Species Account
Extract from Bird Report 2024
Common resident. Included in 38.7% of BirdTrack lists. The East of England long-term trend is increasing +8%, but the long-term trend for Bedfordshire is decreasing -57%*. (Green list).
Rookeries were at 206 sites with a total of 4,609 nests and an average colony size of 22.4 nests. All regularly used rookeries were visited, with the exception of those within the Chicksands base. The total nest count and average colony size were slightly down on 2023 (although that was a bumper year). A further 76 sites which had previously held rookeries were also checked. There were 11 new (or at least not previously recorded) rookeries. Those at Crosslands, Caddington and Bennetts Recreation Ground, Dunstable had also been used in 2023 but not reported until 2024. Rookeries have been recorded from Luton and Bedford, but not previously from Dunstable. Three rookeries held over 100 nests: Cotton End (127 nests), Nunswood, Meppershall (115 nests) and Stockbridge Farm, Henlow (105 nests), while another two sites held more than 75 nests. Most rookeries (66% of total) consisted of between one and 25 nests but most nests were in rookeries of 26–50 nests (40%). Ash was the most commonly recorded nest tree (38.0% of all nests), oak was the second most commonly used (7.4% of all nests) although 37.8% of nest trees remained unidentified. Th ere were 18 different species of tree recorded as nest trees. While most rookeries seem to be built in single species stands of trees, the rookery at Judith Gardens, Potton Church was in at least six different species of tree.
Pre-breeding season, there were 15 flocks of 100 or more, including regular flights in January over Potton towards Sutton: 133 on the 19th, 153 on the 25th and 209 (highest pre-breeding season flock) on the 27th. Also in January there were flocks of 200 from Broom East on the 24th, Broom South Quarry on the 25th and Thurleigh Airfield on the 31st. During the breeding season and summer there were 12 flocks of 100 or more away from rookeries, including 200 at Willington on 29th July and Stopsley Common on 31st August. There were only four such flocks later in the year, with the largest count of 600 at Broom South Quarry on 11th November.
Rooks were noted feeding at bird feeders in two gardens. In Henlow, they only visited the garden when there were fat balls in the feeders, and in Sandy, they were feeding on sunflower seeds.
