31/03 Snelsmore Common Feeder

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder

Session: 31-Mar-2015 07:30 to 11:20hrs

Headlines: Still a few Siskin about but not much else coming to the feeder most preferring to feed high in the trees. Bought another bag of nyger, intend to keep feeding until the winter finches have gone, probably mid-April if not before.

Weather: Bright, sunny, cold, light wind, sometimes blustery.

Present: JL, IW, AB,JHW

Nets: 12 metres, a 6m net each side of feeder up from 07:45 to 11:00hrs

Lure (feeder): fat balls, nyger, black sunflower, peanut, nyger

Capture (New/Recapture) 16 (8/8): Blue Tit 2/1, Coal Tit 1/1, Great Tit 1/2, Marsh Tit 1/0, Siskin 3/4

Recaptures: 8, all less than 100days except: Blue Tit 1y 66d, Coal Tit 144d, Great Tit 311d from Mount Hill box D10

Age Range: all 1st winter except adult Blue Tit 2 and the Marsh Tit was indeterminate; still can’t see the feather differences that some insist is there!

Sightings 30 Species: As last visit: Buzzard, Red Kite and Sparrowhawk displaying, Ravens croaking and a lot of passerine song and activity in the tops of trees. Some species including Chiffchaff counted out on the common by IW,JHW

Blackbird 8 Blue Tit 7 Buzzard 4 Carrion Crow 6 Chaffinch 5 Chiffchaff 4 Coal Tit 5 Dunnock 2 Goldcrest 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 Great Tit 7 Green Woodpecker 2 Jackdaw 6 Jay 2 Lesser Redpoll 3

Long-tailed Tit 3 Mallard 3 Marsh Tit 1 Mistle Thrush 1 Nuthatch 4 Pheasant 2 Raven 1 Robin 13 Rook 8 Siskin 15 Song Thrush 2 Sparrowhawk 2 Treecreeper 1 Woodpigeon 7 Wren 2