12/07 Thatcham Marsh LNR

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR CES Visit 2025.08

Session: 12/07/2025 06:00 to 11:10hrs.

Present: IW,JHW,JL,RAD,AB,DL.

Weather: sunny, clear, bright, very hot towards the end of session, calm.

Nets: one 198M long reed bed ride plus 12m scrub ride additional net up from 06:30 to 10:30hrs.

Lures (): None

Notes: Good to catch up with AB back from St Helena. Not a bad session, total is a little below the average of 47 for CES visit 8 (range 2016 - 23, 1997 - 89). Although the total is similar to last years matching visit, the make up is different. For CES visit 2024.08 almost 50% of the total was made up of Reed Warbler. This was the peak fledging of this species here; this year’s peak fledging of Reed Warbler was for visit 2025.07, probably due to this year’s settled (but very hot) weather. This visit seems to have coincided with a post fledging dispersal of scrub species wandering on to the reed bed.

Recaptures: (05)

Reed Warbler ringed: 11/05/2024, 19/05/2024, 03/06/2025.

Wren ringed: 03/07/2022, 09/04/2023.

Sightings: Just one sighting of a single Swift this session, Swift will begin to move south over the next couple of week, most except maybe a few stragglers will be gone by mid-August. Very little movement bird-wise over the area today, most sightings of them flying about.

29/06 Thatcham Marsh LNR

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR CES Visit 2025.07

Session: 29/06/2025 06:00 to 11:10hrs.

Present: IW,JHW,RAD,CMD,JL,DL,JA,IQ.

Weather: cloudy early sunny periods later, calm.

Nets: one 198M long reed bed ride plus 12m scrub ride additional net up from 06:30 to 10:30hrs.

Lures (): None

Notes: A busier morning with lots of juveniles about and a good total for recent times. The average total for visit 07 is 55 (range 2024 – 23 and 1993&95 - 109). The ANK6944 Reed Warbler encountered today was ringed at Titchfield Haven. It was ringed as an adult 08/08/2020 and we have re-captured it 15 times during 2021 to 2024; this is the first time we have re-captured it in 2025. It has probably nested a little further away from the net ride this year as we have encountered it several times: 2021 - 4, 2022 - 5, 2023 - 3 and twice in 2024.

Recaptures: (10)

Bullfinch ringed: 08/06/2025.

Reed Warbler ringed: 08/08/2020 (Titchfield Haven), 03/06/2023, 02/07/2023, 23/07/2023,          09/06/2024, 14/07/2024, 21/07/2024, 10/05/2025, 08/06/2025.

Sightings: A double figure count of Cormorant probably recently fledge birds flew west. Lots of

butterflies and other insects about. No Cuckoo this visit, by the end of June they are usually on

return migration to Africa.

21/06 Thatcham Marsh LNR CES visit 2025.06

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR CES Visit 2025.06

Session: 21/06/2025 06:00 to 11:10hrs.

Present: IW,LC,RAD.

Weather: Very hot, sunny periods sometime clouding over, calm.

Nets: 198M long reed bed ride up from 06:30 to 10:30hrs.

Lures (): None

Notes: I wasn’t able to stay this visit after nets up, fortunately two ringers and a scribe manage ok. 35 is not a bad total, the average for visit 6 since 1993 being 42. Reed Warbler juveniles dominated and the first juvenile Sedge Warblers of the year ringed. A few spots of rain at nets up and again after nets down and it was hot and muggy.

Recaptures: (09)

Cetti’s Warbler ringed: 30/04/2023.

Reed Warbler ringed: 28/05/2023,10/05/2025,18/05/2025,08/06/2025x2.

Sedge Warbler ringed: 03/05/2025,18/05/2025.

Wren ringed: 06/08/2023.

Sightings: IW’s list, lots of butterfly on the wing.

08/06 Thatcham Marsh LNR CES visit 2025.05

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR CES Visit 2025.05

Session: 08/06/2025 06:00 to 11:15hrs.

Present: IW,JL,IQ,LC.

Weather: cloudy early clearing to sunny, cool early warm later, light breeze got stronger later.

Nets: 198M long reed bed ride up from 06:30 to 10:30hrs.

Lures (): None

Notes: Another low total, the Reed and Sedge Warbler numbers on the reed bed seem to have dropped, possibly the recent rains have affected them. Five fledgling Reed Warblers ringed, the CES 2024.05 matching visit had no juveniles. The breeding season in 2025 looks to be a little advanced compared to 2024. Other juveniles ringed today were the Whitethroat and Chiffchaff (photos above). We don’t get many Whitethroat on the marsh so not sure where this youngster came from. Expected to get some tit families but just the odd individual detected.

Recaptures: (10)

Reed Warbler ringed: 13/05/2023, 28/05/2023, 11/06/2023, 03/05/2025, 18/05/2025x2,

Sedge Warbler ringed: 13/04/2025, 03/05/2025, 10/05/2025, 18/05/2025.

Sightings: Cuckoo still calling for most of the morning, may have been two. A few Swifts over and

around. Otherwise, nothing of note or unexpected.

31/05 Thatcham Marsh LNR CES Visit 2025.04

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR CES Visit 2025.04

Session: 31/05/2025 06:00 to 11:15hrs.

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

Weather: sunny with some cloudy periods, calm, warm.

Nets: one 198M long reed bed ride up from 06:30 to 10:30hrs.

Lures (): None 

 

Notes: Numbers always seem low these days but for recent times this is not always the case as for today’s CES 2025.04 visit where a 28 totals is reasonable. What is different so far this year is that there are few species other than Reed and Sedge Warbler visiting or in the scrub periphery of the site. There were a few Blue and Great Tit about including some recently fledged but not in the numbers once seen and just one juvenile Blue Tit and two juvenile Great Tits ringed. The juvenile Reed Warbler is quite early, these usually start to fledge mid-June. The bird of the session is the Kingfisher, we ring very few now. The last ringed on a CES visit was in 2019, a single bird. Until 2017 we've ringed at least 1 every year since CES started in1993, the maximum ringed in any one year is 10 in 1997, 7 in 2005 and 5 in 2007 and 2012 and for most years 1 to 3 was the norm. Today’s bird is possibly a positive outcome of the damage done by the generating boards winter “road” which has left an open area of dead reed under the east west route of the power line and which the Kingfisher was probably flying along.

Recaptures: (16)

Cetti’s Warbler ringed: 06/10/2024.

Reed Warbler ringed: 21/05/2022, 28/05/2023, 11/06/2023, 23/07/2023, 01/05/2024, 03/05/2025x2, 10/05/2025.

Sedge Warbler ringed: 13/04/2025,03/06/2023, 03/05/2025x2, 10/05/2025, 18/05/2025.

Wren ringed: 06/08/2023

Sightings: The Marsh Harrier that has frequented the area for the last week or so flew towards Lower Farm GP as we put the nets up – seen by IW, JHW. No Water Rail calling this week. A small group of Long-tailed Tits worked north along the scrub tree tops, probably a family party that included fledglings.