14/07 Thatcham Marsh LNR

Location: Thatcham March LNR CES v 2024.08.

Session: 14/07/2024 06:00 to 11:00

Notes: By this year’s standards a good session today, over half of the birds processed being Reed Warbler, many of them adults, some probably moving through heading towards the coast while others appeared to be still breeding. It was nice to have some Sedge Warblers to ring, all new birds. As we have seen at Greenham Common, Blackcaps are also dispersing from their breeding areas ready to head to wintering areas. The fly-trap was busy and, the weather conditions were good for a change.

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

Weather: clear bright sunny some cloud late in session, calm, warm.

Nets: 198metres in one reed bed ride and up from 06:30 to 10:30hrs

Lures: None 

Recaptures:(07)

Dunnock             ringed: 24/06/2023.

Reed Warbler    ringed: 03/07/2022, 11/06/2023x2,  02/07/2023, 04/05/2024.

Robin                  ringed: 30/06/2024

Sighting: A few swifts over probably more, high up in the blue. A Kingfisher flew through, not often

seen here in recent years, there was a time when we ringed a few here each year. A flock of about

15 Lawing flying west, another species no longer seen in the numbers it once was. An immature

Common Frog got some interest. We took about four Brown Hawkers out of the nets at the end of

the session, they give quite a nip but fortunately not strong enough to break the skin. The sunshine

encourage several butterflies out on the wing. It never ceases to surprise me the activities that go

on unnoticed. We got taking to a chap who appeared to be heading for the fishing lakes, turned out

he was going to retrieve his moth traps, one from our reed bed net ride that we had not noticed

when we put the nets up and one from just behind our ringing station.