Species Account
Extract from Bird Report 2024
Widespread resident that has suffered some recent declines. Included in 16.1% of BirdTrack lists. The East of England long-term trend is decreasing -27%*. The long-term trend for Bedfordshire is also decreasing -30%. (Red list).
Of the 1,844 records, groups of five or fewer made up 83% of the total. There were 47 reports of flocks containing 30 or more at a handful of key locations, and despite a quiet end to 2023, the first winter period accounted for the majority, with sites in east Bedfordshire at the forefront. In January, there were good numbers at Potton (66), Wrestlingworth (30), Tetworth Hall Estate (55) and Broom South Quarry (80), though the highest was 100 in the west of the county in fields between Carlton and Turvey on the 13th. Those flocks remained throughout February, with an additional gathering of 40 at Henlow Grange on the 19th. In March, the Broom South Quarry flock had reached triple figures, with a season’s high of 125 there on the 11th. There was another notable flock of 30 at Sutton Hill on the 21st, being the last significant record of the period.
After an early report of 30 at Sutton Hill on 29th August, the majority of post-breeding-period flocks were from October onwards, with just 16 more entries involving flocks of 30 or more from traditional sites. Most of these were from east Bedfordshire, but good numbers were also at Aspley Heath (30), Wilstead (50) and Thurleigh Airfield (60). But it was the wider Broom GP area that once again produced the best counts, with a year’s highest of 203 at Broom East on 6th December and a further 100 at Broom South Quarry on the 28th.
