23/01 Snelsmore Common Feeder

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder
Session: 23-Jan-2016 08:00 to 11:20hrs
Headlines: The weather looked ideal but the feeder was slow and we struggled to reach 15 in the first two hours of the session with sometimes just one bird per round. A dip in the temperature increased feeder activity and the last two round consisted of five birds each. The was little activity with most birds about staying in the tree tops feeding presumably on early developing buds etc. Unfortunately the brambling seen earlier in the week at the feeder did not come in to the feed; thought I heard it first thing up in the trees though.
Weather: misty early clearing to sunny periods and quite pleasant temperature-wise. Late in the session weather began to cool and became cloudier.
Present: JL, RGS
Nets: 12 metres in two rides; a 6m net each side of feeders up from 08:15 until 11:00hrs
Lure (feeders): fat balls, black sunflower and peanuts.
Capture (New/Recapture) 28 (13/15):

Blue Tit 8/8	Coal Tit 1/2
Great Tit 0/2	Long-tailed 3/3
Nuthatch 1/0

Recaptures: 15: (nest box pulli from the Car park and Winterbourne Holt)
Blue Tit: 1y 249d (box WH21), 1y 66d, 248d (box CP02)
Coal Tit: 1y 315d, 363d
Great Tit 310d, 241d (box WH20)
Long-tailed Tit 1y 315d
Others all recent
Age Range: 1st winter except:
Adults: Blue Tit 2, Coal Tit 2, Great Tit 1
Indeterminate: Long-tailed Tit 6, Nuthatch 1

Sightings 14 Species: Very quiet and spring-like little activity in the trees and very few over-flying.

Blackbird 2 Blue Tit 20 Carrion Crow 2 Chaffinch 5 Coal Tit 5 Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 Great Tit 5

Lesser Black-backed Gull 6 Long-tailed Tit 10 Marsh Tit 1 Nuthatch 4 Robin 3 Rook 8 Woodpigeon 5