03/07 Greenham Common

Location: Greenham Common - Western Enclosure wk 2026 wk27-Fri

Session: 03/07/2026 07:40 to 10:50hrs

Present: IW, JL.

Weather: bright sunny, warm, light breeze.

Nets: 48metres 3 Rides, up from 08:00 to 10:30 hrs

Lures audio: (BC-CC-FC-GC-GW-WH-LW-WO),(W-WC-RT-SF-TP-YW),(GH),(RT), intermittently. 

The last bird of the session – a Chiffchaff juvenile - note the disseminated feathers. This individual was one of two birds with a fat score of B2, possibly indicating they are migrating, also there are signs that the feathers above the top mandible have some pollen stuck to them. This occurs if pollen sticks to the birds feathers when they are probing flowers for insect etc. It is most often noticable in spring when these feathers are sometimes heavily "caked" in pollen when they have been probing flowers on their way back from the Mediterranean and/or Africa.

Notes: A few Blackcap today, probably dispersing locals, most had no fat build-up, some had signs of fat beginning to build around the tracheal pit but not enough to score. One of the Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap had the base of their tracheal pits (throat) obscured by fat to about one third – colour Yellow-pink as opposed to dark red ; the first we’ve seen so far this year.

Recaptures: (00)

Sightings: The local family party of Dartford Warblers was active for a while in the nearby scrub sometimes following the Stonechats.