Species Account
Extract from Bird Report 2024
Common summer visitor and passage migrant. Included in 8.7% of BirdTrack lists. (Green list).
Five breeding colonies were reported: Bedford Embankment (3 occupied pipes), Willington Lock Quarry, Broom South Quarry (54 burrows), Grovebury SP (107 occupied burrows in NE corner and 40+ burrows in SE corner, adults still feeding chicks in nest on 11th July) and MCP Wetlands NR. There were none at the small Bromham Bridge colony, while that at Barford Bridge was not visited.
First to arrive was one at Broom East on 14th March, aft er which they were recorded daily. There were steady continuous arrivals rather than obvious influxes, although there were 80 at Deepdale on the 29th, with the majority of other records from wetland sites. In March, they were reported from 17 sites, in April from 49 sites and in May from 38 sites. The larger flocks were mainly at breeding colonies. Only 41 flocks of 50 or more were recorded, with 18 of those from Grovebury SP and seven from the Sandy Heath/Deepdale area. There were 13 flocks of 100 or more, with the largest count of the spring being 200 at Grovebury SP on 27th April. Away from breeding sites the largest flocks were 100 at both Blunham Lakes on 17th April and Broom East on 22nd May.
In the second half of the year there was a month-by-month reduction of reports and presence at sites: in July there were 177 records from 33 sites; in August 98 records from 22 sites; in September 52 records from 18 sites and in October two records from two sites. Overall, there were only ten records of 50 or more, four of which were from breeding sites (Grovebury SP and Broom South Quarry). At Broom South Quarry there were 100 on 25th July, and at Priory CP 100 on 11th September. The last were 65 flying south in a ten-minute period over Priory CP on 7th October.
