09/12 Snelsmore Common Feeder

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder

Session: 09-Dec-2018 07:45 to 11:15hrs

Notes: Very windy at Greenham when I first looked out the window. Decided to see what conditions were like at Snelsmore; breezy but tolerable. It mizzled a bit early that increased to a light shower to a level where we began to consider abandoning the session. Quite soon the breeze dropped, and the cloud lifted to quite a pleasant morning. A good capture of Blue and Coal Tits; the latter mostly captured on the first two rounds and a couple on the pre-nets down round. Great Tits numbers as at the other two feeders and here have dropped compared with the November sessions, I think. A 2015 Blue Tit pulli (4 years) is notable as is no 2018 Great Tit pulli this session. A pleasant enjoyable session, quite a busy though.

Weather: Breezy, mizzle and a shower early, brighter and less breezy later, cool
Present: JL, IW, DL, RJC
Nets: 12metres a 6m net each side of feeder up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs
Lure (feeder): black sunflower, niger, fat balls, peanuts

Capture (New/Recapture) 68(50/18)	Matching Visit: 15/12/2017 46(30/16)
Species New Rtp 1stCY 2nd+CY BLUTI 28 13 37 4 COATI 13 1 14 GRETI 9 2 8 3 MARTI 2 2	Species New Rtp 1stCY 2nd+CY BLUTI 8 16 20 4 COATI 2 10 8 4 GRETI 4 1 4 1 GRSWO 1 1 LOTTI 1 MARTI 1 1 2 ROBIN 1 1

Recaptures: (18) recent except:

    BLUTI        15/12/2017, 07/01/2018, 25/03/2018
                  Pulli: 20/05/2015 box CP24, 26/05/2018 box CP08,
                           28/05/2018 box CP03
GRETI       Pulli 11/05/2017 box CP27, 14/05/2017 box CP35

Sightings 25 Species: Ian’s list, probably missed a few, the first time for a week or two that we have encountered the Ravens here, otherwise quiet; no winter thrushes!.

04/12 Bagnor Feeder

Location: Bagnor Feeder

Session: 07:45 to 11:30hrs

Notes: A cold start today, combination gate lock frozen, thawed out using warm fingers. Gate still stuck, catch frozen, released by clearing ice clogging moving parts. Fortunately, the nets went up quickly, we only missed the 08:00 hours start by about 5 minutes. Steady capture for most of the morning, mostly Blue Tits and Goldfinches. Good numbers of the latter coming to all three feeding stations this year. Just the one Great Tit is unusual, and no Coal or Marsh Tits around the feeder. One or two of all three species were calling and foraging in the nearby scrub and hedgerows.  Both Chaffinches were free of any sign of "grotty foot". Two Greenfinches are the first of this species captured here this winter.  One of our net rounds coincided with a visit from the three local Long-tailed Tits. Our presence unfortunately put them off. I often see this group along the hedgerows when topping up the feeders. A few less birds than last year’s matching visit. but a good session particularly after cold fingers warmed up.

Weather: light ground frost early, cloudy clearing to bright sunshine, cold at first, warm when the sun rose above the treeline.

Present: JL, IW
Nets: 12metres in two rides of 6M one each side of feeder. Up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs

Lure (feeder): peanuts, black sunflower, niger, fat balls

Capture (New/Recapture) 45(31/14)	Matching Visit:01-Dec-2017 51(28/23)
Species New Rtp 1stCY 2nd+CY BLUTI 17 11 21 7 CHAFF 2 2 GOLDF 8 2 5 5 GRETI 1 1 GREFI 2 1 1 NUTHA 1 1 ROBIN 1 1	Species New Rtp 1stCY 2nd+CY BLABI 1 1 BLUTI 19 14 28 5 COATI 1 1 GRSWO 2 2 GRETI 5 5 GREFI 1 1 LOTTI 2 indeterminate NUTHA 1 1

Recaptures: (14 recent except: 

BLUTI             ringed 07/01/2017, 01/12/2017(two), 02/02/2018,
                       pulli ringed 23/05/2018 box A01, two ringed 28/05/2018 box D04

Sightings 33 Species: Ian’s list., we arrived to find the field covered in pheasants, refugees from the nearby shoot. There was very little movements over, mostly corvids flying about. Three very dark "gulls" flying east, looked a bit skua-like. A Raven flew over carrying something in its bill which made it look, for a moment, like a largish dark bird with a sickle shaped bill. The  winter thrushes were again moving in a westerly direction as they have for some days now. They could be the same birds spreading out from roosts east of Newbury rather than new birds moving west each day.

02/12 Greenham Common Feeder

Location: Greenham Common Estovers (616) Feeder

Session: 02-Dec-2018 07:45 to 11:15hrs

Notes: A strange session, 15 captured at the first round 08:30hrs, five on the second round at 08:50hrs, then no birds at or around the feeder or to process until one was captured in the gorse scrub 10:20hrs and finally two at the feeder 10:45hrs. There were signs of a few beginning to arrive in the last 20 minutes of the session but where did they all go? Most of the birds captured had good weights, the only not so healthy-looking bird was the 2016 Blue Tit; it had lost most of its head feather. Three species is quite poor for a feeder session, hopefully it was just an unfortunate day.

Weather: Mostly overcast, some drizzle, breezy, warm for the time of year.
Present: JL, JHW, IW, RJC, RGS, RDW
Nets: 58metres in five rides: 12M, 12M, 10M at feeder, 12M, 12M in gorse scrub up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs
Lure (feeder): niger, niger, black sunflower, peanut, black sunflower

Capture (New/Recapture) 23(19/04)	Matching Visit: 03-Dec-2017 39(26/16)
Species New Rtp 1stCY 2nd+CY BLUTI 10 1 10 1 GOLDF 6 3 9 GRETI 3 3	Species New Rtp 1stCY 2nd+CY BLABI 1 1 BLUTI 1 9 8 2 COATI 1 4 5 GOLDC 2 2 GOLDF 15 13 2 GRETI 1 3 4 MARTI 1 1 ROBIN 1 1

Recaptures: (04) all recent except BLUTI ringed 13/11/2016

Sightings 36 Species: Ian’s list, quite a few species detected as we had little ringing to do. Winter Thrushes on the move again, this time moving west. Two of the Buzzards looked like they were displaying.