In a previous update on breeding bird surveys we mentioned that we were busy digitising territory maps. We’ve made great progress and now have digital maps for at least a few years for all of our breeding bird transects. For some years have digitised over 10 years worth of maps! This means that we can now use GIS software to run analysis on the territory information. We have started by creating heat maps of overall territories (for all bird species) so we can see where the breeding bird “hotspots” (highest concentrations of territories) are each year. Example heat maps from 2014 to 2024 at Hardwick Wood are shown below.

Last time, we also looked at the top ten most commonly recorded breeding species. 2024 results are now in and the top ten were:

1. Wren
2. Chiffchaff
3. Robin
4. Blackcap
5. Blue Tit
6. Blackbird
7. Song Thrush
8. Willow Warbler
9. Great Tit
10. Whitethroat

Wren still holds the top spot. Chiffchaff, blackbird, willow warbler and whitethroat have moved up the list, whereas robin, great tit and dunnock have moved down.

As before, this is a quick analysis simply adding up the total number of territories, and doesn't account for changes such as the number of surveys or differences in which sites were surveyed each year, but it is a good way to get a quick idea of changes. 

Many thanks to all of the breeding bird survey volunteers and the office volunteers who process and analyse the survey data.