12/08 Greenham Common

 Location: Greenham Common, Western Enclosure, Week 32
Session: 12/08/2021, 07:40 to 11:10hrs

Notes: The light misting when I arrived developed into a shower as I finished putting up the first net. So, already late, I slowly put up the second nets and was unsure whether to continue or abandon the session, As I finished putting up the net, including repairing a damaged bottom shelf loop connection, the rain eased so I put up the third net and put the audio on. Although phylos warblers were calling there was little sign of action in the enclosure. I checked the nets again after laying out the ringing equipment back at my car, I found two Garden Warblers in the nets. The cloud again darkened, and I began to wonder if I should have persevered. It didn’t rain again, and the next round had ten birds in the nets, mostly Garden Warblers and Willow Warblers and a pristine plumaged juvenile Lesser Whitethroat: the third ringed this season. We noticed that Whitethroats were moving through the scrub, and we ended the session with five ringed, the highest total of this species per session so far this year.  A trickle of bird continued including two that entered the first net as I was taking it down, so I quickly went into reverse and re-erected the net to extract another Whitethroat and a Willow Warbler. After taking the net down the third net had now gained a Willow Warbler and a Linnet so what had seemed to be a quick clear away took longer than expected.

1st calendar year Lesser Whitethroat

Present: JL,IQ
Weather: Overcast that cleared to sunny periods, misting and a short shower early, calm, warm.
Nets: 48metres in 3 rides of 18M, 18M, 12M up from 08:10 to 10:40hrs
Lures Audio: Warblers, Misc Migrants, Hirundine(part), Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler(part)

Recaptures:(none)

Sightings: noticed while ringing including the first returning Wheatear of late summer for me.