Breeding Bird Survey 2023

The 2023 Stanpit Breeding Bird Survey, prepared by David N Smith, found the following:

Blackcap	Between eight to ten singing males with three successfully raising young.
Blackbird	A common resident with at least five pairs breeding.
Blue Tit	Two pairs bred and both raised young.
Canada Goose	There was no obvious attempt to breed this year.
Carrion Crow	Two pairs raised three young between them.
Cettis Warbler	A good year with three pairs raising young and two pairs second brooding.
Chaffinch	A common breeder.
Chiff Chaff	Six pairs bred with reasonable success, at least three raised young.
Coal Tit	This species breeds just off the reserve.
Collared Dove	Only two pairs this year but one pair raised two young.
Coot	This species only hangs on as a breeding species, one pair got washed out early year and no young were recorded.
Cuckoo	Present in the area and regularly recorded during the Spring and Summer, probably bred on Wick.
Dunnock	A common breeder.
Gadwall	Once again a pair was present during the Spring but no obvious breeding took place.
Goldfinch	Four to five pairs present with with good success, especially common on the newly founded park on the golf course.
Great Spotted Woodpecker	Usual pair again raised two young.
Great Tit	Three pairs successfully raised young.
Greenfinch	Upward of ten pairs bred mostly around Couch Hill, plenty of young recorded in later summer.
Jackdaw	Breed commonly around the area with one pair on the reserve but unsuccessful.
Jay	Two pairs bred again this year with one pair raising one young.
Kestrel	The usual pair lost out to crows and magpies this year and didn’t successfully breed.
Lesser Whitethroat	A pair on Crouch Hill raised two young.
Linnet	A declining species with just two pairs recorded.
Long Tailed Tit	Two pairs were both successful.
Magpie	Two pairs bred with one raising two young.
Mallard	A fairly common breeder with about seven to eight pairs scattered around the area.
Meadow Pipit	Four pairs this year and even allowing for regular flooding two managed to raise young.
Moorhen	Several pairs bred with up to five young recorded during late July/August.
Mute Swan	Four pairs were present around the marsh with three successful but one pair raised only one young.
Oyster Catcher	No serious attempts to breed this year, but present and always worth keeping an eye on.
Pheasant	Again, present in small numbers but no young reported.
Pied Wagtail	Two pairs bred with one successful.
Reed Bunting	Six singing males present with moderate success.
Reed Warbler	At least fourteen to sixteen single males. Young were noted at several nests late in the season.
Robin	Another common breeder.
Sedge Warbler	Five singing males were on Priory late in the season, success not known.
Shelduck	Again, no obvious breeding took place, however a pair with young did appear during July, maybe from Hengistbury.
Song Thrush	Upward of eight singing males mainly on the perimeter of the reserve.
Sparrowhawk	Regularly recorded and obviously breeds very locally. Two to three pairs.
Stock Dove	Another good year with at least four pairs, with very few young raised.
Water Rail	Another good year with six to nine pairs probably breeding, up to eight young were recorded during late July/August.
Whitethroat	Up to six males were present in early Spring but success was considered down on average.
Wood Pigeon	At least four pairs present and two at least raised young.
Wren	A common resident with young raised at three nesting sites.