Squabs

On Monday evening my trainer, Paul Noakes and I went out to check a couple of Barn Owl boxes and ring some swallow pulli in his neighbour's kennel. After coming to the conclusion that either our knocking wasn't loud enough or the neighbour wasn't around we went to check the first of the boxes. In one barn with two boxes the first had a female stock dove - ringed last year by Paul - and two extremely well fed pulli. These three were duly bagged up and subsequently ringed. The second box was sadly empty with a few pellets and recent prey remains - a kidney, of unknown origin!

Two portly stock dove squabs

On visting the second barn a stock dove flew out and a dead male barn owl was found on the floor, it was pretty stiff but strangely not significantly decomposed. Upon checking the nest box four warm barn owl eggs were found so another visit will be made. The stock dove's nest was located and held two eggs.

Throughout the evening the cuckoo that we had failed to catch for the BTO Cuckoo satellite tracking project was calling incessantly or should that be goading!