Species Account
Extract from Bird Report 2024
Widespread resident but declining. Included in 44.8% of BirdTrack lists. The East of England long-term trend is decreasing -50%*. The long-term trend for Bedfordshire is also decreasing -72%*. (Red list).
A huge roost built up at Willington GP in the first winter period. Th ere were 12,000 there on 5th January, 10,000 on 30th January, and then 50,000 on 12th February and again on 1st March. Elsewhere, there were 10,000 at Broom on 22nd January, a feeding flock of 10,000 at Grovebury SP on 19th February (considered to be part of the Tringford roost in Hertfordshire), and 20,000 at Meadow Lane GP on 29th February. In the second winter period there were 6,500 at Langford Mill on 1st December and 6,000 at Broom South Quarry on 21st December. In addition to those counts, there were 41 records involving 1,000 or more during the year. Evidence of late autumn migration came from The Pinnacle with, in October, 400 on the 11th, 200 on the 24th, 1,132 on the 27th, and then in November, 686 on the 3rd.
