Yesterday, Alice, Gail and I checked our boxes in the Hodder Valley in Bowland. It was the first check of the season and we were eager to see how many pairs of Pied Flycatchers were using the boxes.
We had four boxes where the females had started laying their clutches, and we had one box where the nest was complete, but laying hadn't yet commenced. At the moment, based on what we found yesterday, the occupancy rate this year is 12%. The long-term mean from 2002 - 2022 is 17%, but from the table below you will see how variable it can be from year to year. After the next couple of visits, we will have a better idea on what is happening this year.
In the other boxes we had a pair of Nuthatches and several pairs of Blue and Great Tits. Again, after another couple of visits we will be able to finalise the numbers.
Singing from the woodland we had three Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, a Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff. And calling from the tree tops we had several Lesser Redpolls and Siskins. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was vocal, but remained unseen, as was a Kingfisher that flew down the river.
the River Hodder below
If the weather plays ball I have a breeding wader survey to do tomorrow, but I'll be waiting until later to make a decision. The problem is that at the moment the forecast isn't looking great for the rest of the week, or not until next weekend anyway.
Over on the right you will see that I have updated the ringing totals for Fylde Ringing Group up until the end of April. Five new species for the year were ringed in April, and these were Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, Sand Martin and Reed Warbler.
Below you will find the 'top 2' ringed during April, and the 'Top 6 Movers and Shakers' for the year.
Top 2 Ringed in April
1. Lesser Redpoll - 14
2. Sand Martin - 13
Top 6 Movers and Shakers for the Year
1. Goldfinch - 65 (same position)
2. Chaffinch - 24 (same position)
3. Lesser Redpoll - 17 (straight in)
4. Blue Tit - 13 (down from 3rd)
Great Tit - 13 (same position)
Sand Martin - 13 (straight in)
2 comments:
How many boxes do you have in that location? I'm from Bulgaria and this year I have only one pair of Semicollared flycatchers....out of the 45 boxes I've put up
Hello Nikola,
I have 42 boxes at this location, and as you will have seen from my graph, if the occupation remains the same it will be low. I will be checking again later this week, so it will be interesting to see if any others have arrived in the last ten days.
How may pairs of Semi-collared Flycatchers do you normally get at this location? Do you get Collared Flycatchers as well?
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