Charts
are difficult to read as they have had to be reduced in size
to fit on screen. You can, however, click on any chart (not
the maps) and the chart will reload in a new page at full size
and be much clearer. Further charts are available, follow the
links to see them in the same way.
April
2009
We had hoped for a good response this month as it was expected
that there should be some considerable differences from previous
months with migrants moving and residents going about serious
nesting. Alas, only 8 gardens have reported, two of these being
new locations from last month! This is not enough to give a
good picture, especially as two come from Old Carlisle Road
and two from the Beattock area - this rather localises the sightings
and doesn't give a good representation of general distribution.
However, going with what information we received, there is
little change in Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch or
Robin from the March results. Dunnock & House Sparrow also
remain about the same. Blackbird and Nuthatch seem to be down
slightly, probably Blackbird sightings will increase again once
they start feeding young. Greenfinch & Goldfinch are much
as before but some fairly large numbers have been seen in some
gardens. Wren has dropped considerably. Song Thrush seems to
be down somewhat, presumably during nesting, but should hopefully
increase again once feeding young. No reports of Treecreeper
this month. Siskin has increased considerably and, for the first
time, Lesser Redpolls have been seen in quite a few gardens,
usually along with the Siskins. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wood
Pigeon, Starling & Crow are similar to before. Pied Wagtail
numbers have risen and Grey Wagtail has been reported for the
first time. Long-tailed Tit has dropped quite a bit. Collared
Dove continues to be seen in a few places but seems to be very
localised. There are some new ones apart from the Lesser Redpoll
- a Dipper seen at Heatheryhaugh, a Linnet at Broomlands and
the first reports of Swallow and House Martin.
Overall
Sightings
The same
information in a different form -
All
reports by location
Once again
the Tit family (Blue, Great & Coal), together with Blackbird,
Robin Chaffinch & Dunnock, are obviously very widespread
and plentiful. House Sparrows are very sporadic, common in some
gardens, totally absent in others. There are still fairly few
reports of Wren. Long-tailed Tits seem down a bit on last month
but they are still being seen regularly in some gardens. Greater-spotted.Woodpecker
and Collared Doves are still being recorded but only in a few
locations. Heron sightings are down, better weather is probably
allowing them to feed elsewhere now. Brambling continue to be
reported in a few isolated gardens, they are certainly not widespread
this winter. Again, there were no recorded sightings of Song
Thrush, Grey Wagtail, Redwing, Fieldfare or Goldcrest. There
are some new ones, though. One record of a Tawny Owl, one of
a Rook, one garden reporting daily Tree Sparrow. Two more are
thought to be mistaken identity (and we all get it wrong sometimes),
one of Garden Warbler and one of Pied Flycatcher. These are
regarded as summer birds although there are reliable reports
of Garden Warbler over-wintering. Pied Flycatchers are very
unlikely but, who knows, perhaps there is one still around.
We have still included these two birds on our list.
Now the
maps. We have again included only selected species. If anyone
out there would like to see more species listed, please get
in touch and we will see what we can do.
You can
change this map view to show the locations where some selected
birds were seen and not seen. The symbols used are:
|
reporting point
|
sighting location for selected bird.
|
The choice
of display is from the following options -
To give
an indication of how common all these birds are, here are some
more charts. Follow the links to open each in a new browser
window.
Birds
seen daily - the commonest birds
Birds seen on three-quarters
of days or more - very common
Birds seen on between
half and three-quarters of days - fairly common
Birds seen on between
one quarter and three-quarters of days - less common
Birds seen on one quarter
of days or less - least common/ occasional
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