31/03 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Feeder

Session: 31/03/2024 08:00 to 11:00hrs

Notes: A good variety of species today. Included our first Blackcap and Chiffchaff of the year, also a Blue Tit with a very long bill that seemed to be coping with life. Just three Siskin is disappointing, recently there have been quite a few about the feeder. It’s getting quite late for them to be here. They should set off in the next week or so back to their northern breeding grounds. We usually divert our efforts to Thatcham Marsh from now on, but our site is flooded with no access possible for the foreseeable future which is concerning. The flood water looked to be receding until this last week’s heavy rainy period. We will need a prolonged dry spell if we are to start the Constant Effort Site visits at the end of April. Nice to catchup with KMB.

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

Weather: overcast, cold, breezy.

Nets: 36M net, two 6M nets one each side of feeder, two 12m scrub nets up 08:00 to 11:00hrs

Lures: Feeders – Fat Balls, Sunflower Heartsx2, Niger, Peanuts.

Recaptures:(04)

Blackbird            ringed: 29/10/2023

Blue Tit               ringed: 04/11/2018, 19/02/2020, 30/07/2023(Thatcham Marsh), 22/10/2023, 03/03/2024x2, 10/03/2024x4, 2324/03/2024x2.

Coal Tit               ringed: 28/11/2021.

Goldfinch            ringed: 24/12/2023

Great Tit             ringed: 12/02/2023, 29/10/2023, 03/03/2024, 10/03/2024

Sighting (Ian’s list): Raven flew north carrying twigs. Otherwise, similar to last weeks visit. Chiffchaff seem to have been well established for a couple of weeks and Blackcap encounters beginning to increase, the only other expected migrants seen so far this spring are one or two Willow Warbler and Sand Martin in low numbers. We desperately need a dry spell as the current heavy rainy periods must be a hazard for returning migrants.