On the face of it, compared to last January it was a disappointing month but, considering the weather and the impacts on bird life, and the fact that it is comparable with previous years prior to 2024, no real concerns about the result. Indeed, the key difference between the two months is in the number of full sessions we were able to fit in. There were just over half as many full sessions as last January, so the numbers caught per session were just about equal. Another factor from my catches was, quite simply, I did not manage to set up my usual feeding stations at all of my winter feeding sites: Red Lodge, because I need to find time to clear the winter rides; the Firs, because I did set a feeding station but in three weeks the only feeder found was the peanut feeder destroyed by squirrels and Webb’s Wood, because last year the feeders were stolen from the site and I haven’t found a position that I think would be safe from such people. The impact is quite marked. Last January my Braydon Forest team processed 436 birds in six sessions, this January it was just 168 birds in four sessions.
Missing from our catch this January when compared to last were: Blackcap; Brambling; Cetti’s Warbler; Corn Bunting; Lesser Redpoll; Tree Sparrow and Woodpigeon. Added to the catch were just Siskin and this beauty:
Ian and Andy have been trialling a new site and, although the catch at their session wasn’t huge, to catch our first adult Little Owl is very exciting, especially given that their UK population has declined by 82% between 1967 and 2022.
I am not going to do the usual increases / decreases analysis, as the difference in the number of sessions renders it meaningless. Let’s hope for better weather in February!
Ringing In The Braydon Forest & Beyond 