13/08 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Western Enclosure
Session: 13-Aug-2020, 07:40 to 10:45hrs
Notes: . Had a delayed start as it was raining as I was about to leave home and with the threat of thunderstorms, I decided to wait a little while. I eventually got to the enclosure about 07:45hrs and it was still spotting. As I was on my own today, I put up the two 18m nets only as I was worried that I might get caught in a downpour. I kept an eye on the storms coming from the SE on the Rain Radar, fortunately they all slipped by the Greenham Common plateau and stayed over Reading and the lower Kennet Valley. This is the week of Tree Pipit migration according to south coast ringers and we captured one today. Last year’s matching visit shows there is still time for numbers to improve.  
Present: JL
Weather: Overcast heavy cloud and a muggy atmosphere, frequently spotting with rain, hot, calm to light NE swinging to the SE and back breeze, some sunny periods later
Nets: 36metres in 2 net rides, two 18M nets up from 08:00 to 10:30hrs
Lure (Audio): Warblers, Misc Migrants, Redstart, intermittently.

Tree Pipit  immature

Recaptures:(none)
Sightings 27 Species Tree Pipit is a new species for me this year as they did not return to their usual breeding sites at Snelsmore and Greenham Commons as far as I am aware. Due to the continued threat of rain I spent most of my time closely monitoring the nets to avoid capturing too many at once and getting caught out so I may have missed a few species.