02/09 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Western Enclosure

Session: 02-Sep-2019 07:00 to 11:30 hrs

Notes: I don’t usually do Monday ringing but as I am unlikely to be available again this week until Thursday, I decided to do a visit today. We had a good capture, with more Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs on the move as well as nine Willow Warblers; numbers of the latter had been dropping away until today. Another Redstart was the highlight. This one was more difficult to sex. I first thought it to be an immature female, but IW wasn’t so sure. After consulting Svensson and checking the under feathers of the forehead and elsewhere it turned out to be a male. Not having much success in this front. My theory of dark chocolate for juvenile males and light chocolate for juvenile female Blackcaps took a knock. The re-trap male captured today I had sexed as a female a couple of weeks ago on this basis. Another Goldcrest ringed, this species should start moving (in?) over the next few weeks.

Weather: sunny periods, cool early, calm, warm and breezy later.
Present: JL, IW, RJC
Nets: 48metres in three rides of 18m, 18m, 12m up from 07:45 to 10:45hrs
Lure (audio): misc. migrants, warblers, redstart, intermittently

Capture (New/Recapture) 56(53/03) 11 Species	Matching Visit: none
Species New Rtp Juv Adult BLACA 18 1 19 BLUTI 8 8 CHIFF 8 1 8 1 DUNNO 1 1 GOLDC 1 1 GRETI 1 1 LOTTI 1 1 indeterminate REDST 1 1 ROBIN 1 1 WHITE 4 4 WILWA 9 9	Species New Rtp Juv Adult

Recaptures: (08) all recent

Sightings 25 Species: A small movement of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were probably looking for plough. A distant flock of what was probably geese flew high south, too far away to ID. The first Skylark over since the end of the breeding season, perhaps not unexpected as we are now in meteorological Autumn .Stonechats were difficult to find and RJC saw a Dartford Warbler on the way over. There is a distinct lack of Wheatear. We usually see them on the grassland this end of the common. They have been regularly seen elsewhere for the last few weeks towards the Crookham end though.

Blackcap (10)                       Blue Tit (8)                            Carrion Crow (4)                  Chiffchaff (9)                         Dunnock (2)                          Goldcrest (1)                         Goldfinch (3)                         Great Spotted Woodpecker (1)    Great Tit (1)                          Green Woodpecker (2)       Jackdaw (1)                          Lesser Black-backed Gull (14)     Long-tailed Tit (2)

Magpie (2)                             Meadow Pipit (5)                  Red Kite (1)                          Redstart (1)                           Robin (3)                               Skylark (2)                             Stock Dove (1)                     Stonechat (1)                        Swallow (17)                         Whitethroat (4)                     Willow Warbler (9)               Woodpigeon (5)