08/01 Snelsmore Common Feeder

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder - CES 2025/26.08 Visit.

Session: 08/02/2026 07:45 to 11:30hrs

Present: JHW, JL, IW.

Weather: calm, cool, overcast with a couple of sunny spells.

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

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

One of today’s Siskin – an adult male 2nd winter bird

Notes: Once again the rain forecasted didn’t materialise. It was a quietish session with a steady flow of birds throughout. This was the last required visit here for this winter’s Constant Effort Site. Three possibly four Siskins coming to the feeder included a re-trap from CES visit 2025/26.07. 

Recaptures: (23)

Blue Tit ringed: 10/12/2023, 03/11/2024, 17/11/2024, 02/11/2025x4, 16/11/2025x2, 30/11/2025, 28/12/2025, 11/01/2026x3, 25/01/2026x4.

Coal Tit ringed: 12/11/2024, 25/01/2026

Great Tit ringed: 02/11/2025, 28/12/2025.

Siskin ringed: 25/01/2026.

Sightings: mostly IW’s list – not much movement, a few early birds singing including Song Thrush and Dunnock. Mallards, two males and a female were swimming on floods to the west of the feeders. Raven(s) heard calling briefly once mid-session. 

01/02 Greenham Common Feeder

Location: Greenham Common Feeder.

Session: 01/02/2026 07:45 to 10:30hrs

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

Weather: calm, cool, light rain began just after nets up.

Nets: 6+6M feeder nets up from 08:00 to 08:45hrs.

Lures (Feeder): sunflower heartsx2, peanuts.

Notes: It began spotting with rain as we put the nets up and unfortunately unlike previous recent sessions the rain didn’t stop forcing us to take the nets down at around 08:45hrs. We had two good rounds of 22 and 19 though. If it hadn’t rained think we would have had a good session. Due to the curtailed session it’s perhaps not relevant but we only trapped one Great Tit, similar to winter 2025/26 Snelsmore feeder sessions; is something affecting this species?

Recaptures: (12)

Blue Tit ringed: 23/12/2023, 26/10/2025x2, 09/11/2025x2, 21/12/2025x2, 18/01/2026,

Coal Tit ringed: 09/11/2025

Goldfinch ringed: 26/10/2025.

Sightings: IW’s list – at first light there was a flock of finches in nearby trees probably Lesser Redpoll, but we were unsure of the species as the light was very poor. We would have had a few more species if the session hadn’t been rained off.

25/01 Snelsmore Common Feeder

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder, CES2025/26.07.

Session: 25/01/2026 07:45 to 11:30hrs

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

Weather: sunny periods, cold, calm.

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

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

Notes: Three Siskin today a male and two females including the bird ringed here on visit 11/01/2026  About five Siskins were in the vicinity of the feeder (mostly high in the trees) - a hopeful sign that they may visit the feeder this winter in increasing numbers as they have n the recent past. Just one Great Tit continues the downward trend of this species here; another bird escaped the net. A considerable improvement on last winter matching visit surprisingly. 

Once again the weather was much better than forcast

Recaptures: (25)

Blue Tit ringed: 03/11/2024x2, 17/11/2024x2, 02/11/2025x3, 16/11/2025x2,                                                         30/11/2025x2,14/12/2025, 11/01/2026x4, 28/12/2025.

                          Nest box: 12/05/2025 – CP26.

Coal Tit ringed: 03/11/2024x2,14/12/2025, 28/12/2025x2,11/01/2026.

Siskin ringed: 11/01/2026.

Sightings: IW’s list – The surprise bird was when IW and JL looked up when doing a net round and saw a Goshawk circle a couple of times and then fly just above the line of fir trees being harassed by a female Sparrowhawk, giving a good illustration of the size difference between the two species. Unfortunately, it flew out of view before all us saw it, otherwise much as expected.

18/01 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common 616 Feeder.

Session: 18/01/2026 07:45 to 11:30hrs

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

Weather: overcast, light rain briefly at the start, foggy for most of the session, calm, cold.

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

Lures (Feeder): 2xsunflower hearts, peanuts.

A newer bigger perch feeder installed at the Greenham Feeder together with the bigger of the older perch feeders; these are all but emptied every third day – about 4kgs of sunflower hearts replenishment each visit.

Notes: In recent years the Greenham Common 616 Feeder attracts a better species variety than the Snelsmore Common Feeder, also unlike Snelsmore there are still good numbers of Great Tit this side of Newbury. Ringing today included double figures of both Goldfinch and Greenfinch, the best session totals of the latter for some years. A ring-able Chaffinch is unusual as most of the local population has papilloma infected legs and claws and we cannot ring them. Sadly, two Greenfinch were also released at the net as they had this infection. A good session in uncomfortable conditions - damp and cold.

Recaptures: (21)

Blue Tit ringed: 22/10/2023, 03/03/2024, 26/10/2025x4, 09/11/2025, 23/11/2025, 21/12/2025x4.

Great Tit ringed: 12/03/2023, 03/03/2024, 03/03/2025, 05/11/2025, 26/10/2025, 09/11/2025, 23/11/2025, 21/12/2025.

Goldfinch ringed: 26/10/2025.

Robin ringed: 02/02/2025

Sightings: Mostly IW’s list – A Raven was noisily proclaiming territory. Two Song Thrushes singing occasionally during the morning, also a Coal Tit was singing in the trees above the feeder, fly-over Siskin heard a couple of time but not visible in the fog, also the Kestrel was heard calling only. Sightings limited due to the fog that eventually lifted late in the session.

11/01 Snelsmore Common Feeder

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder visit CES 2025/26.06

Session: 11/01/2026 07:45 to 11:30hrs

Present: JHW,IW,JLCMD,IQ.

Weather: overcast, light breeze, cold.

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

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

Today’s Siskin, a 1st winter - it had 3 unmoulted greater coverts

Notes: The first ringing session of 2026 – too cold for the safety of the birds last Sunday 4th Jan. A similar number of Blue Tits to last year’s CES 2024/25.06 matching visit but Great Tit number are down as they have been this winter so far at this site. Nice to ring Siskin and Great Spotted Woodpecker - the latter drew blood hacking at two of us when extracting and holding for a photo. We seem to have lost the variety of species that visited the feeder for most of the 20 year it has been operated.

Recaptures: (20)

Blue Tit ringed:10/12/2023, 03/11/2024, 09/02/2025, 02/11/2025x2, 16/11/2025x4,                                             30/11/2025x2, 14/12/2025, 28/12/2025x5.

Coal Tit ringed: 09/01/2025, 16/11/2025.

Great Tit ringed: 16/11/2025.

Sightings: Mostly IW’s list – a few fly-over Siskin early, the one we ringed was later in the session. Carrion Crows and Ravens were acting territorial calling a lot first thing.