09/04 Thatcham Marsh LNR

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR

Session: 09-Apr-2017 07:00 to 11:00hrs

Headlines: The highlight today was a visitor from the South Atlantic, Annalea on short visit from St Helena; we were one short of a full NRG attendance. At least four singing Sedge Warblers early and one or two remained for most of the morning. Five Chiffchaffs included one ringed at the Greenham Feeder 16-Mar-2014; three years is good going. One of the Reed Buntings had also been ringed at the Western Enclosure, Greenham Common 28-Oct-2015; it is a local as we recaptured it on the reed bed last year. It would have been nice to have captured one of several Blackcaps present.

Weather: bright, sunny, warm, calm, breezy later

Present: JL, IW, DL, JHW, AB, GB, SC, RDW, RGS

Nets: 258metres 108+90M reed bed ride and three rides one 18M+18M and two 12M each in scrub. Up from 07:30 to 10:30hrs.

Lure (none):

Capture (New/Recapture)

23(12/11) All full grown                   9(6/3) last years 10-Apr-2016 visit

Species New Rtp BULLF 1 CETWA 3 CHIFF 4 1 DUNNO 1 GOLDC 2 GREFI 1 LOTTI 2 REEBU 1 1 ROBIN 2 SEDWA 3 SONTH 1

Species New Rtp BLACA 1 CETWA 1 CHIFF 1 DUNNO 1 REEBU 2 ROBIN 1 WREN 1 1

Recaptures: (11) Bullfinch 1y 173dCetti’s Warbler 2y 214d, 280d, 225d Chiffchaff 3y 24d (ringed at the Greenham Feeder) Dunnock 295d Goldcrest 168d, 161d Long-tailed Tit 330d, 203d Reed Bunting 1y 163d (ringed at Greenham Common WENCL
Sightings 40 Species: A lot of activity early in the scrub and a few fly-over waterfowl but little else. Following a tipoff, a stop-over at LGP after ringing added two species to my year list: a nice male Garganey and an Oystercatcher.