Nest checking and bird ringing on CRT farms Spring marks the start of an important season in bird conservation: nest checking and bird ringing. Both play a vital role in helping us understand how bird populations are faring and contribute to national monitoring schemes run by the British Trust for Ornithology. At Lark Rise Farm in Cambridgeshire, our conservation officer Dr Vince Lea has been working with his team to carry out bird ringing and nest checking for a variety of species, including tawny owls. At Bere Marsh Farm in Dorset, the team has also been carrying out tawny owl nest checking along with, a licensed and trained BTO bird ringer. Here, we speak to Vince to take a closer look at why this work matters. Why do we survey nests? Monitoring bird nests from the earliest stages of building through to egg-laying, chick development and fledging provides valuable information on the breeding success of birds. By carefully inspecting nests and tracking them over time, we can begin to answer key questions: Are birds laying more or fewer eggs? Are nesting attempts becoming more or less successful? At what stage do nest failures occur, during incubation or while raising chicks? What are the main causes of failure and are these changing? Conservation officers also assess the wider pressures on nests, from predation and starvation to weather-related impacts such as wind damage, flooding or heat stress. There are many factors influencing whether a nest succeeds or fails. Understanding these helps guide practical conservation action, ensuring the right measures are put in place to support bird populations. For more information: https://www.bto.org/get-involved/volunteer/projects/nrs A licensed bird ringer at Bere Marsh Farm preparing to check a barn owl box, that had tawny owl eggs in a few months ago. To cause minimum disturbance, the box was first checked using a pole-camera. Carried out under license for BTO and in accordance with current UK AVI protocols. Checking boxes at Lark Rise Farm. This box contained five barn owl eggs and lots of wood mice ready for when the chicks get hungry. Carried out under license for BTO and in accordance with current UK AVI protocols. Why do we ring birds? Marking birds with unique identification leg rings allows us, when the bird is re-encountered to reveal elements of the bird’s life history. This can reveal: How long birds live How far they travel or disperse Whether they remain in the same area or move to find new territories Is the habitat suitable These insights are crucial for understanding population dynamics. For example, changes in how long birds survive can, for example, be linked to food availability, collision with vehicles, buildings or wires, or predator pressures. For more information:https://www.bto.org/get-involved/volunteer/projects/bird-ringing-scheme At Bere Marsh Farm, two young tawny owls were checked, stats taken and ringed and safely returned to the nest. Carried out under license for BTO and in accordance with current UK AVI protocols. At Bere Marsh Farm, two young tawny owls were checked, stats taken and ringed and safely returned to the nest. Carried out under license for BTO and in accordance with current UK AVI protocols. Three chicks at Lark Rise Farm, but only two were old enough to be ringed.Carried out under license for BTO and in accordance with current UK AVI protocols. Ringing bird chicks combines elements of both of these schemes, and any birds ringed as chicks and subsequently encountered either alive or dead will have been the most informative in terms of life span and movement. Do you need a licence to carry out this work? Nest recording is open to anyone to participate in if they sign up to the BTO scheme and follow its guidelines. Most common species do not require a licence to inspect a nest but species such as barn owl along with 90 other bird species which are on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, cannot be inspected without a Natural England/BTO Disturbance Permit. I am licensed to inspect barn owl nest sites. Bird Ringing requires more training than Nest Recording, and anyone licensed to ring birds has to be properly trained and assessed before they get can attain a ringing permit and at Lark Rise supervised training is being undertaken. Ringing tawny owl chicks at Lark Rise Farm There were three chicks, but only two were old enough to be ringed. We will go back to do the third one in a week or so. During my early morning bird surveys, I have seen tawny owls in the area, and we know they have used those boxes in the past, so finding them was not difficult. Ringing tawny owl chicks at Bere Marsh Farm The team at Bere Marsh Farm worked with a licensed bird ringer and two young tawny owls were carefully checked, their biometrics taken, ringed and safely returned to the nest. This was carried out under BTO ringing permit and in accordance with current UK Avian Influensa protocols. For more information about nest checking and bird ringing, see https://www.bto.org/ You can help us do more: Volunteer with the CRT and get hands-on with conservation work Donate to support habitat restoration across our farms Join us as a Friend and help secure the future of nature-friendly farming Join Events Volunteer News Published: April, 2026. Manage Cookie Preferences