Location: Bagnor Feeder CES2024/25.03 Session: 03/12/2024 07:45 to 11:30hrs The Bagnor Feeder Notes:  We made a late visit to the western enclosure last Friday 29th Nov and in 2-5 hours netted zero birds the  first time I can recall not catching any birds there. Sunday the 1st Dec the scheduled Snelsmore Feeder visit was rained off. So it was good to do some ringing today even though it was another Blue Tit day. Compared with last year’s matching visit there are fewer 1st winter birds than expected suggesting a poor breeding outcome. Many of the nest boxes on Mount Hill were predat ..read more

Location: Bagnor Feeder CES2024/25.02 Session: 26/11/2024 07:45 to 11:30hrs Leucistic Blue Tit Notes: Finally manage to get some ringing in following days of rain or the temperature being too low for birds safety when ringing. Mostly Blue Tits again with a few Great Tits and a sprinkling  of other species. The “partial albino” Blue Tit is unique and unexpected, never seen or heard of a leucistic of this species before. Seen Blackbirds, Sparrows, Starlings, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and I think Reed or Sedge Warbler, can’t recall hearing of it occurring in the tit family though. This winter t ..read more

Location: Snelsmore Common Feeder CES2024/25.02 Session: 17/11/2024 07:45 to 11:30hrs Notes: A good session included pulli ringed May 2023 at Mount Hill Bagnor and Winterbourne Holt along the west margin of Snelsmore Common as well as boxes in the woodland around the car park and feeder. A three year old Coal Tit is also a good record as is a Blue Tit ringed at the Bagnor Feeder down in the valley in the 2024 1st winter period. Compared to the 2023/24.02 session there are many more retraps and fewer new birds ringed indicating a good survival of both juveniles and 2nd winter+ individuals. Pre ..read more

 Location: Greenham Common - Western Enclosure wk46 Session: 15/11/2024 07:45 to 10:50hrsRedwing - a 1st Winter, note the shape of the white tip of some feathers turns up, on 2nd winter birds the white tip is much thinner less obvious and turns down. Notes: Fewer birds about, some winter thrushes buzzed the enclosure as usual and just one Redwing stayed in the net. Tried running a finches lure and it called in the two Goldfinch, also a Linnet, we flushed the latter as we checked the nets unfortunately. Present: JL,IW. Weather: overcast, light breeze, cold. Nets: 48metres 3 Rides, up from ..read more

 Location: Greenham Common - Western Enclosure wk46 Session: 12/11/2024 07:45 to 10:50hrs Notes: A late Chiffchaff on the 1st net round and a Goldcrest plus more of the same – Blue Tits. The Chiffchaff is not the latest we have ringed here by two weeks. The next round more Blue Tits plus a Great Tit. All the time Redwings and Fieldfare groups were landing in and around enclosure with none caught. Around 09:45hrs a group of Fieldfare with some Redwing went into the enclosure very low, so we immediately did another round. On approaching we could see two Redwings in one net and a Fieldfare ..read more

Location: Greenham Common 616 Feeder Session: 10/11/2024 07:45 to 11:30hrs Notes:. This feeder usually provides a better variety of species than our two other feeders, and so it was today. Also, Blue Tit numbers at the feeder were up nearer the level expected (40%+) as a proportion of the overall capture compared to the last visit here (29/10/2024) when we ringed just 4 of a total of 15 (26%). The Goldcrest responded to the audio playing near the scrub nets. Present: JL,IW,IQ,CMD,DL. Weather: overcast, cool, calm. Nets: 2x 10M scrub nets, 2x6M nets, 1  each side of feeder up from 08:00 t ..read more

Location: Greenham Common - Western Enclosure wk45 Session: 08/11/2024 07:45 to 10:50hrs Notes: Lots of thrush activity for most of the morning, groups of Redwing, sometimes Fieldfare dropped into the scrub in and around the enclosure unfortunately none were netted. It’s getting towards the end of the season (weeks no. 24 to 45) and this year we tried to do two visits each week (usually Tue or Fri unless weather or holidays intervened). Ringing here becomes much less productive now as winter thrush movement through drops away and summer migrants are long gone. Will probably do a few more visi ..read more

Location: Bagnor Feeder Winter CES visit2024/25.01 Session: 06/11/2024 07:45 to 11:30hrs Notes: The first winter CES of the 2024/25. Very busy, ringing mostly Blue Tits and Great Tits also of note two Nuthatches. It looks to have been a good survival year for both Blue and Great Tit as we processed pulli from both the 2023 and 2024 breeding season as well as good numbers of both species, also the number of adults seems higher than usual. The Treecreeper was unexpected. Present: JL,IW. Weather: overcast, cool, calm. Nets: 2x6M nets, 1  each side of feeder up from 08:00 to 10:00hrs Lures (F ..read more

Location: Greenham Common - Western Enclosure wk45 Session: 05/11/2024 07:45 to 10:50hrs Notes: We are getting towards the end of the season and numbers moving about the heath are dropping. I usually treat week 45 as last week of summer migration. Since we started here in 2009, post week 45 the weather usually becomes more unstable, but this year who knows! The first bird was a Firecrest. Sexing these is not as straight forward as Goldcrest. The crest colour difference is not as obvious, it seems the extent of white on the “face” is less on the female and wing length is 50-54mm and below wher ..read more

Location: Snelsmore Common Car Park Feeder Session: 03/11/2024 07:45 to 11:30hrs  Notes: Fortunately, the exclusion due to rats has been lifted and the feeder is back in operation near The Snugg garden. A pre-Winter CES session and we struggle a bit, fortunately Charis (CMD) who hadn’t ringed since the beginning of the year, with a bit of tuition, got up to speed very quickly including net extraction. Had a few good nest box (pulli) ringed re-traps, including from a box at the Winterbourne Holt end of the common. Present: JL,IW,CMD. Weather: overcast, cool, calm. Nets: 2x6M nets, 1   ..read more