the chicks are still being cared for by the parents, and they looked nearly ready to take their first flights.

Dr Matt Stevens UK CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST