01/03 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Feeder

Session: 01-Mar-2020, 07:45 to 11:15hrs

Notes: The first time we have managed to meet as a group for three weeks , so it was nice to catch up. A quiet session as it was quite windy and  the nets were blowing about, making them a bit more visible than usual. I thought it to have been a poor session ringing-wise, until I saw last years matching visit when we ringed just 4 birds. I checked back in the field log to make sure. It was four so I checked the blog for last years visit. The weather on the 11-Mar-2019 was similar to today’s, sunny and windy, so perhaps today's session is not such a poor visit. Another Great Tit with very large and partly merged avian pox growths on the side of its face and chin was not a pretty sight, poor thing; seemed quite healthy otherwise though. Great Tits often match or outnumbered Blue Tits at this feeder in recent years. By observation I think more of the former feed and live out on the nearby heath than the latter. The few Blue Tits captured today probably live in the tree border across the road just north of the feeders or are wandering individuals.

Weather: Bright sunny, windy, cold but warmer in the sun.

Present: JL,IW,DL,JPM,JA

Nets: 24metres in 4 net rides, one 6M each side of feeders and two 10M in gorse scrub up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs

Lure (Feeder): Niger, Peanut, Black Sunflower

Capture (New/Recapture) 24(15/09) 5 Species	Matching Visit: 11/03/2019 04(04/00) 3Species
Species New Rtp 1stCY 2ndCY+ BLUTI 3 3 5 1 DUNNO 1 1 2 GRETI 8 5 10 3 LOTTI 3 indeterminate ROBIN 2 2	Species New Rtp 1stCY 2ndCY+ BLUTI 1 1 GOLDF 1 1 1 LOTTI 2 11 1

Recaptures: (09), recent except
BLUTI             ringed: 08/02/15, 22/11/15
DUNNO         ringed: 06/02/19
GRETI            ringed: 21/10/18
Sightings 29 Species: Not much moving in the windy weather, two singing Woodlark the best birds and the Fieldfares, these are scarce on the common so far this half of the winter..

Pheasant (1)            Woodpigeon (11)    Collared Dove (1)    Cormorant (2)          Grey Heron (1)        Sparrowhawk (1)     Red Kite (4)  Buzzard (1)  Great Spotted Woodpecker (1)    Kestrel (1)     Magpie (2)    Jackdaw (19)           Carrion Crow (2)     Coal Tit (2)   Marsh Tit (1)

Blue Tit (12) Great Tit (15)           Woodlark (2)            Long-tailed Tit (3)    Wren (1)       Blackbird (1) Fieldfare (17)           Song Thrush (2)      Robin (3)      Dunnock (4) Chaffinch (4)            Bullfinch (2) Greenfinch (4)         Goldfinch (5)