28/01 Greenham Common

Location: Bagnor Feeder

Session: 28/01/2024 07:45 to 11:15hrs

Notes: A steady session, fewer Blue Tits, still the dominant species though. A better variety of species. Unfortunately, finche numbers visiting have dropped, not what we were hoping for, just two Greenfinches at the end of the session. Most of the species variation came from the three scrub nets. Like the matching visit to the Snelsmore Feeder the number of Blue Tits seem to have dropped. Interesting statistic only around 0.379% of Blue Tits survive their first winter according to the BTO via JHW and the average age of those surviving is 3 years. For Great Tit it is about the same, Coal Tit is 0.43% surviving to their first breeding season and average age is 2 years. For some species such as Great Spotted Woodpecker numbers ringed are too small to calculate survival etc.

Present: JL,JHW,IW,DL,IQ.

Weather: bright sunny light breeze, cool.

Nets: 48M of nets, 6M each side of the feeders up 3x12M scrub nets from 08:00 to 11:00hrs.

Lures: Feeders with Sunflower Hearts, Niger, Peanuts.

Recaptures:(12)

Blue Tit                ringed: 03/11/2019, 28/11/2021, 13/11/2022, 27/11/2022, 27/03/2023, 29/10/2023x2, 31/12/2023, 14/01/2024.

Great Spotted Woodpecker ringed: 14/01/2024

Great Tit               ringed: 14/01/2024x2

Sighting: Kestrel mooching around trees and low scrub later mobbed by finches when perched near the top of a tree. Ravens over calling. Squirrel somehow alluding the baffles and getting on the feeder, this may be the reason that fewer birds are coming to the feeder.