18/12 Snelsmore Common Feeder

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder

Session: 18-Dec-2015 07:45 to 11:20hrs

Weather: Overcast, warm, occasionally breezy.

Present: JL, RJC, IW

Nets: 36’ one 18’ net each side of feeders

Lure (feeder): Fat Balls, Black Sunflower, Peanuts

Capture (New/Recapture) 62:

Blue Tit 19/22	Chaffinch 1/0
Coal Tit 3/6	Great Spotted Woodpecker 0/1
Great Tit 7/2	Marsh Tit 0/1

Recaptures: 32

Blue Tit: 1y 361d, 1y 340d, 1y 42dx2, 1y 30d, 1y 21d from box CP23, 364d, 311dx2, 212d one from box CP22 one from Box CP24 and one from Box CP31, 209d from box WH19 Coal Tit: 341dx2, 327dx2, Great Tit: 1y 212d from Mount Hill box D02.

Age Range: all 1st Winter except:

Adults: Blue Tit 12, Coal Tit 5, Great Tit 4 Indeterminate: Marsh Tit 1

Notes: The feeders have not been emptying as quickly since the warmer weather. Fewer Coal Tits than is usual at this site and most arrive late in the session, many were adults some ringed last winter. A capture at 09:15hrs had the majority of new Blue Tits about 1gm lighter than most birds of the morning; perhaps an influx. We actually were able to ring a Chaffinch; no sign of grotty foot, probably a European. Ian had to cope being closely watched extracting a difficult Blue Tit by two concerned ladies. A good number of pulli recaptures is quite satisfying. By observation we seem to be capturing better than usual numbers of adult birds or maybe we are just getting better at ageing. Fewer easy “spanglely” Blue Tits today!

Sightings 24 Species: not very much activity in the area of the feeder; the highlight being two cronking Ravens in the nearby conifers.

Buzzard 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull 2 Woodpigeon 6 Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 Magpie 1 Jay 1 Jackdaw 5 Rook 6 Carrion Crow 3 Raven 2 Goldcrest 1 Blue Tit 50

Great Tit 15 Coal Tit 12 Marsh Tit 2 Nuthatch 3 Wren 2 Blackbird 3 Song Thrush 1 Mistle Thrush 1 Robin 3 Dunnock 1 Chaffinch 11 Greenfinch 2