Worcestershire Record No. 21 April 2007 pp. 23-28

Patrick Taylor

In 2006 Worcestershire Recorders’ breeding bird recording has received a much-needed boost by the participation of many new recorders courtesy of the Vision Mapping project. A colour recording form was produced concentrating on nine key species, that are in decline and are relatively familiar with no identification problems allowing a wider range of people to contribute.

At the Worcestershire Recorders AGM back in March of this year, distribution maps were shown based on the few records collected by Worcestershire Recorders in 2004 and 2005. There was a reaction of shock and disbelief that we know so little about the distribution of our breeding birds. The maps were also published in Worcestershire Record No 20 (Taylor 2006).

There are various reasons why no other survey data has been incorporated in the distribution maps. WBRC was initially set up to monitor species distribution and other organisations (mainly the BTO and county recorders) perform an excellent job of monitoring population and distribution of all of our bird species. Consequently there was no effort to collect bird records. Secondly, WBRC has no agreements in place with BTO or any other organisation to use their data. Thirdly, BTO data is based on a random sample of 1km squares covering a very small proportion of the county and would not provide accurate grid references for each record, or any behavioural details to enable an assessment of the likelihood of breeding.

In order to provide the data required by WBRC, it is essential that each record includes an accurate grid reference and also some sign of breeding activity. The records need to cover the whole county – ideally we should have records from every square in Worcestershire!

Since the AGM, the situation has improved significantly, and there has been a fourfold increase in the number of records in the database. However, there is still a long way to go! The data received so far has not been completely analysed, and statistics within this article indicate the presence of a species during the breeding season. The behavioural analysis has not been carried out at this stage, and this article is only intended to provide an interim report of progress.

The Vision Mapping project has concentrated on species of conservation concern, either red-listed (more than 50% decline in 25 years) or amber-listed (25% decline in 25 years). The chosen species were:

Barn Owl
Bullfinch
Corn Bunting
Cuckoo
Lapwing
Linnet
Spotted Flycatcher
Skylark
Yellowhammer

The table shows the increase in 2km squares with one or more records, and squares with five or more species.

The two maps shown below show the diversity of bird species recorded by 2km squares. The first shows the situation from the first two years of recording as shown at the AGM, the second represents the current situation, and shows an encouraging increase in areas covered. Note that these two maps show all red and amber listed species, not just the selected nine species.

For each of the nine species targeted by the Vision Mapping project, a table of population statistics is shown. The figures are taken from a publication produced by a number of conservation organisations “State of the UK’s Birds 2004”. The statistics are based on the various BTO monitoring schemes, mainly from the Common Birds Census (CBC) which ran from the 1960’s to 2000 and the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) from 1994 onwards.

Two distribution maps are shown, the first shows the records received by March 2006, and the second shows records received by October 2006 showing a very considerable improvement in almost all cases.

There was a good influx of Barn Owls into the county during winter 2005/6, but few records during the breeding season, indicating that Worcestershire habitats are not generally adequate to support a breeding Barn Owl population.

Factors behind the decline of the Bullfinch include the loss of straggly hedges, general intensification of agriculture and possibly increased predation from Sparrowhawks (Meade 2000).

Despite the Bullfinch’s status as red-listed, it appears to be widespread throughout most of Worcestershire.

Undoubtedly one of our most threatened species, the Corn Bunting is dependent on arable farming and does not depend on the presence of trees and bushes. The Corn Bunting has been in decline for a long time, but has seen catastrophic losses since 1972. The lack of seed-rich winter stubble and spring sown barley are implicated in the loss along with us of pesticides (Meade 2000).

The Corn Bunting has become very scarce in Worcestershire with most records from the south of the county.

1 Source: Meade (2000)

Decline in Cuckoo population has continued in recent years, possibly as a result of declines in its commonest host species – the Meadow Pipit and Dunnock (Meade 2000)

Still breeding throughout most of the county, but at a relatively low density.

1 Source: Made (2000)

The decline in the Lapwing population has continued due to loss of breeding sites and low productivity as a result of intensification of agriculture particularly the switch from spring to autumn sowing. (Meade 2000)

The four-fold increase in overall records is not reflected in Lapwing records, indicating that it has become a scarce breeding bird in the county.

The Linnet requires scrubby areas and weed seeds, and has therefore suffered as herbicide technology has developed. (Meade 2000)

Still breeding throughout most of the county, commoner in the south of the county.

Spotted Flycatchers are declining very rapidly. They require a good supply of flying insects and suitable perches. It is expected that global warming would be good for Spotted Flycatchers in the UK, however they are long distant migrants and problems may stem from areas used on migration or in winter (Meade 2000).

The villages around Bredon Hill appear to be a stronghold (Clarke 2005). There are still a few sites within Wyre Forest but elsewhere it has virtually disappeared from the county.

The Skylark has suffered heavy losses in some areas and breeds less often in arable land where crops are too dense. Both the lack of stubbles due to autumn sowing and the lack of weed seeds due to herbicides affect survival badly (Meade 2000).

Worcestershire has undoubtedly lost many of its Skylarks, however it remains widespread in most rural areas.

1 Source: Meade (2000)

Once common throughout Britain, the Yellowhammer started to decline in the 1980s and is now absent from whole swathes of the country (Meade 2000).

Conclusion
This year (2006) has seen a remarkable improvement in our knowledge of Worcestershire’s breeding birds, however there is still a long way to go, and several more years of effort will be required.

Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to John Partridge for updating the maps, which have been produced using DMap. Worcestershire Recorders are extremely grateful to Becky Lashley for her almost limitless energy in promoting the survey, producing the excellent colour leaflets and even entering most of the data onto computer.