At our monthly volunteer day at Costons this October, we completed an hour-long bird survey around the reserve. It may seem like too small a place to see much, but the vegetation and brambles are bursting with life! We managed to spot 17 species both within and flying over the reserve. Exciting highlights were seeing a Sparrowhawk (Accipter nidus) circling for songbirds and a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) flitting between the trees. Our most abundant species was the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) – they can be heard chirping all the time. They are also the probable reason that the Sparrowhawk was overhead! Our complete list, and numbers seen, is below:
- 1. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)- 15
- 2. Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) – 1
- 3. Robin (Erithacus rubecula) – 1
- 4. Great Tit (Parus major) – 2
- 5. Magpie (Pica pica) – 4
- 6. Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) – 2
- 7. Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) – 1
- 8. Red Kite (Milvus milvus) – 1
- 9. Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) – 1
- 10. Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) – 4
- 11. Crow (Corvus corone) – 3
- 12. Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) – 3
- 13. Sparrowhawk (Accipter nisus)- 1
- 14. Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) – 4
- 15. Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocops major)- 1
- 16. Jay (Garrulus glandarius) – 1
- 17. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) – 1
Overall; a mix of seed eaters, birds of prey, deadwood species and scavengers shows that the reserve is a healthy haven for our local bird species.
Our next volunteer day will be on 14th November – all details on our events calendar. Hope to see you there!
Sennen Powell, Costons Lane Nature Reserve Manager
Volunteers in the bird hide at Costons Lane Nature Reserve [photo credit: Sennen Powell]
