30/10 Greenham Common Western Enclosure

Location: Greenham Common Western Enclosure

Session: 30-Oct-2018 07:35 to 11:00 GMT

Headlines: Although there was a lot of movement, very little moved through the scrub. The various flocks of Redwing showed some interest in the audio but the few that settled stayed in the tops of small trees before flying off. A Fieldfare landing in a bush just beyond a net, for a while, looking for the bird making the calls. I had some good views before it flew off; spectacular looking birds closeup. Two new Goldcrests today and one from a week ago, at week 44 it is getting a bit late for any substantial captures, week 45 is usually when movements begin to fizzle out. The matching Tuesday in 2017 was a much better session. I am a bit puzzled as to why the Redwings are not reacting as strongly to the audio this year, they are the same recordings. Hopefully substantial numbers of Goldcrest will arrive here soon; the have been some big falls along the east coast recently.

Weather: Overcast, breezy, cold

Present: JL

Nets: 48metres in three rides of 18m, 18m, 12m, up from 08:00 to 10:30hrs 

Lure (audio): Fieldfare(part), Redwing(part), Yellow-browed Warbler, playlists: Autumn(part), Thrushes(part), BCCCFCGC intermittently.

Capture (New/Recapture) 05(03/02)	Matching Visit: matching visit (Tuesday 31-Oct-2017) 29(26/03)
Species New Rtp Juv Adult BLUTI 1 1 GOLDC 2 1 3 GRETI 1 1	Species New Rtp Juv Adult BLACA 1 1 BLUTI 4 3 1 GOLDC 14 1 14 1 LOTTI 2 REDWI 7 3 4

Recaptures: (2) Goldcrest ringed 23-Oct-2018, Great Tit ringed 30-Jun-2017

Sightings 30 Species: Quite a lot of movement today. Three Bullfinch dropped into the scrub from high up early on and a Dartford Warbler called several times from the heath to the east of the enclosure. A calling flyover Brambling with three Chaffinch headed west. A small flock of Wigeon was probably heading to Lower Farm GP whereas, the Mute Swans flew Northwest. Several substantial flocks of Woodpigeon mostly headed south; one flock of around 50 met a similar sized flock of Jackdaw heading in the opposite directions and a lot of milling about ensued before each flock reformed and carried on their way. Thrushes included one c50 flock of Fieldfare over East and several flocks of Redwing flying about. Finally, two Reed Buntings dropped in just before I took the nets down.