03/09 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Western Enclosure
Session: 03-Sep-2020, 07:30 to 11:20hrs

Notes: Poor ringing conditions today, blustery strong winds and occasion sometimes heavy mizzle. Nearly didn’t bother as it was spotting with rain as I left home, and the mizzle started just after nets up. Intended to stop several times but got into “just do this next bird”. Nice to catch-up with DL. Steady trickle of phylos and Blackcaps until on a walk around the enclosure at about 10:20hrs spotted three or four Blackcaps in the scrub to the south when checking out two Stonechats. I followed them along the scrub and was surprised  to see 10+ fly across the gap into the enclosure. They all jinked over one net but five were held by the other two nets; not bad given that the nets were swirling and billowing in the wind. Shame the weather was poor, might have done quite well in better conditions 

Present: JL,DL
Weather: overcast, warm, two periods of mizzle, strong WSW breeze.
Nets: 48metres in 3 net rides, two 18M and one 12M net up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs
Lure (Audio): Warblers, Misc Migrants, Redstart, Hirundine intermittently.

Recaptures: (0)       None
Sightings 14 Species: Not much flying about today and mostly detected in the quiet moments of the session. A what looked to be a post roosting flock of c20 Swallows flew south in the gloom while I was putting the nets up. A Hobby flew South slowly, battling against the wind, instead of the usual dashing flight through, so I had some good views; it looked to be an adult from the red leggings and dark plumage.