16/03 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Feeder

Session: 16/03/2025 07:45 to 11:15hrs.

Present: JL,IW,CMD,DL.

Weather: bright, sunny, clear, cold, calm.

Nets: 2x6M nets, one each side of feeder, plus a 12M nets up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs.

Lures (Feeder):, Niger, Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts.

Notes: Another quiet session, looks like the feeder season has finished early this year. Just five birds until the nets down round when eight birds netted including the two Greenfinches. Both Goldfinches came from the scrub net.

Recaptures: (03)

Blue Tit           ringed: 10/03/2024, 02/03/2025, 09/03/2025

Sightings: Ian’s list - as last week very quiet. 

 

09/03 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Feeder

Session: 09/03/2025 07:45 to 11:15hrs.

Present: JL,IW,RAD,DL.

Weather: bright, sunny, clear, warm, light breeze.

Nets: 2x6M nets, one each side of feeder, plus 12M & 10M scrub nets up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs.

Lures (Feeder):, Niger, Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts.

Quiet at the feeder today. the capture consisted mostly of Blue Tits, some Great Tits and a re-trap Dunnock. Even last year’s matching visit in 2024 had a very respectable 103 birds of 7 Species to process. Just a few years ago we would have been ringing good numbers of Goldfinch, Redpoll, Siskin and Greenfinches this time of year until mid-April, also the occasional Brambling, and a few Chaffinch. Not many of these species visited any of our feeders this winter.

Recaptures: (12)

Blue Tit   ringed: 13/10/2024, 02/02/2025x2, 16/02/2025x2, 02/03/2025x2.

Dunnock ringed: 16/02/2025

Great Tit ringed: 10/03/2024, 13/10/2024, 02/03/2025x2

The disappearance of these species is illustrated by this table:

We didn’t start using Niger seed (that attracts these species in numbers) until 2010. We know that

papilloma virus has devastated the Chaffinch population and Trichomonas the Greenfinch population.

It seems Redpoll and Siskin are wintering in the south in much reduced numbers; northern based

ringers report that most are wintering and visiting feeders near their breeding areas. For Goldfinch we

know that many of “our” wintering birds came from the Wire Forest (Worc) and further north, these

may also have stayed local in winter. The Goldfinch was not as common in the last century as it is now

in my experience, also local (wintering) flocks are much smaller than they were 5 years or so ago.

Sightings: Chiffchaff singing, there was a fall of returning birds mid-week. Few Blackbirds and no

Song thrush detected; they have been singing during recent visit but not today.

02/03 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Feeder

Session: 02/03/2025 07:45 to 11:30hrs

The Greenham Feeder

Notes:. A very pleasant morning weather-wise for a change and a visit by the 2025 BBOWT seasonal wardens. For recent times we had a reasonable capture that included a bit of variety from the scrub nets – Goldcrest, Goldfinch amongst others and the feeder provided Greenfinch, Coal Tit and a 2019 (6years+old) Robin, as well as the usual Blue and Great Tits.

Present: JL,IW,RAD,CMD,IQ + CC,EA,ZB - BBOWT seasonal wardens

Weather: bright, sunny, clear, cool, calm.

Nets: 2x6M nets, one each side of feeder, plus 3x12M scrub nets up from 08:00 to 10:10hrs.

Lures (Feeder):, Niger, Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts.

Recaptures(15)

Blue Tit ringed: 03/11/2019,13/11/2022, 31/03/2024, 13/10/2024, 16/02/2025

Bullfinch ringed: 13/10/2024

Coal Tit ringed: 02/02/2025

Goldcrest ringed: 13/10/2024

Great Tit ringed: 29/10/2023, 28/01/2024, 13/10/2024x3, 10/11/2024

Robin ringed: 24/01/2019.

Sightings: Not much moving about and probably because it was calm no Woodlark song heard. A Marsh Tit was calling near the feeder at nets up but didn't stay unfortunately.

23/02 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Feeder

Session: 23/02/2025 07:45 to 10:30hrs.

Notes: The weather was not suitable really but thought we might get away with it for a while as the wind speed was forecast at 15mph, around the maximum for mist net ringing. Unfortunately, the feeder was not as sheltered as expected as the wind was blowing from the south where there is little screening from the surrounding trees. On arriving at the feeder, it appeared to have been tampered with or the recent strong winds may have affected it. The Sunflower feeder was hanging by one of the two wire loop connections, and the peanut feeder was empty when it had been about 60% full Friday lunchtime, both having been topped up Thursday and until now this winter have still had plenty of food in them the following Monday, the next top up. As it turned out few birds (3) came to the feeder when the nets were up, others may have arrived by had been put off by the bellowing nets. The other four birds came from the scrub net. A just over five year old Blue Tit is notable. We finished early as the wind got stronger and the birds were probably keeping to the shelter of the nearby woodland and scrub.

Present: JL,IW,DL,LC.

Weather: overcast, cool, windy.

Nets: 2x6M nets, one each side of feeder, plus a 12M scrub net up from 08:00 to 10:10hrs.

Lures (Feeder):, Niger, Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts.

Recaptures: (07) 

Blue Tit   ringed: 01/12/2019, 26/02/2023, 22/10/2023.

Great Tit ringed: 12/03/2023, 27/10/2024, 02/02/2025.

Robin     ringed: 02/02/2025.

Sightings: At least one Woodlark was singing over gravel scrub to the east for most of the morning

and intermittently it or another sang to the south out on the main heath. They seem to like the

blustery weather slowly flying high up around their territory singing, they don’t hover as much as

Skylarks.

16/02 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Feeder

Session: 16/02/2025 07:45 to 10:30hrs.

Don’t remember it feeling cold like today even when the Greenham Feeder looked like this (Winter 2017/18)

Notes: It got colder as the session progressed such that we abandoned at 10:15hrs for the good of the birds and ringers. There seemed to be a few more Dunnock than usual coming to the feeder, also one or two Greenfinch. We tried a net in one of the “new” rides made by the hedge-layers, caught one of the Robins and a same day Blue Tit; might do better when it gets warmer.

Present: JL,IW,IQ,CMD.

Weather: overcast, cold, calm.

Nets: 2x6M nets, one each side of feeder, plus a 12M scrub net up from 08:00 to 10:15hrs.

Lures (Feeder):, Niger, Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts

Recaptures: (12) 

Blue Tit   ringed: 17/11/2019, 12/02/2023, 14/01/2024, 13/10/2024x2, 10/11/2024, 02/02/2025,

Great Tit ringed: 03/03/2024, 10/11/2024, 02/02/2025x2.

Sighting: Relatively few Blackbirds about. It was quiet, activity of birds and birders probably

subdued by the cold.