T0P HOUSE FARM RINGING REPORT FOR 2022
Sadly B.M.Baxter passed away on 8th February 2022. Bev had carried out ringing studies at Top House Farm since 2015 where he and his team of dedicated helpers have caught and ringed 15,752 birds of 64 different species.
It was the wish of both Bev and that of land owner James Hinchliffe for bird ringing to continue at Top House. And so, it does. The Top House Farm ringing team are myself, Paul Shawcroft, Rob Adams, Ron Moat and James Hinchliffe and together we managed to ring 795 birds of 35 species in 2022.
Ron and Bev were already ringing friends when I first met Bev. We both met each other way back in 1968, it was at Adwick -le-Street sewage works and he was doing what he loved best, ringing birds. I was a 14-year-old lad with a strong interest in birds and when I saw him ringing, I was instantly hooked, I knew that’s what I wanted to be, a ringer. My weekends were mapped out for me as Bev started me off on my journey to become a qualified bird ringer, the very same journey that Rob had already started. He trained both of us all those years ago, friends for life. He will be sadly missed but the many happy memories will live on.
I would like to thank James and Hinchliffe Farms for allowing ringing to be carried out on their land and thanks also to Mike Green, the sustainability manager at BASF, for their continued support for ringing at Top House Farm.
K.H.Pearson.
Bev with a very smart looking Kestrel (2011).
Retraps.
Retraps are birds re-caught after being ringed on a previous occasion. They help in indicating a birds longevity and site fidelity; which shows the area they live in is suitable to their needs for survival and to breed. They also show some migratory species are faithful to the site and of their migratory survival. They can also be an indicator as to how the farm is doing in helping to sustaining its bird life.
Birds caught on site during 2022 that were ringed here in previous years.
| Year Ringed - | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | ||||
| Wren | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Dunnock | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Robin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Blackbird | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Whitethroat | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Goldcrest | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Blue Tit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Great Tit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Chaffinch | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Goldfinch | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Yellow Hammer | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Reed Bunting | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Totals | 19 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 42 |
Recoveries & Controls
Age code symbol
| 1 | nestling or chick net yet able to fly |
| 3/3J | hatched during current calendar year, (J = juvenile body plumage) |
Manner of recovery
| R | controlled (caught and released by ringer) |
| Barn Owl | 1 | 11/06/22 | Haywood, Nr. Doncaster. S.Yorkshire | ||
| GV71474 | R | 23/08/22 | Top House Farm 20km | ||
| Sedge Warbler | 3 | 27/08/20 | Top House Farm | ||
| ARK4665 | R | 16/08/22 | Cabanot, Audenge, Gironde, France | ||
| 999km. South | |||||
| Chiffchaff | 3J | 20/06/22 | Meadow Croft Farm, Ugthorpe, N.Yorkshire | ||
| NCA541 | R | 11/09/22 | Top House Farm. | ||
| 92km. South | |||||
| Lesser Redpoll | 3 | 25/09/22 | Top House Farm. | ||
| APV3488 | R | 24/10/22 | Skipwith Common N.R. York. N.Yorkshire | ||
| 20km. N.N.West. |
Ringing Totals for 2022
| Pullus 2022 | Juv/Adult 2022 | Total 2015-2022 | |
| Lesser b.backed Gull | - | - | 2 |
| Sparrowhawk | - | 2 | 14 |
| Common Buzzard | - | 2 | 9 |
| Kestrel | - | - | 29 |
| Lapwing | 3 | - | 28 |
| Grey Partridge | - | - | 3 |
| Stock Dove | - | - | 20 |
| Wood Pigeon | - | 1 | 7 |
| Collard Dove | - | - | 10 |
| Barn Owl | 3 | 8 | 17 |
| Little Owl | - | - | 5 |
| Tawny Owl | - | - | 1 |
| Long-eared Owl | - | 2 | 3 |
| Great sp. W.pecker | - | - | 14 |
| Sky Lark | - | - | 1 |
| Swallow | - | - | 220 |
| House Martin | - | - | 1 |
| Tree Pipit | - | - | 1 |
| Meadow Pipit | - | 220 | 1311 |
| Yellow Wagtail | - | - | 13 |
| Pied Wagtail | - | - | 23 |
| Wren | - | 6 | 133 |
| Dunnock | - | 18 | 150 |
| Robin | - | 21 | 229 |
| Thrush Nightingale | - | - | 1 |
| Whinchat | - | 1 | 1 (new species) |
| Stonechat | - | 1 | 2 |
| Blackbird | - | 54 | 731 |
| Fieldfare | - | - | 77 |
| Song Thrush | - | 2 | 56 |
| Redwing | - | 17 | 1272 |
| Mistle Thrush | - | - | 29 |
| Grasshopper Warbler | - | - | 4 |
| Sedge Warbler | - | - | 58 |
| Reed Warbler | - | 1 | 43 |
| Blackcap | - | 5 | 178 |
| Garden Warbler | - | - | 6 |
| Lesser Whitethroat | - | - | 8 |
| Whitethroat | - | 11 | 665 |
| Chiffchaff | - | 12 | 162 |
| Willow Warbler | - | 2 | 252 |
| Goldcrest | - | 16 | 90 |
| Spotted Flycatcher | - | - | 1 |
| Long-tailed Tit | - | 4 | 80 |
| Blue Tit | - | 22 | 274 |
| Great Tit | - | 6 | 196 |
| Marsh Tit | - | - | 1 |
| Coal Tit | - | 1 | 6 |
| Treecreeper | - | - | 7 |
| Jay | - | - | 17 |
| Starling | - | 7 | 46 |
| House Sparrow | - | 15 | 141 |
| Tree Sparrow | - | - | 458 |
| Chaffinch | - | 34 | 901 |
| Brambling | - | 2 | 25 |
| Greenfinch | - | 18 | 1271 |
| Goldfinch | - | 133 | 3019 |
| Siskin | - | - | 11 |
| Linnet | - | 2 | 924 |
| Twite | - | - | 1 |
| Lesser Redpoll | - | 36 | 683 |
| Bullfinch | - | - | 2 |
| Yellowhammer | - | 49 | 452 |
| Reed Bunting | - | 58 | 2150 |
| Corn Bunting | - | - | 2 |
Totals |
6 |
789 |
16,547 |
Top Ten Species Ringed in 2022
| (1) Meadow Pipit | 220 | (2) Goldfinch | 133 | (3) Reed Bunting | 58 | ||
| (4) Blackbird | 54 | (5) Yellowhammer | 49 | (6) Lesser Redpoll | 36 | ||
| (7) Chaffinch | 34 | (8) Blue Tit | 22 | (9) Robin | 21 | ||
| (10) Greenfinch | 18 | (10) Dunnock | 18 |
Long-eared Owl
Barn Owl
Sparrowhawk
Common Buzzard
Whinchat
Stonechat
