18/09 Greenham Common Western Enclosure

Location: Greenham Common Western Enclosure

Session: 18-Sep-2015 07:00 to 12:00hrs
Weather: overcast, light winds, sunny periods later.
Present: JL, IW, DL
Nets: 160’ in three rides of 60’, 60’, 40’ up from 07:15 to 11:30hrs
Lure: audio, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Firecrest, Willow Warbler, Meadow Pipit, Woodlark
Capture 45: Blackcap 8/0, Blue Tit 1/0, Chiffchaff 25/0, Goldcrest 2/0, Goldfinch 1/0, Great Tit 2/0, Meadow Pipit 1/0, Redstart 1/0, Whitethroat 1/0, Willow Warbler 3/0
Recaptures: None
Age Range: All 1st summer except adults: Chiffchaff 7, Great TI 1, Willow Warbler 1

Redstart 1st Summer Male

Notes: started very overcast and as the BBC said there could be heavy isolated showers, operated three rides in case I had to take the nets down quick. A good capture initially followed by another then it slowed somewhat. Towards the end of the session captures began to pick up again as the weather brightened up. Obviously the best bird was the 1st summer male Redstart.

Sightings 40 Species: Migrants appeared to be dropping in from time to time. A walk to the south east corner of the compound found the bushes full of Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Redstart, (I like to think the one captured was one of the two seen) Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher with tits, finches and pipits. They moved off east away from the ringing area. A little later a similar gathering was in bushes south of the compound and some of these we captured. As yesterday there was a steady trickle of Swallow southeast for much of the morning. Stonechat and Dartford Warbler re-appeared, wonder where they were yesterday? The first Lesser Redpoll of the autumn flew over early morning.

Blackbird 5 Blackcap 20 Black-headed Gull 9 Blue Tit 17 Carrion Crow 2 Chaffinch 1 Chiffchaff 40 Coal Tit 1 Dartford Warbler 1 Dunnock 5 Goldcrest 2 Goldfinch 10 Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 Great Tit 4 Green Woodpecker 1 Greenfinch 2 Grey Heron 1 Jackdaw 20 Jay 3 Lesser Redpoll 1

Lesser Whitethroat 1 Linnet 35 Long-tailed Tit 12 Magpie 3 Meadow Pipit 17 Pied Wagtail (yarrellii) 30 Redstart 2 Robin 4 Siskin 18 Spotted Flycatcher 1 Stock Dove 5 Stonechat 5 Swallow 38 Wheatear 2 Whinchat 1 Whitethroat 3 Woodlark 3 Woodpigeon 10 Wren 2 Yellow Wagtail 1