21/12 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Estovers Feeder

Session: 21/12/2025 07:40 to 11:40hrs

Present: JL,JHW,IW,IQ.

Weather: overcast, calm, cool.

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

Lures (Feeder): sunflower hearts, peanuts.

Notes: A busy session, only managed to get the two feeder nets up, didn’t have time to get the scrub nets up. Three 2022 Blue Tits is unusual; we normally get singles from that far back also we rarely get any pulli ringed at the Peaked Hill boxes, from across the heath, on the south side of the common. Sadly, we don’t ring many Blackbirds now and the same for Greenfinch, a few years ago these would have outnumbered Goldfinch visiting the feeder. We couldn’t ring a fifth Greenfinch as it was suffering from papilloma varus; its legs were flaky and swollen and it is usual but not unknown to find them infected with this virus. Trichomonas an infection of the gizzard is the recent endemic that has caused the recent significant drop of the Greenfinch population.

Recaptures: (34)

Blue Tit ringed:13/11/2022x3, 05/11/2023, 26/11/2024, 26/10/2025,x5, 02/03/2025,                                           09/11/2025x7, 23/11/2025x3.

                Nest box pulli 15/05/2025 box PK02 Peaked Hill.

Great Tit ringed: 09/03/2025,26/10/2025x5, 09/11/2025x3, /11/2025.

Goldfinch ringed: 02/03/2025.

Sightings: IW’s list - bit busy ringing though and the light was poor. We might have seen a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker fly across south quite high, unfortunately it had gone before we realised what it might have been. Song Thrush were singing for most of the morning. No sign of the Kestrel that is usually seen hanging around the feeder on recent visits.