The Lincolnshire Bird Club

I went ringing this morning at one of my regular sites at Walesby and processed 30 birds. As I mentioned in my post in the Chat Section about a poor breeding season, very few juvenile birds were about with the exception of Chiffchaffs. I ringed 15 with 1 re-trap and only 2 were adults! Conversely, there was only one Willow Warbler! 2 newly fledged Buzzards were hopping around the branches nearby.

At Gib Point willow numbers are down dramatically. Although we have not carried out a comprehensive common bird census this year, my observations coupled with ringing returns suggest that the willow warbler population has seriously crashed. Sedge warblers are down by half and there were no grasshopper territories here this season (we would expect 2-3). Whitethroats are also significantly down on last year - maybe 30% loss of territories.

Kev