16/08 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Western Enclosure (wk33)
Session: 16/08/2022 07:30 to 10:30hrs
Notes: It’s a very busy week for me this week and I had only scheduled to ring yesterday. Glad I decided to give today a try even though the weather forecast looked dubious including spotting with rain as I loaded the car and it continued when going through the gate to the common. I decided my best chance of seeing a Grasshopper Warbler this year was if I called one in and today it paid off when an adult female was in the bottom shelf of the net on the first net round. Later in the morning another year tick when Ian spotted a Hobby flying fast east along the tree line. As we often do, we did a check of the nets prior to nets down. I extracted a Blackcap and when Ian came back from another net, he handed me a bird bag saying: “you will want to ring this, I think you’ve not ringed one yet”. It was an immature Pied Flycatcher. Nice to finally ring one after the disappointment of failed nesting attempts at Snelsmore Common in 2020 and this year. Soon after the occasional spots of rain became heavier and persistent, so we took the nets down 10 minutes early. Today’s session is why I like ringing and birding, it’s unpredictable, but requires persistence.
Present: JL,IW

Weather: overcast low cloud, occasionally spotting, calm, warm in one or two sunny periods, calm rained off from about 10:15hrs.
Nets: 48metres 3 Rides, 18M, 18M and 12M up from 08:00 to 10:20 hrs
Lures: Warblers, Misc Migrants, Grasshopper Warbler, Redstart, intermittently.

Adult Female Grasshopper Warbler

Immature Male Pied Flycatcher

Recaptures: (01)

Blue Tit                     ringed: 24/06/2022

Sightings:  The Sparrowhawk, a immature female, flew across the heath from the south perched briefly in a fir tree on the edge of the woodland before disappearing into the wood. As mentioned above the Hobby flew east along the same tree line. The Swifts were seen in the distance high up over the bunker and similarly the House Martins over the heath to the east. It is a few visits since we saw Greenfinch on the heath, today four flew west. Otherwise mostly the expected species