10/12 Snelsmore Common

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder, Winter CES 2023/24.03
Session: 10/12/2023  07:45 to 10:40hrs
Notes: After being laid up with a bug for a week or two it was good to get out ringing again. We had a very busy session mostly ringing Blue Tits – 55 is the best total for this visit since we started ringing here in 2009. The other key species not doing so well. It is noticeable that there was just one, a Blue Tit, which wasn’t a 1st calendar year bird; all others had hatched in 2023. This indicates that survival was poor for the adults that bred this year and for the progeny of some species. This feeder is kept active from July onwards and it was noticeable that uptake of food slowed early September after a busy summer and stayed low into October when it began to pick up again. Most of the re-traps were pulli from the surrounding nest boxes around the car park/feeder also several from the nest boxes along the Winterbourne Holt margin of Snelsmore Common. The total would have been a few more had it not started raining around 10:00hrs spot on the forecast time, causing us to curtail the session. There were plenty of birds in the trees waiting to come in around the feeder as we took the nets down.

Present: JL,IW.JHW,RAD,DL,IQ
Weather: Overcast, calm, cool, rained off at 10:00hrs
Nets: 12M of nets, 6M each side of the feeders up from 08:00 to 10:00hrs, rained off.
Lures: Feeders with Fat Balls, Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts.

Recaptures:(21)

Blue Tit                ringed: 15/01/2023, 05/11/2023x2, 19/11/2023x3

                            pulli ringed: 24/05/2023x4 nest boxes WH16, WH01,CP03, CP30,

                                                27/05/2022x3 nest boxes WH08, CP01,CP05,

                                                02/06/2023x2 nest box CP20.

Coal Tit                ringed: 05/11/2023, 19/11/2023.                 

Great Tt               pulli ringed: 24/05/2023x3 nest boxes WH14, WH22, CP28

                                                27/05/2023 nest box CP17.

Sighting: Probably missed a few as we were busy ringing throughout the session, also the tree canopy at this site restricts the panorama. Ravens were quite active, calling for a while as they flew about, also a female Sparrowhawk soared over the tree canopy to the north. No finches detected! The shrew was found under the feeder when we erected the nets. Not sure what an insectivore shrew eats in winter, probably grubs, they have a very fast metabolism, needing to eat every few hours as a minimum. It probably hadn’t found enough food to sustain it through the night as it was cold, but rigor mortis had yet to set in.