21/12 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Estovers Feeder

Session: 21/12/2025 07:40 to 11:40hrs

Present: JL,JHW,IW,IQ.

Weather: overcast, calm, cool.

Nets: 6+6M feeder nets up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs.

Lures (Feeder): sunflower hearts, peanuts.

Notes: A busy session, only managed to get the two feeder nets up, didn’t have time to get the scrub nets up. Three 2022 Blue Tits is unusual; we normally get singles from that far back also we rarely get any pulli ringed at the Peaked Hill boxes, from across the heath, on the south side of the common. Sadly, we don’t ring many Blackbirds now and the same for Greenfinch, a few years ago these would have outnumbered Goldfinch visiting the feeder. We couldn’t ring a fifth Greenfinch as it was suffering from papilloma varus; its legs were flaky and swollen and it is unusual but not unknown to find them infected with this virus. Trichomonas an infection of the gizzard is the endemic that has caused the recent significant drop of the Greenfinch population.

Recaptures: (34)

Blue Tit ringed:13/11/2022x3, 05/11/2023, 26/11/2024, 26/10/2025,x5, 02/03/2025,                                           09/11/2025x7, 23/11/2025x3.

                Nest box pulli 15/05/2025 box PK02 Peaked Hill.

Great Tit ringed: 09/03/2025,26/10/2025x5, 09/11/2025x3, /11/2025.

Goldfinch ringed: 02/03/2025.

Sightings: IW’s list - bit busy ringing though and the light was poor. We might have seen a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker fly across south quite high, unfortunately it had gone before we realised what it might have been. Song Thrush were singing for most of the morning. No sign of the Kestrel that is usually seen hanging around the feeder on recent visits.

14/12 Snelsmore Common

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder CES 2025/26.04.

Session: 14/12/2025 07:40 to 11:40hrs

Present: JHW,IW,JL,RAD,IQ.

Weather: sunny clouding over later, calm, cold.

Nets: 6+6M feeder nets up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs.

Lures (Feeder): fat balls, sunflower hearts, peanuts.

Notes: A relatively quite session, very few Great Tits about. Those that did arrive came late in the session. So far this season there have been few 2024 re-traps, perhaps an indication of a poor survival for that year’s birds. The Marsh Tit we heard was up in the tree tops feeding. Only a couple of Robins seen, also no Dunnocks or Wren detected.

Recaptures: (27)

Blue Tit ringed:   02/11/2025x6,16/11/2025x7, 30/11/2025x6,

Nest boxes – 23/05/2023-B08 (Bagnor Mount Hill), 12/05/2025-CP05.

Coal Tit ringed:   02/11/2025, 30/11/2025.

Great Tit ringed: 02/11/2025.

                            Nest boxes – 10/05/2024-CP21.

Nuthatch ringed: 02/11/2025

Sightings: Not much about except lots of people. Obviously the best birds are the Crossbills, IQ

spotted a red male, against the light, on the very highest branch in the top of the tallest conifer

“across the road”. Despite searching we thought it to be a lone bird until it flew off accompanied by

three green-ish coloured females.

30/11 Snelsmore Common Feeder

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder CES 205/26.03.

Session: 30/11/2025 07:40 to 11:40hrs

Present: JHW,IW,JL,RAD,CMD.

Weather: bright, sunny clear, calm, cold.

Nets: 6+6M feeder nets up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs.

Lures (Feeder): fat balls, sunflower hearts, peanuts.

The Snelsmore Feeder

Notes: We had a busy session today, lots of Blue Tit as usual, a few Coal Tit and mid-way through the first Great Tit arrived. Nuthatch have usually become wary of the nets after the first couple of visits so finding one in the nets was bit of a surprise. We watched the Great Spotted Woodpecker backing down the support tree and into the net when it protested noisily most the time until it was ringed and  released.

Oldest birds re-trapped ringed 06/11/2022, 19/11/2023 ringed at this feeder, all the nest boxes birds are from those local to the feeder.

Unfortunately, due to it raining we were not able to do last year’s matching visit -CES 2024/25.03.

Recaptures: (30)

Blue Tit ringed: 06/11/2022, 19/11/2023, 12/04/2024, 26/01/2025, 02/11/2025x6, 16/11/2025x12

Nest boxes - 12/05/2025x3, CP05x2 & CP26, 14/05/2025 - CP24.

Coal Tit ringed: 02/11/2025, 16/11/2025x3

Sightings: IW’s list, A flock of about 40 Woodpigeons flew over southwest, Marsh Tits were 

calling a lot for a while in the trees, otherwise very quiet.

23/11 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common – 616 Feeder.

Session: 23/11/2025 07:40 to 11:15hrs

Present: JHW,JL,IW,KMB. 

Weather: overcast early clearing to bright Sun, Breezy, Cold.

Nets: 6+6M feeder nets plus 18M & 18M & 6M scrub nets up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs.

Lures (Feeder): niger, sunflower hearts, peanuts

            (Audio): GC-SK-LR-GO-BC, intermittently.

The Greenham Feeder

Notes: Was expecting a lot of birds but after the first net round they all but stopped coming to the feeder – Ten on the first net round at the feeder and thirteen of the total came from the scrub nets, most called in by audio lures. Best bird the five year old (2021) Blue Tit that came from the scrub nets. The last visit from KMB for a while, off to Mauritius next week for six months looking after Pink Pigeons.

Recaptures: (11)

Blue Tit ringed 28/11/2021, 14/01/2024, 26/10/2025x5, 09/11/2025x3.

Dunnock ringed 26/10/2025.

Sightings: IW’s list, a few gulls mostly flying westerly and a Mistle Thrush singing for a while in the

treeline to the north.

18/11 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common - Western Enclosure wk 2025-47

Session: 18/11/2025 07:40 to 10:40hrs

Present: IWJL.

Weather: overcast, cold breezy.

Nets: 48metres 3 Rides, up from 08:00 to 10:30 hrs.

Lures audio: (BC-CC-FC-GC),(FF-RE),(YB),(SK-LR), intermittently.

Notes: Not much moving on the heath today and probably the reason visits here are few after week 45. A Redwing flock and the few finches over showed little to no reaction to the audio. The first noticeably cold day for me.

Sightings: There was a big movement of Woodpigeon heading South in flocks of between 20 to 50-ish in addition to a few locals flying about. Not much else, just one flock of Redwing over South-ish. Fewer Jackdaw than usual, the main flock that roosts in the bunkers being displaced by the filming that some days continued well after dark.