Species Account
Extract from Bird Report 2024
Very common resident. Included in 73.8% of BirdTrack lists. The East of England long-term trend is increasing +43%*. The long-term trend for Bedfordshire is also increasing +42%*. (Green list).
The highest counts were lower than in recent years, with a peak of 45 at Priory CP on 12th November. At Fenlake Meadows on 11th January a group of 40 were feeding “on thousands of drowned earthworms as flood waters subsided”. Regular counts at Houghton Brook Pools revealed a fairly consistent level, between a low of 14 in May and a high of 33 in February, and a monthly average of 24 through the year. They were in 95% of gardens during the Summer Garden Bird Survey.
