08/11 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common Estovers Feeder, Visit 2026/27.01

Session:   08/11/2026 07:30 to 11:15hrs

Present:   IQ,JL,RAD,IW.

Weather: misty lifting to overcast, calm, cool.

Nets: A 6m Net each side of the feeder plus 12mx2 (IW) scrub nets up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs

Lures:   Feeder - Sun Flower Hearts, Peanuts. Audio Lures at the scrub nets - BC,CC,FC,GC.

Notes: The first schedule visit of Winter 2026/27 to the Greenham Common Feeder. A busy session, not as busy as the Winter 2025/26 matching visit though, also less variety of species. The matching session had more re-trap Blue Tits (17). On this visit just one re-trapped. Interestingly there were migrant species about Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Firecrest and Goldcrest on last years visit. Not sign of any this visit. For this session just two Goldcrest in the net though one found a hole and escaped. Although the food was going down quite fast this winter until today’s session there was little sign that the number of birds visiting was as great as today’s visit shows. I thought it might be Squirrels or Crows plundering the food. It was particularly good to ring some Greenfinches and Golldfinches, the former are scarce recently. No sign of any Chaffinches, another once common species that is now scarce in the area. An enjoyable session that kept us all very busy.

    Recaptures: (05)

    Blue Tit ringed: 26/10/2025.

    Coal Tit ringed; 09/11/2025

    Great Tit ringed: 13/10/2024, 15/01/2025, 13/10/2024

02/11 Snelsmore Common Feeder

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder, CES Visit 2026/27.01

Session:   01/11/2026 07:30 to 11:30hrs

Present:   IW, RAD, JL.

Weather: overcast, low damp mist, calm, cold.

Nets: A 6m Net each side of the feeder up from 08:00 to 11:00hrs.

Lures:   Suet Balls, Sun Flower Hearts, Peanuts.

Notes: The first scheduled visit of the Winter Constant Effort Site (CES) at this site. Due to the outbreak of the diseases affecting particularly finches we are only permitted to feed suet balls until October when Sunflower Heart and Peanut perch feeders are permited. We have been feeding since mid-August and the uptake has varied.  Up to mid-September the suet feeders were all but emptied every three days. Uptake then slowed considerably and  the feeders only needed topping up about once a week until mid October when the need to replish increased back to every three days. The total for winter visit 2026/27.01 (Sunday 1st Nov) was much better than expected and the three ringers attending were kept very busy for most of the session. Blue Tit numbers were the second highest ever for this visit. The variety of species ringed was quite low though.

FG = age indeterminate

Recaptures: (12)

Blue Tit ringed: 19/11/2023, 02/11/2025x2, 16/11/2025, 30/11/2025, 25/01/2026.

Pulli ringed: 12/05/2025(Box CP05)

Great Tit ringed: 03/11/2024, 30/11/2025, 28/12/2025.

Pulli ringed: 08/05/2025(Box CP21)

Robin Ringed: 02/11/2025

Sightings: IW’s List - we were very busy ringing so might have missed a few, not much about though.

18/10 Thatcham Marsh LNR

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR non-CES Visit

Session:   18/10/2026 07:00 to 11:15hrs

Present:   IW, JHW, JL.

Weather: sunny clear, cold, breezy

Nets: 72M of nets along the middle section of reed bed ride 07:30 to 10:30hrs.

Lures:   BC-CC-FC-GC-GW-WH-LW-WO, part session ST-RE-FF-RZ, YB, RB, GH  AQ. intermittently. 

Redwing – a first winter, noticably bigger than the other bird; longer winged and about 10grams heavier.

Notes: The first chilly day of the autumn. It was very quiet on the reed bed and unlike last week we didn’t get many birds. The only “summer” migrants ringed being Chiffchaff and Blackcap. Since there was a steady movement west of winter migrants, mostly Redwings, about an hour before the end of the session we tried a thrush lure. We netted three but one escaped as we approached the net.. We hoped to ring a few more but unfortunately some time between the last net round and nets down the ever increasing breeze disconnected the lure unit from the speaker playing the thrush calls and song.

FG = age indeterminate

Recaptures: (None)

Sightings: A Marsh Harrier flew around at nets up (dawn), seemed to be just enjoying flying about as it climbed, circled and dived before flying east. For most of the morning winter thrushes (Redwing and a few Song Thrushes) flew west-ish in groups; approx. 250 to 300 in total . When we turned on the thrush lure some dropped into the surrounding bushes. About 10 chaffinch also arrived mid-morning probably winter migrants as we don’t get many of these as residents since papilloma/trichomonas devastated the local population. Also, a couple of Skylark flew west another sign of wintering birds from the north.

11/10 Thatcham Marsh LNR

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR non-CES Visit

Session:   11/10/2026 07:00 to 11:15hrs

Present:   IW, JHW, RAD, IQ.

Weather: cloudy, calm, cool

Nets: 72M of nets along the middle section of reed bed ride + 12M scrub net up from 07:30 to 10:45hrs.

Lures:   BC-CC-FC-GC-GW-WH-LW-WO intermittently.

    Woodpigeon – Adult, we don’t oftem ring these they usally free themselves from the nets.

Notes: JL attended late in the session, arriving just after 40 birds had been extracted in one net round of the session. 16 Long-tailed Tits made up over of a third of the birds from this round. 53 is the best total we’ve had at this site for sometime. Just one Blackcap and seven Chiffchaffs were summer migrants. The Goldcrests may have been early wintering birds from further north. We don’t rush to get to woodpigeons if they are still in the net when we arrive usually they free themselves as we approach; often the only reason we know one has been in the nets is the few feathers they leave behind.

FG = age indeterminate

Recaptures: (07)
Blue Tit ringed: 30/03/2025, 26/07/2025, 21/06/2026, 04/07/2026.
Bullfinch ringed: 11/08/2024.
Dunnock ringed: 22/08/2026.
Robin ringed: 22/08/2026

Sightings: Field sheet list, may have missed a few.

20/09 Thatcham Marsh LNR

Location: Thatcham Marsh LNR non-CES Visit
Session:  20/09/2026 07:00 to 11:15hrs.
Present:   IW, JHW, RAD, JL.
Weather: Sunny periods, breezy, cool.
Nets: 66M of nets along the middle section of reed bed ride + 12M scrub net up from 07:30 to 10:45hrs.
Lures:   (BC-CC-FC-GC-GW-WH-LW-WO),(W-WC-RT-SF-TP-YW),(GH),(YB),(RT), intermittently.

Reed Bunting – we ringed a male and female today, both fledged this year.

Notes: Still have problems with access. For this visit the main BBOWT lock which we have key for was absent, so we had to walk our equipment down to the site; not a happy experience just after dawn! I went to Estovers Friday 18th to borrow the fishing club key as a fallback but was told it was not available, also no mention of the BBOWT lock being removed.

As it was not a CES visit we used audio lures and a shorter length of mist net on the reed bed ride. We had two good net rounds when most of the forty one total were ringed. Blackcaps and Chiffchaff dominated, though the former was not in the numbers of last years matching visit. Scarce for this site in recent years were the two Reed Buntings and the “latish” Willow Warbler. 

FG = age indeterminate

Recaptures: (01)

Cetti’s warbler ringed: 30/08/2026.

Sightings: We were quite busy for most of the session so probably missed a few. Of note were eight

Ravens over south, probably a family group, also a small hairstreak like butterfly that was flying along

the hedgerow to fast to get an ID.