31/12 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Feeder.

Session: 31/12/2023  07:40 to 10:30hrs

Notes: Hoped to get a full session as the rain stopped about 06:00hrs this morning and was forecast to start again around 13:00hrs, unfortunately a heavy-ish shower came through just after 10:00hrs forcing us to take the nets down. While the nets were up it was quite slow, not the intense activity of last week. Nice to ring a Marsh Tit, not many of these about at our feeders this winter. Not sure what happened to Great Tit, one or two were about but were feeding in the vegetation. As we returned from taking the nets down about 20 mostly Greenfinches were in the trees above the cars presumably waiting to go down to the feeder.

Present: JL,IW,DL,LC

Weather: Overcast clearing, light breeze, rained off around 10:15hrs.

Nets: 12M of nets, 6M each side of the feeders up from 08:00 to 10:15hrs.

Lures: Feeders with Sunflower Hearts, Niger, Peanuts.

Recaptures:(09) 

Blue Tit                ringed: 12/12/2021, 22/10/2023x2, 29/10/2023, 24/12/2023x2,

Coal Tit                ringed: 13/11/2022, 29/10/2023, 24/12/2023.

Sighting: IW saw a possible Short-eared Owl fly away from us through the trees but was not able to get a good enough view to be sure. Song Thrushes beginning to sing, one or two Lesser Redpoll flying about and a couple of calling Bullfinch, otherwise apart from the flocks of finches there was little notable activity. 

Definitely a bad sign for me - I forgot my binoculars - an age thing?

Happy New Year