the birds of nottinghamshire 2009

There are few more welcome plops through the letter box than the one that brings the Annual Report of The Birds of Nottinghamshire.
This fine little volume charts the changes in bird populations each year and is a fascinating read. The team who produce it should be warmly praised.


Always keen on beating myself up and adding to my list of things to do, I resolved, on reading Volume 67, to submit my records of birds seen each month.

Quite how useful these records will be we will find out.

The key things this month were to discover how widespread the house sparrow (passer domesticus) is. At our previous home, sparrows had disappeared ten years before and this reflected a national decline. Here, in Hucknall, the picture is very different and the birds are so widespread and numerous it became impossible to record them!!

The second main fact of interest for me was to discover a local population of tree sparrows (passer montanus) that stretched from the Mill Ponds in Bestwood Village right up the Mushroom Farm site.
Tree sparrows are shy and pretty little birds. Both sexes have a chocolate brown crown that marks them out immediately as being different to their urban cousins. Although the report describes them as 'fairly common and widely distributed' I usually have to travel to Rutland Water to get a reliable look at these birds. Hopefuly, not anymore!! I'm hoping to find a way that I can support these birds in the future as their local populations can decline rapidly and unpredictably.
This photo from Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers website by Howard Broughton


NB For dullards only: these are my records for March and if you want this as a spreadsheet, let me know.

Species		Site	First date	Last date	Total	Notes
Mute Swan		Millponds, Bestwood Village		Throughout	3
Greylag Goose		Millponds, Bestwood Village		Throughout	2
Canada Goose		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	6	in flight
		Millponds, Bestwood Village
Mallard		Millponds, Bestwood Village		Throughout	2
Tufted Duck		Millponds, Bestwood Village		Throughout	5 max
Common Pheasant		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	2
Great Crested Grebe		Millponds, Bestwood Village		24.3.11	1
Eurasian Sparrowhawk		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		14.3.11	1	overhead
Common Buzzard		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood
		Kevin Road, Wollaton		13.3.11	3	in flight
		Above Beswood Country Park		27.3.11	6	in flight
Common Kestrel		A60 N Lakeside Restaurant, Arnold		19.3.11	1
Moorhen		River Leen, Bestwood		27.3.11	1
Common Coot		Millponds, Bestwood Village		Throughout	2
Northern Lapwing		Fields Lamins Lane		Throughout	3	Displaying
Stock Dove		Crimea Plantation, Bestwood		27.3.11	1	calling
Wood Pigeon		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	8
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	3
		Fields adjacent to Moor Road Bestwood		27.3.11	61	Feeding
Collared Dove		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	2
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	3
Tawny Owl		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		20.3.11	2	Calling from pines
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		22.3.11	2
Green Woodpecker	Picus viradis	Lamins Plantation, bestwood		27.3.11	1	calling
Greater Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopus major	Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood
Sky Lark		Bestwwod Country Park		27.3.11	1
Meadow Pipit		Bestwood Country Park		27.3.11	1
Pied Wagtail		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		25.3.11	1	Overhead
		Footpath by NET tram line		27.3.11	1
Bohemian  Waxwing	Bombycilla garrulus	Lamins Lane, Bestwood		26.3.11	8	in easterly flight
		Bales Mill Bestwood		27.3.11	10
Wren		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	1
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	1
Dunnock		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	2
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	2
		Leapool Allotments		Throughout	2
Robin		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	2
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	2
		Leapool Allotments		Throughout	2
Blackbird		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	2
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	4
		Leapool Allotments		Throughout	2
Song Thrush		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	1	Singing
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	1	Singing
Mistle Thrush		Oak Tree, Coliers Way bestwood CP		27.3.11	1
Common Chiffchaff		Millponds, Bestwood Village		21.3.11	1	Singing
		Bales Mill, Beswood		27.3.11	1	Singing
		Bestwood Country Park		27.3.11	3	Singing
Willow Warbler
Goldcrest	Regulus regulus	Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		31.3.11	1	Singing
Coal Tit	Parus major	Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	1
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall
Blue Tit		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	3
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	2
Great Tit		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	2
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	2
European Nuthatch		Bestwood Country Park		27.3.11	1
		Crimea Plantation, Bestwood		Throughout	1
Eurasian Jay		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	1
Magpie		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	2
Rook		Seven Mile, A60, Papplewick		Throughout	uncounted	Rookery
Carrion Crow		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	2
Common Starling		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	2	taking nest material under eaves
House Sparrow	Passer domesticus	Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	1	In uncut privet hedge with wildacres	House sparrows were too widespread to record accurately in Hucknall. Stark contrast with Ravenshead, where populations were extremely local.
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	5 max	In ivy clad hawthorn
		Footpath by NET tram line		27.3.11	9	in hedge
		Mornington Primary School, Nuthall		Throughout	5 max	In Hedge by footpath
Tree Sparrow	Passer montanus	Westhouse Farm, Bestwood		27.3.11	1		Hadn't realised that tree sparrows would be as easily seen in Notts until this walk where we saw them from the edge of the Mill Ponds, Bestwood village - up the hill to the fields alongside Lamin's Lane.
		Lamins Plantation, Lamins Lane		27.3.11	3	Using nesting boxes
		Lamins Lane, Bestwood		27.3.11	10	In hawthorn brash
		Old Mill House, Bestwood		27.3.11	3
Common Chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs	Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	4
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	2
Greenfinch	Carduelis carduelis	Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	3
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	2
Goldfinch	Carduelis chloris	Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	2
		Broomhill Park View, Hucknall		Throughout	3	Frequently on feeders
		Leapool Allotments		Throughout	3
Common Bullfinch		Cordwood, Lamins Lane, Bestwood		Throughout	1