June 2008 Bird Report

June should be the month when we see lots of young birds; but a cold and wet spell at the end of May and beginning of June (when more than 3 inches of rain fell in 9 days) has had a major impact on breeding, particularly of the Gulls on Tern Island.

Five pairs of Great Crested Grebes have produced only one young so far and 2 pairs of Little Grebes none at all.

The Geese and Ducks have done moderately well having hatched young earlier in the year, but late ducklings are scarce with only one young Tufted Duck (27th) and no Gadwall as yet. Mandarins have faired better with 3 broods totalling 35 from the nest boxes and at least another 4 young from natural sites.

The Kestrels have not yet produced any young, but are still at the nest. The Barn Owls have not even attempted to breed yet, but may still do so if conditions are right. Little Owls have produced at least one young. Up to 4 Hobbies can be seen hunting the site.

A Snipe on the 7th is likely to be a resident. The return wader passage started with a Green Sandpiper on the 17th, followed by Ringed Plover on the 20th, Dunlin and Common Sandpiper on the 21st, a Black-tailed Godwit on the 28th and 5 Redshank on the 29th.

The only Little Ringed Plover to hatch on site was last seen on the 12th when about 2 weeks old. Redshanks seem to have left site with out breeding success. Lapwings have had a very poor time as well. A ringing visit to Tern Island on the 19th found only 3 baby Common Terns from an estimated 10 nests and 2 baby Black-headed Gulls from an estimated 100 nests! There were 21 replacement Gull nests being incubated plus a few more on Sandpiper Island. A July ringing visit is planned.

Swift numbers have reached 150+ and at least 20 Sand Martins remain in the vicinity of the gravel works where they dug nest holes, most of which are not being used. Numbers of Swallow and House Martin seem below previous years.

Smaller birds with a shorter breeding period and starting early may have been better able to deal with the spell of bad weather. There seem to be juvenile Whitethroats everywhere, for example, and the number of Blue and Great Tits fledged from the boxes is only 10% down on last year.  If conditions remain good, Warblers could have a productive second broods. A pair of Yellowhammers are present at the west end of the new workings and, hopefully, breeding.

As always, please report your own sightings on the record sheets in Colebrook Hide or send them to Ian Brown, the Moor Green Bird Recorder.

Bruce Archer