An Inspirational new member to our team

Last Thursday members of Northants Ringing Group assembled at Storton’s Nature reserve to conduct some ringing.

Ringing on the south side of the reed bed, the aim being to catch summer migrants as Storton’s hosts many species of summer visitors and possibly the Savi’s Warbler that had caused such a stir over the last couple of days.

We were joined that morning by our young trainee Henry Day and his mum Sophie.
Henry had come along to one of Northants Ringing Group’s taster ringing sessions in late 2025.

He was not old enough to take up ringing, but came along with his mum to experience a session, and see if bird ringing was an option for him.

It became apparent during our initial meeting that Henry was going to take to ringing like a duck to water.

As soon as he was old enough, he applied for his training licence and has attended a number of full ringing sessions at Storton’s, under the supervision of licenced trainer Chris Payne.

Henry spent the morning leaning how to handle and ring  a variety of birds including: Blackcap, Chiffchaf, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Robin and Blue Tit.

Henry has thrived under Chris’s guidance, and he will continue to gain experience at various ringing sites throughout the county.

Henry is a prolific creator of wildlife videos tailored to the younger generation. His YouTube channel  https://www.youtube.com/NaturetasticWH  hosts around 73 videos which is quite impressive for someone his age.

His efforts on social media has also earned him a role as a Junior Ambassador for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust. 

Henry was recently promoting 30 Days Wild on the BBC Breakfast sofa and explained very confidently what the project was all about.

In addition, Henry recently visited the Sand Martin bank at  https://www.wildlifebcn.org   Summer Leys Nature Reserve and filmed the Sand Martins as they flew in and out of the bank, building their nests.

This short film was featured in a recent episode of BBC Springwatch.

When watching Henry promoting various events and projects or telling us about the amazing wildlife in our area, one wonders if he will emulate one of our previous trainees.

Many years ago, we were joined by a young man who wanted to expand his ringing experience, prior to going to university.

That young man was Hamza Yassin who has become an outstanding wildlife photographer and presenter, and now has sell-out talks at venues across the country.

We look forward to many more visits from Henry, a great addition to our Ringing Group.

Woughton Orchard Demonstration

 On Saturday 9th May Northants Ringing Group members, led by Kenny Cramer, gave a demonstration at Woughton Orchard.

The group normally participates in the Orchard Apple Day in the autumn, when thrushes are more abundant, feeding on the windfalls but this year a Spring Fair was also held.

The narrative below, and the pictures, have been supplied by Kenny Cramer.

Despite the rubbish forecast earlier in the week, we were treated to a gloriously warm and sunny day, with the only slight complaint being the moderate breeze which kept the nets moving a bit. (We ringers are never satisfied!!!)

We arrived at the luxurious time of 10:30am and got busy setting nets, or at least, the only nets I actually remembered to bring which were the two for The Beast. While Jasper dutifully drove back to the house to get the rest of the nets, I took the team on a short tour of the site, and we were treated to a brief glimpse of the family of very small fox cubs that have been lurking around the bottom one of the net rides. We then set about erecting the canopy net and no sooner had we left it, it started catching birds. By this time Jasper got back with the rest of the nets and the next hour was a blur of setting up and extraction. After this small set back, we sat down with our first handful of birds, a good hour before the event was due to open to the public. Before long the punters started to trickle through, and the birds pretty much did the same.

Group members relax between net rounds.

 By the end we had amassed a total of 35 birds of 11 species, with just 6 retraps from previous years. Unsurprisingly tits dominated the day, but in amongst them was a long-tailed tit originally ringed in 2022, making it at least 4 years old. Greenfinches were also present in good numbers with 6 birds receiving rings, the first we have encountered here since 2022, and 3 of which were this year's youngsters - the first we have seen. A magpie was a feisty addition to the day (sadly before we had any spectators to show its beautiful iridescent plumage to), and having only had one previous blackcap in the orchard, it was nice to add three more to the total.

Star birds of the day were a garden warbler and a lesser whitethroat, both new species for the site. We should probably also give an honourable mention to the parakeets for NOT going in the nets!

 

Lesser Whitethroat.

Overall, it was a rather nice, relaxing afternoon without too many birds, or too many people, and the people we did encounter seemed genuinely engaged and fascinated by the process.

 

Engaging with some of the younger visitors.

Species caught (figures in brackets denote Retraps – birds ringed previously).

Great Tit 5 Blackcap 3 Blue Tit 8 (3) Magpie 1 Greenfinch 6 Long-tailed Tit (2)
Lesser Whitethroat 1 Dunnock (1) Garden Warbler 1 Blackbird 1

BTO ANNUAL CONFERENCE 28th February 2026

Several Northants Ringing Group members (and indeed Northants Bird Club members too) attended the British Trust for Ornithology 2026 Conference held at the Mercure Hotel in central Northampton.

Delegates were welcomed with coffee and pastries in the foyer in time for a 10am start to the day’s programme which proved both varied and interesting – something for everyone – from a report on the study of the disease that is causing the decline in Blackbirds to tracking and monitoring Seabirds in Scotland.

In the morning delegates heard from speakers on their work on Nightjars and wintering Gulls; and Katie Phillips from the BTO outlined the upcoming Bird Atlas 2027-31 work, for which we are all invited to sign up to undertake survey work when the time comes.

A delicious vegan hot buffet was served at lunch time during which there was plenty of time to meet friends old and new and share experiences and to visit the stands in the hall – from folk selling their beautiful art work to projects outlining their work and findings.

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Thanks to the amazing skills of John and Nick NRG had a new display-board on our stand – showcasing John Boland and the Storton team’s Water Rail Colour-ringing Project and the nest boxes (some with cameras in or near them) for birds of prey that Chris Payne makes.

After lunch the organisers trialled the ‘speed dating’ concept whereby 6 speakers each took to the stage for just 10 minutes on such subjects as Youth Engagement in the BTO, Heronries in Carmarthenshire, Birds in Green Spaces and the BTO’s various Regional Networks and Grant and Training schemes.

And then, after a short tea-break the afternoon closed with talks about the monitoring of bird populations across the Chilterns and the methods being trialled to boost threatened Curlew populations in the UK.

It was a great day for all concerned. The choice of a venue so close to home was much appreciated by NRG, but delegates from farther afield too found Northampton and its motorway and rail network nice and central to travel to.