brewood ringers

A rather disappointing season given the relatively good weather. 170 Pied Fly chicks were ringed--but there were lots of unoccupied boxes and many cases of predation reported. These appear to have been from a variety of causes, including the tell-tale signs of woodpecker attacks via holes chipped out of the side of the box. It's difficult to relate the results to the bigger picture given there has been ( we think) quite an increase over the years of similar nest box schemes. Around 20 years ago we would expect to ring around 600-700 chicks, although that did vary each year. Numbers have steadily decreased since that time. Undoubtedly there is some decline in the numbers as reported by BTO surveys--but we wonder to what extent the available birds are being 'diluted' by the greater box availability? Similar declines have been seen in Redstarts--only 7 chicks ringed this year-about one third of the totals 20 years ago.