30/03 Greenham Common Feeder

Location: Greenham Common Feeder

Session: 30-Mar-2016 07:15 to 11:20 hrs

Headlines: A quiet session with most of the regulars avoiding the nets, not unexpected at this end of the season. No Blue Tit and just a couple of Great Tits captured. The first migrant Chiffchaff of the year captured was ringed here just over 2 years ago; not captured last year. Still a few Lesser Redpoll and even fewer Siskin coming to the feeders. Our visitor from St Helena ringed a few passerines to keep her hand in; a bit different to Masked Booby, petrels and fish Annalea!

Weather: Sunny and mostly calm but a couple of blustery periods with heavy cloud.

Present: JL, AB, RJC, JHW, IW, JPM, DL

Nets: 40metres in 4 rides of 12m, 10m, 12m, 6m up from 07:40 to 11:00hrs

Lure (feeder): nygerx3, black sunflowerx2, peanuts

Capture (New/Recapture) 15 (9/6): Chiffchaff 0/1, Dunnock 1/0, Goldfinch 1/0

Great Spotted Woodpecker 0/1, Great Tit 1/1, Lesser Redpoll 5/2, Siskin 1/1

Recaptures: 6; Great Spotted Woodpecker 150d, Chiffchaff 2y 14d (arrived a little this year we ringed it on the 16-Mar-2014), Great Tit 150d; rest less than 100days.

Age Range: all 1st winter except adult Chiffchaff 1, Goldfinch 1 and a difficult redpoll - plumage age indeterminate.

Sightings 33 Species: Several Chiffchaff singing, still some winter finches coming to the feeder. A short burst from the Cetti’s Warbler heard last visit, over by the sump near the gate. Still a bit “in between” periods bird-wise.

Blackbird 5 Blue Tit 4 Bullfinch 2 Buzzard 1 Carrion Crow 4 Cetti’s Warbler 1 Chaffinch 5 Chiffchaff 4 Coal Tit 2 Cormorant 1 Dunnock 2 Goldcrest 1 Golden Plover 80 Goldfinch 12 Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 Great Tit 6 Green Woodpecker 1

Greenfinch 8 Grey Heron 3 Jackdaw 8 Lesser Redpoll 15 Long-tailed Tit 2 Magpie 6 Nuthatch 1 Red Kite 1 Redwing 2 Robin 3 Siskin 5 Song Thrush 4 Sparrowhawk 1 Woodlark 1 Woodpigeon 7 Wren 1