Linacre Ringing and a new Moth!

 This morning I was down at Linacre, with 3 other members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group, for our first mist netting session since 2nd May 2026. Although it was quite quiet, with just 10 birds of 5 species, ringed, it was great to be back, and also resulted in the first juveniles of the year, 3 retraps of birds ringed previously and a new moth species for the site!

First up, the ringed birds (new/retrap): Blackcap 2/1 - the two new birds were this year's juveniles, whilst the retrap was a male bird ringed, at Linacre, as a juvenile, on 23rd August 2025, and presumably back, as a nesting bird this year (!) I wonder where it spent its first winter - Spain, Northern Africa?, Chiffchaff 2/0 - both new birds were juvenile birds, Blue Tit 1/2 - a new adult bird and two retraps, both ringed at Linacre, on 26th April and 13th July 2025 respectively, Wren 1/0 - a juvenile bird and Robin 1/0 - a 1 year old bird (age 5). Other birds seen/heard on site were Swift (5 overhead), Willow Warbler (1 singing), Garden Warbler (1 singing), Woodpigeon (dozens in the fields), Nuthatch (heard) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (heard).

Away from the birds, we also spotted a few insects: Common Blue Damselfly (1 male), Latticed Heath (1), Red Admiral (1), Cinnabar Moth (1), Painted Lady (1), Ringlet (1), Meadow Brown (1), Small White (1) and, best of all, a new moth species; Clouded Border! Details of this moth can be found on Butterfly Conservation's website  here and its status in Derbyshire here.

Clouded Border

Island Tour - Part 7 - Barranco de la Torre

 After our trip to the Molinos Reservoir, we drove across the island to Barranco de la Torre. By the time we arrived, it was 2.30pm, and quite warm, so there weren't too many birds around. We did, however, manage to add a couple of new species to the trip list.

The first birds seen were, as always, Spanish Sparrows, with many birds at the start of the Barranco (gorge), by the sea. Walking up the gorge, we had Ravens overhead, and a couple of Trumpeter Finches. We also spotted several warbler species. One was a male Sardinian Warbler, one was a Willow Warbler (new species) and the other 2/3 were Chiffchaffs (new species). A single Egyptian Vulture was seen, sitting on a nest.

On the walk back down, we spotted a new species of butterfly, when a single Plain Tiger landed briefly. A beautiful sight!

Plain Tiger

Linacre - 7th April 2026

 This morning was my first visit to Linacre since our week away. I had a walk around all three reservoirs, and added two new species to the 2026 Year List.

The first new species was Blackcap (118), with 2 birds heard singing. The second species was Willow Warbler (119), with 1 seen and heard singing in fields by the top reservoir.

Other species today were: 21 Mallard, 20 Mandarin Duck, 8 Coot (including the first nest of the year), 2 Moorhen, 62 Tufted Duck, 6 Great Crested Grebe (a pair on each reservoir), 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Cormorant, 2 Canada Goose and Pied Wagtail (1 on the muck heap by the entrance, and another, or the same bird, singing on the top reservoir.

Pied Wagtail

Later in the day, Jayne and I went back up to Barbrook Reservoir, where we spotted another Year Tick; Swallow (120), when 2 flew overhead.

Linacre WeBS and Ringing

 This week, I have been down to Linacre a couple of times to carry out this month's WeBS count and for a ringing session.

The WeBS count was as follows: Mallard (46), Tufted Duck (28 adults, no breeding again this year), Mandarin Duck (5), Coot (8; 5 adults and 3 juveniles), Moorhen (8; 5 adults and 3 juveniles),  Grey Wagtail (4), Cormorant (1), Grey Heron (1), Great-crested Grebe (4: 1 adult and 3 juveniles) and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Other birds seen were: Goldfinch, Bullfinch (heard), Robin, Dunnock, Chiffchaff, 1 Mistle Thrush, c.8 House Martins and c.20 Swallows.

The ringing session, held on 23rd, was the best one so far this year, with 80 birds ringed. Totals were (new/retrap): Chiffchaff (19/0 - all juveniles), Willow Warbler (5/0 - 4 juveniles), Blackcap (14/1 - the retrap being a juvenile first ringed here in July), Blackbird (1/0 - an adult), Blue Tit (20/1 - the retrap being a bird ringed in box c.26 on 18th May 2025), Great Tit (6/0 - all juveniles), Long-tailed Tit (1/1 - the retrap being a bird first ringed here in November 2024), Robin (2/0 - both juveniles), Wren (2/0 - 1 juvenile), Goldfinch (1/0 - 1 juvenile), Dunnock (1 juvenile) and Goldcrest (5/0 - 4 juveniles).

Other birds seen were: House Martin (c.17), Swallow (2 over) and Crossbill (10 over).

5 butterflies (3 Red Admirals, 1 Speckled Wood and 1 Painted Lady) were also seen.

Linacre Ringing - 13th July 2025

Yesterday, we had a fantastic ringing session down at Linacre, where we ringed 54 birds of 11 species, including 4 summer migrants.

Birds ringed were (new/retrap): Blackcap 15/0, 9 of which were juveniles, Chiffchaff 7/0, including 6 juveniles, Willow Warbler 1/0 (adult), Garden Warbler 1/1 ( 1 juvenile and a retrap adult, first caught at Linacre in May 2023), Blue Tit 12/1 (all juveniles, the retrap having been ringed in Box 1a on 18th May), Great Tit 9/2 ( 9 juveniles, including 1 from Box G2, ringed on 11th May), Treecreeper 1/0 (juvenile), Nuthatch 1/0 (adult), Bullfinch 1/0 (adult), Wren 1/0 (juvenile) and Robin 1/0 (juvenile).

Linacre WeBS and Insects

 This month's WeBS count took place yesterday, and whilst there, a few butterflies, 1 species of moth and two damselfly species were also recorded.

Birds seen were: Mallard (38; 36 adults and 2 ducklings), Mandarin Duck (11 adults and 2 ducklings), Tufted Duck (25 adults), Coot (21 birds; 11 adults and 10 young), Moorhen (4 adults), Great-crested Grebe (7 adults and 8 young), Grey Heron (1 young bird), Grey Wagtail (2), Chiffchaff (4 singing), Blackcap (2 singing), Garden Warbler (1 singing), Willow Warbler (1 singing), Swallow (4 juveniles feeding over the top reservoir), Swift (1 - the first Linacre record of 2025!), Skylark (1 singing), Stock Dove (heard), Lesser Black-backed Gull (2 adults) and 3 Racing/Feral Pigeons (complete with rings), drinking in the bottom reservoir.

Racing Pigeon

The butterflies seen were: Ringlet (12 - the highest ever count?), Speckled Wood (3), Comma (2), Meadow Brown (7), a white butterfly, possibly Small White, and a Small Skipper (1st record since 2023).

Small Skipper

The two damselfly species seen were: Common Blue (c.6), and, the best by far, a female Banded Demoiselle - my first female at this site.

Banded Demoiselle (female)

Other species seen were 1 Myathropa florea (hoverfly), Harlequin Ladybirds, 1 Latticed Heath (moth) and a single Brown Hare.

Linacre - 19th April 2025

 I had a couple of hours at Linacre this afternoon. It was 15 degrees, but overcast and a few sunny spells. Despite this, I managed to record a few hoverflies (including a new species for Linacre!!) and a very late record of 4 breeding-plumaged Black-headed Gulls! 

The new hoverfly was a tiny thing (!) called Meliscaeva cinctella. It is a widespread species, throughout the UK, but, this is my first record for Linacre, so pretty chuffed to have found it. Here it is. to other hoverflies were also photographed, both identified to Syrphus sp.

Meliscaeva cinctella

Birdwise, it was quite quiet, but I did record singing Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Wren and Robin. On the water there were: 6 Mandarins (5males and 1 female), Mallard (c.20), Tufted Duck (c.15), Coot (first 2 nests of the year), Moorhen (2), Lesser Black-backed Gull (15; 9 over and 6 on the water), Herring Gull (3 adults) and 3 Cormorants (1 adult and 2 immatures).

Cormorant (adult)

Cormorant (1st summer?)

New Forest, Poole Harbour and RSPB Arne

 After our visit to Salisbury, Jayne and I spent the next four days in The New Forest and Poole Harbour/Swanage area. Whilst there we added 9 more species to the Year List.

Our first new bird was House Martin (139), which was seen around our accommodation in Fordingbridge. Firecrest (140) was added during a walk in Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary in The New Forest, as was Willow Warbler (141).

Firecrest

On 9th, we had a 3 hour cruise with Birds of Poole Harbour, where we managed to see 3 Spoonbills (142), 2 distant Ospreys (143), and, best of all, amazing views of a female White-tailed Eagle (144).

WT Eagle G466

The White-tailed Eagle that we saw was a female, G466, that was translocated from The Isle of Skye into the Isle of Wight in 2020 by the Roy Dennis Foundation. She has been settled in this area, with a male bird, G463. See details here. Whilst on the trip, we also saw Black-headed, Great Black-backed, Herring and Mediterranean Gulls, Black-tailed Godwits, a Spotted Redshank, Redshank, Great-crested Grebes, Curlew, Lapwing, Canada, Greylag and an Egyptian Goose, 3 Little Ringed Plovers (145) and Sandwich Terns (146). 

Our last addition to the Year List was Dartford Warbler (147) that was seen on Hyde's Heath at RSPB Arne. Unfortunately, no photos, as the two birds we saw, decided to keep low down in the gorse, to avoid the attention of a pair of Stonechats!

Linacre Birds and Ringing - 2 new species!

 Last week, 9th and 11th, I had my first walk and ringing session at Linacre since returning from holiday (more of that in future posts). 

On the 9th, I had a walk around the bottom and middle reservoirs. The top reservoir is still closed off, due to ongoing work on the boardwalk. The following birds were seen/heard, numbers are quite low, due to having no access to the top reservoir: Stock Dove (2), Great Crested Grebe (7; 2 adults and 2 broods of 2 and 3 juveniles), Mallard (106), Tufted Duck (8 adults, no juveniles yet this year), Mandarin Duck (17 adults), Moorhen (7 birds; 6 adults and 1 chick), Coot (2 adults), Cormorant (1), Grey Wagtail (2 juveniles), Grey Heron (3), Lesser Black-backed Gull (9; 3 adults and 6 juveniles)  and House Martin (heard). Because there are works ongoing on the top reservoir, the water levels are lower than normal. As a result, there is more mud exposed, and this has lead to a first record of a Redshank.

The ringing session took place on Sunday 11th. 5 members of Sorby Breck Group ringed 43 birds of 12 species, including a brand new species: Linnet! The Linnet, 11 in total, were part of a much larger flock of between 50 -100, that have been feeding in the neighbouring fields to the ringing site. Hopefully, they'll hang around for the winter!

Totals for the morning were: Linnet 11/0 (all juveniles), Blackcap 3/0 (all juveniles), Willow Warbler 3/0 (1 adult and 2 juveniles), Chiffchaff 3/0 (all juveniles), Garden Warbler 1/0 (juvenile), Great Tit 4/0 (1 adult and 3 juveniles), Blue Tit 3/2 (2 adults and 3 juveniles), Robin 2/1 (all juveniles), Wren 2/0 (1 adult and 1 juvenile), Dunnock 2/0 (1 adult and 1 juvenile), Chaffinch 5/0 (all juveniles, feeding with the Linnet flock) and Great-spotted Woodpecker 1/0 (1 juvenile).

Linacre Update - 11th May 2024

 Yesterday morning I went down to Linacre to carry out this month's WeBS count, and to catch up with the nestboxes.

The WeBS count was, as usual for May, quite quiet, with the following birds recorded: Mallard (46 birds; 32 adults and 14 ducklings - 4 broods of 5, 5, 3 and 1), Tufted Duck (4!), Grey Wagtail (2; 1 male and 1 female), Grey Heron (1), Coot (5 adults), Moorhen (4 adults) and Mandarin Duck (10).

The nestboxes, on the other hand, were much more exciting! I found our first full clutches Pied Flycatcher eggs of the year (2 nests, each containing 5 eggs). Another 2 singing males were also heard away from these boxes, so I'm keeping everything crossed for further nests. The Coal Tit and Wren nests were still going strong, and the first Blue Tit chicks of the year had hatched. In total, we now have 43 active nests on site - a very good year! Other birds recorded around the site were 3 Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaffs and 1 singing Garden Warbler.

On Thursday, I was also on site, with Chloe, to ring the adult Mandarin Duck that is nesting on site. This year, we also added a colour ring, so hopefully, we'll get some more sightings of her.

Mandarin Duck "HA"

Last, but by no means least, I also managed to spot a few insects: 2 female Orange Tips, 1 Green-veined White, 1 Helophilus pendulus, 1 Common Carder Bumblebee, 1 Red-tailed Bumblebee and 1 Hairy Shieldbug.

Year List Update - 7th April 2024

 It's been a few weeks since I updated the "Year List", and, since then, I've added a few new species.

First was the Ring-necked Parakeet (132). This was first seen in Didsbury Park, Manchester, when 2 were spotted. The next species, Blackcap (133), was added last Sunday, when 1 was ringed at The Avenue in Chesterfield. Bird number 134, Willow Warbler, was heard at Linacre, while 135 was a Barnacle Goose, a feral bird seen in London on Thursday. The final three species seen at Linacre this week, were: Swallow (136 - first seen on 6th, and then c.10 seen today), House Martin (137 - c.20 feeding over the middle reservoir, in rain, today) and Sand Martin (138 - c.5/6 feeding with the Swallows and House Martins today).

Linacre WeBS - 6th April 2024

 The second visit to Linacre this week was this morning, when I carried out this month's WeBS count. It was 13 degrees when I arrived at 7am, and this had risen to 17 degrees (!) by the time I left at 9am.

In the two hours that I was there the following waterbirds were seen: Mallard (47), Tufted Duck (17), Mandarin (12), Canada Geese (2), Mute Swan (1 - 6Y24), Moorhen (10), Coot (4), Cormorant (1), Great-crested Grebe (6; 3 pairs, 1 on each reservoir) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (4).

Mandarin Duck

Lots of birds were singing in the sunshine, including 8 Chiffchaffs, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Blackcap 1 Skylark and 3 Song Thrushes. Other birds seen were: Sparrowhawk (1 high over the woodlands), 3 Stock Doves and my first Swallow of the year (hurrah!).

Linacre 2nd April 2024

 This week, I've managed a couple of trips to Linacre, recording my first butterflies of 2024 and a few more summer migrants.

Tuesday's visit (2nd) was warm and sunny (13 degrees), so I managed to see a couple of Peacock butterflies and 2 Dark-edged Bee Flies.

Peacock

Bee Fly

Other insects seen were: Common Carder and Buff-tailed Bumblebees and several  Eristalis hoverflies.

Birds seen were: 6 singing Chiffchaffs, 1 Willow Warbler (1st of the year), 1 Blackcap (first of the year), 1 Mute Swan (6Y24), 2 Greylag Geese (1st record of 2024), 6 Canada Geese (3 pairs), singing Skylark, Green Woodpecker (heard), Goosander (1 redhead),  1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Buzzard and a singing Grey Wagtail (wearing a ring).

Grey Wagtail

Linacre - 31st August 2023

 It was the last day of meteorological summer yesterday, and I had 3 hours down at Linacre. There were several species of butterfly and dragonfly around, a new record count of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and amazing views of a Common Lizard.

Butterflies seen were: Speckled Wood (7), Large White (1), Green-veined White (2), Red Admiral (1), and Small Copper (1). There were dozens of hoverflies, including a sing Myathropa florea ("Batman" hoverfly), Eristalis sp and Syrphus sp. Other insects seen were: Bronze Shieldbug (1, my first Linacre record), 3 Hornets (my highest ever count), a single male Common Blue Damselfly, Migrant Hawker (5; including a pair in tandem) and Brown Hawker (2).

Bronze Shieldbug

Holly Blue

Birdwise, it was quite quiet, but I did hear a single Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler (both singing), two Ravens, over the top reservoir, two Buzzards, again over the top reservoir, Moorhens, Coots, Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Mandarin Ducks, a juvenile Robin and Dunnock and, as previously mentioned, a record count of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (36, made up of 31 adults and 5 juveniles.)

Robin (juvenile)

The final sighting of the visit was a super Common Lizard that was basking on the wall by the boardwalk around the top reservoir. This is a species that is recorded annually at Linacre, and is my second record of 2023. The views that this individual, however, are my best ever! One of the defence mechanisms of this species, is to drop its tail if a predator attacks. As you can see from the picture, this individual has regrown its tail after such an encounter.

Common Lizard

Derbyshire Woodcock and Nightjar - 21st June 2023

 On Wednesday, Jayne and I went out with our friend Stewart from Derbyshire Bird Tours in the search for Nightjar and Woodcock.

We met up at 8.15pm and spent the next two and a half hours up on the edge of the moors, where we had fantastic views of both these species, along with Tree Pipit, Cuckoo, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler (heard), Great Spotted Woodpecker , Tawny Owl (heard) and Linnet.

Year list update: 169 - Woodcock

Linacre - 6th April 2023

 After a short drive to a site in Nottinghamshire to see breeding plumaged Black-necked Grebes (124) (7 birds seen) and a single Little Ringed Plover (125), I popped into Linacre for my first visit in a few weeks.

I arrived at Linacre at 10.30am, and spent until 1.00pm on site, walking around all three reservoirs. The highlight of the visit was the 12 Chiffchaffs, 1 Blackcap and 1 Willow Warbler, that were singing. I also found my first Great-crested Grebe nest of the year (1 bird sitting, along with 2 other birds), a pair of Little Grebes, 1 Greylag Goose (my first Linacre record of 2023), 41 Mallards, 44 Tufted Ducks, 12 Coots, 8 Moorhens, 5 Mandarin Ducks, 1 Grey Wagtail, a female Goosander (late record) and 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (all feeding in the field by the main entrance - my highest ever count!).

Whilst on site, the sun came out and I managed to spot a few insects - 7 Dark-edged Bee-flies, Tree Bumblebees, Common Carder Bees, Buff-tailed Bumblebees and a Mining Bee sp.

Dark-edged Bee-fly

The sun also brought out the flowers, with Wood Anenome, Lesser Celandine, Coltsfoot, Dandelion and daisies all in bloom.

Summer Migrants Arrive

 The sun was out at Linacre this morning and so were the birds!

Between 8am and 10.30am I walked around all three Reservoirs and recorded 12 Chiffchaffs, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Willow Warblers, 1 Swallow and 1 Common Sandpiper.

Common Sandpiper (heavily cropped!)

I also had  my first April record of Herring Gull ( 1 adult - most likely from the increasing breeding population in Chesterfield), 3 Grey Wagtails, 1 Pied Wagtail, the first Mallard ducklings of the year (5 on the bottom reservoir), 1 Common Buzzard, 10 Canada Geese (highest count of the year), 6 Great-crested Grebes, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 30 Tufted Duck, 17 Coot, 13 Mandarin Duck and 7 Moorhens, including the first nest of the year. 

Linacre Ringing - 18th July 2021

Last Sunday I was down at Linacre for a mist netting session with Sorby Breck Ringing Group. It was our first session since May, and we managed to catch  a good number of birds, including our first juvenile warblers of the year.

Totals were (new/retraps): Blue Tit 0/1, Goldcrest 1/0, Great Tit 7/0 - all juveniles, Willow Warbler 2/0 - both juveniles, Chiffchaff 2/0 - both juveniles, Blackcap 6/0 - 5 juveniles, Blackbird 2/1 - 2 juveniles and an adult female, first ringed in 2019, Dunnock 1/0 - 1 juvenile and Wren 1/0 - juvenile.

Willow Warbler (juvenile)

Other birds seen whilst there were a Swift (the last record of 2021?), a Jay and a Sparrowhawk. 

The temperature was 20 degrees whilst we were there, so there were lots of insects about, including 2 Gatekeepers, 1 Brown Hawker, 2 Small Skippers, 2 Meadow Browns, 20+ Ringlets, 2 Great Pied Hoverflies and, nest of all, a single Purple Hairstreak!!!

Linacre Nestboxes - 3rd May 2021

 It's been a couple of weeks since I last checked the nestboxes at Linacre, so I popped down for a couple of hours this morning, before the rain and wind started!!

It was a mixture of good news and bad news (as is always the case with every nestbox season). The bad news was that all three owl boxes, that had been used by Mandarins this year, appear to have failed. A quick check yesterday afternoon, revealed cold, uncovered eggs and no females. The better news, however, is that this morning's tit box check revealed a total of 32 active nests, the first chicks of the year (7 Great Tits, still naked and blind, so most likely very recently hatched),  my first ever record of a Coal Tit using a nestbox, and a pair of Pied Flycatchers entering a nestbox!! In addition, the Mallard's nest with 8 eggs was empty this morning (hopefully fledged successfully), and another nest, with 6 eggs this time, was found on the floor in the woods.

Pied Flycatcher

After checking the boxes, I walked around all three reservoirs, and spotted the following waterbirds: Mallard (72; 51 adults and 21 ducklings from 4 broods of 8, 1, 5 and 7), Coot (12; 7 adults and 1 brood of 5 - first of the year), Moorhen 14; 9 adults and 1 brood of 5 - first of the year), Mandarin (7 males), Tufted Duck (30),  Canada Goose (5; 3 flew over and 2 on the top reservoir), Greylag Goose (2 on the top reservoir -  second record of the year), Great-crested Grebe (4 adults), Grey Wagtail (1), Lesser Black-backed Gull (1 adult) and  a 1st summer/2nd calendar year (born 2020) Black-headed Gull - only my second May record of this species. 2 Swallows were also seen over the top reservoir.

Black-headed Gull

Whilst on site, I also had a short time on the ringing site, where I saw a pair of Bullfinch (first Linacre record of the year!), a singing Song Thrush, 1 singing Willow Warbler, and, best of all, my first Whitethroat of the year. 

Year List update:

139 - Whitethroat

Linacre Ringing and Nest Recording

 This weekend I've had two visits to Linacre, once for the first ringing session there since September 2020, and once for the first nest box check of the year (not including the owl boxes - see here).

The ringing session, with 4 members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group, and one of the Linacre volunteer rangers, took place yesterday, from 06.15 - 09.30. In total we ringed 21 birds of 9 species. Totals were (new/retrap): Blue Tit 3/2, Great Tit 4/1, Coal Tit 2/0, Robin 3/0, Chiffchaff 1/0, Blackcap 0/1, Dunnock 1/1, Chaffinch 1/0 and Goldcrest 1/0. All the retraps were Linacre-ringed birds. The 2 Blue Tits had been ringed in June 2019 and March 2020 (just before lockdown). The Great Tit was ringed in July 2018, the Dunnock in December 2018, but, best of all, was the male Blackcap, originally ringed as an adult, in July 2016! I also found out yesterday, that a Blue Tit we originally ringed at Linacre on 16th July 2016 had been found dead (killed by a cat), 7km away, on 28th April 2020. This is the longest recovery (distance) we've had, so far.

This morning's visit was to check the nest boxes. In total there were 30 boxes in use, ranging from N1 (a nest just being started) through to sitting birds. All the boxes appeared to be tit nests, except for one Wren nest. The highlight, however, of the morning was the discovery of the year's first singing Pied Flycatcher. It was in the vicinity of a nest box, so I'm keeping everything crossed for another successful breeding season (1 successful box last year, fledged 7 young). It's still quite early in the season too, so hopefully, there could be some more birds to arrive. A female Mallard was also disturbed from a nest, 1m away from a nest box, revealing a nest with 6 eggs. As always, the results of the nests will be recorded for the BTO's Nest Record Scheme. 

Mallard nest

Whilst on site this morning, I also recorded Green Woodpecker (heard), a Mallard with 13 ducklings (the first 2021 record), Willow Warbler (1 heard by the top reservoir), Reed Bunting (one male heard singing in willows by the boardwalk), Skylark (1 singing over fields by the top reservoir), Curlew (1 heard, but not seen, from the top reservoir - my first record here since 2018) and Canada Goose (6 - my highest count of the year). The Moorhen nest on the top reservoir was empty, but no young were seen.