First Tawny owl nestbox

 I finally decided to try and make a Tawny owl nestbox. In the last month, I've managed to assemble 20 nestboxes for Tits/Flycatchers, but my brother convinced me that I should try to construct a bigger next box for Tawny owls or Barn owls.

I checked some articles and videos describing how to make a proper Tawny owl nest box, but I mainly follow the RSPB scheme and tips. It took me more than one week to finish it because I can only spare a few hours after work. 

The entrance is 20x20cm, the depth of the next box is 60cm and in general, the next box is well insolated so I assume I've covered the main requirements. The main problem that I can think of is that the middle of February probably is quite late in the season for me to expect a Tawny owl pair using it for this season.

In any case, I intend on making more boxes for next year, because of the lack of natural tree holes and suitable nest sites in the area.

Of course, I'll be very happy if someone can give me some advice on how to make the next one better.

Attaching the nest box

Highlights from January 2022

 For the first time in the last 10 years, I was able to spend more time ringing in January. The species composition is quite different from what I'm used to.

The highlights for this month are the two Fieldfares (Turdus pilaris) that I've ringed. Those are my first Fieldfares (for this site and in general) so you can imagine the levels of adrenaline and joy that I had.

I hope I'll have time in February as well so I could try and ring a few more of those beautiful northern visitors. For now no sign of Redwing, but there is still time.

Here are the totals for January and a few photos(and a video) of the highlights:

Middle Spotted Woodpecker - 1

Sombre Tit - 3

Blue Tit - 8

Great Tit - 37

Long-tailed Tit - 1

Firecrest - 2

Goldcrest - 1

Nuthatch - 2

Fieldfare - 2

Tree Sparrow - 5

Yellowhammer - 3

Sombre tit

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Middle-spotted woodpecker

Goldcrest

Firecrests

2021 Totals

 The new year is upon us and it's time to analyze the results and achievements. For me personally, this was the most successful year in terms of the number of ringed birds and new species.

In this post, I'll include only the bird ring at my usual site in NW Bulgaria.

Most of the ringing was during the autumn migration, but I also put some effort into nest monitoring/ringing which gave good results(compared to previous years). Unfortunately, my nestboxes had very low success and I couldn't ring any Semicollared flycatchers (Ficedula semitorquata).

Species

S.atricapilla - 294

T.merula - 88

E. rubecula - 41

Ph. trochilus - 38

L. collurio - 26

P. caeruleus - 22

P.major - 21

A. trivialis - 21

A. caudatus - 16

T. philomelos - 15

S. curruca - 13

P.lugubris - 12

S. borin - 11

S.communis - 9

L. megarhynchos - 9

Ph. sibilatrix - 8

C.coccothraustes - 6

S. europaea - 5

E.citrinella - 5

Ph.collybita - 5

F.coelebs - 5

P. palustris - 5

C. chloris - 5

M. striata - 5

D. minor - 2

M. apiaster - 2

Ph. phoenicurus - 2

H. icterina - 1

O. scops - 1

D. major - 1

R. ignicapilla - 1

T. troglodytes - 1

A. schoenobaenus - 1

Total: 691

Species: 33

In the pictures below you can see the highlights of 2021.

I wish you all very successful 2022!

Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)

Turdus philomelos nest

Sitta europaea nest

Turdus merula nest

Male Turdus merula

Otus scops

Otus scops

Fringilla coelebs nest

Turdus philomelos hatchling

Parus lugubris hatchling

Coccothraustes coccothraustes hatchling

Cyanistes caeruleus nest

Sylvia atricapilla nest

Alauda arvensis nest

Emberiza cirlus nest

Lanius collurio nest

Sylvia atricapilla hatchlings

Lanius collurio nest

Sylvia atricapilla nest

Sylvia atricapilla hatchlings

Lanius collurio hatchling

Lanius collurio hatchings

Male Lanius collurio

Phylloscopus trochilus and Phylloscopus sibilatrix

Phylloscopus trochilus and Phylloscopus sibilatrix

Muscicapa striata

Phylloscopus sibilatrix

Birds ready to be processed

Male Sylvia atricapilla with very pale plumage

Male Sylvia atricapilla with very pale plumage

Merops apiaster

Merops apiaster

Erithacus rubecula

Muscicapa striata with strangely colored legs

Regulus ignicapilla

Troglodytes troglodytes

Parus major

Male Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Emberiza citrinella

Chloris chloris

2019 Highlights

 It's been a while since my last post and I once again have the motivation to catch up with my blogging.

There were many new bird ringing experiences for the past two years, but to be able to catch up, I'll make highlight posts for 2019 and 2020. And hopefully, I'll be able to make regular posts this year.

The most important news is that in 2019 we've started a bird ringing camp at the Durankulak late (NE Bulgaria). The first two seasons of the camp proved to be very successful in terms of interesting species,  total ringed birds, and new volunteers.

I'll make a more detailed post about the camp, but if you want to learn more, check out the Facebook page of the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp.

In 2019 we've managed to ring more than 9000 birds at the camp!

Also in 2019, I've managed to make a good amount of nestboxes and made some ringing of hatchlings in them. 

Check out the highlight photos from 2019:

Sitta europea

Poecile lugubris

Passer domesticus

Poecile palustris

Some of the nestboxes that I've made in 2019

Turdus philomelos

Fringilla coelebs

Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Parus major hatchlings

Parus major hatchlings

Poecile palustris hatchlings

Dendrocopos minor

Parus major hatchling

Alcedo atthis ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Acrocephalus melanopogon ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Acrocephalus melanopogon ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Acrocephalus melanopogon ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Panurus biarmicus ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Ficedula parva ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Luscinia svecica ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Luscinia svecica ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Regulus ignicapilla ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Regulus regulus ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Emberiza schoeniclus ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Troglodytes troglodytes ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp

Carduelis carduelis ringed at the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp