14/12 Snelsmore Common

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder CES 2025/26.04.

Session: 14/12/2025 07:40 to 11:40hrs

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

Weather: sunny clouding over later, calm, cold.

Nets: 6+6M feeder nets up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs.

Lures (Feeder): fat balls, sunflower hearts, peanuts.

Notes: A relatively quite session, very few Great Tits about. Those that did arrive came late in the session. So far this season there have been few 2024 re-traps, perhaps an indication of a poor survival for that year’s birds. The Marsh Tit we heard was up in the tree tops feeding. Only a couple of Robins seen, also no Dunnocks or Wren detected.

Recaptures: (27)

Blue Tit ringed:   02/11/2025x6,16/11/2025x7, 30/11/2025x6,

Nest boxes – 23/05/2023-B08 (Bagnor Mount Hill), 12/05/2025-CP05.

Coal Tit ringed:   02/11/2025, 30/11/2025.

Great Tit ringed: 02/11/2025.

                            Nest boxes – 10/05/2024-CP21.

Nuthatch ringed: 02/11/2025

Sightings: Not much about except lots of people. Obviously the best birds are the Crossbills, IQ

spotted a red male, against the light, on the very highest branch in the top of the tallest conifer

“across the road”. Despite searching we thought it to be a lone bird until it flew off accompanied by

three green-ish coloured females.