Monday 1 August 2022

Newbury Area Nest Box Monitoring 2022 Report

Summary: Nest Box Recording Schemes was established in 1986 on the Bagnor Estate and 2002 at Snelsmore Common and Greenham Common and have been monitored every year since except in 2001 (Foot & Mouth) and 2020 (Covid Pandemic).
Location References: Ordinance Survey 1KM square SU4470, SU4571, SU4671 and SU4964
Nest Box Location: 39 nest boxes in Mount Hill area Bagnor
                                  64 at Snelsmore Common 
                                  32 at Greenham Common.
Visits: At least three visits made to every box and those boxes that show little or no sign of occupation were then dropped from the monitoring. The rest of the boxes were visited until nesting activity stopped:– failure at egg or pulli stage or the brood had flown from the nest. Between 4th Apr 2022 and 31st May 2022 four to eight visits to each of the occupied boxes made until the last broods had fledged.
Broods ringed when young are around seven to ten days old. Blue and Great Tits and Nuthatches usually fledge around 14 days from hatching.
Final visits on the 15th, 16th, 17th and 21st Jun 2022 to all occupied boxes made to check how many chicks had left the  boxes (fledge).
Results:
Unoccupied                       20 boxes
Unknown Species             10 boxes (no progress beyond nest building)
Blue Tit                              55 boxes 494 young ringed, 480 fledged
                                                (14 ringed young died before fledging from five boxes )
                                                (1 of 4 un-ringed young from a very late nesting attempt died before fledging)
                                             5 boxes deserted at egg stage
                                             1 box predated at egg stage (Squirrel or Woodpecker)
                                             3 box deserted at young stage
Great Tit                            35 boxes 296 young ringed 291 fledged)
                                                (5 of 7 ringed young from one box died before fledging)
                                             2 boxes deserted at egg stage
Nuthatch                              2 boxes 16 young ringed all fledged.
                                             1 box failed at young stage
Pied Flycatcher                  1 box failed at egg stage
                                Total 135 boxes (Occupation 85%)
Outcome: 2022 was a reasonably successful breeding year at these sites for both Blue and Great Tit.
(See chart below for context)


Nest Box Recording in 2022 also at:
Sandleford Copse (SU4864) nest boxes were monitored by JFA & DB but pulli not ringed. 
                          Occupation: 9 Blue Tits (3 failed), 8 Great Tits (none failed), 2 Nuthatch (1 failed)                                  3 Unoccupied/Failed at Nest Stage
Peckmore Copse (SU4864) nest boxes thought to have been monitored but no nest records entered.



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