Thursday, 27 February 2020

Bird species records from the Langley’s Lane and Rushy Common hides - 2015 to 2018


The Lower Windrush Valley Project bird hides at Rushy Common and Standlake Common Nature Reserves contain record books where visitors are encouraged to write down their wildlife sightings. The records are then transcribed to Excel and submitted to the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC).

LWVP volunteer, John Cobb, recently carried out analysis of bird species records from the hides at Standlake Common (Langley’s Lane) and Rushy Common. The records show some interesting trends in bird populations.

The most significant conclusions from the records are:

  • A combined total of 164 species has been observed at the two sites.
  • A significant decrease in the number of records of Grey Herons at both sites, but
  • A large increase in the number of records of Great White Egrets at both sites.
  • An apparent decrease in the number of records of Little Grebes at Rushy Common.
  • A significant (–30%) decrease in the numbers of waders recorded at Langley’s Lane, but
  • An increase (+50%) in the number of waders recorded at Rushy Common.
  • Wintering duck populations fluctuate but remain healthy.

Great White Egret at Standlake Common
The species records are submitted by visitors to the hides and therefore, to some extent, are likely to reflect the varied interests and identifications skills of the visitors. Common species are often under recorded so please remember to note down those Coots or Greylag Geese next time you visit the hide.

Next steps:

  • Use conclusions to inform future management of nature reserves
  • Complete similar analysis over a longer time period
  • Ensure records from all three hides are transcribed as quickly as possible so our data is current and…
  • Streamline the recording process to enable us to keep on top of data entry!


The Lower Windrush Valley Project bird hides are operated with a key holder scheme. If you would like to purchase a key, see our website here: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/countryside/lower-windrush-valley-project/buying-bird-hide-key
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2 comments:

  1. Badger27 February 2020 at 04:46

    Do you know how much longer there will be access to Standlake Common (pit 60) now that it's been sold?
    Not much has been said on your blog?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lower Windrush Valley Project2 March 2020 at 00:38

      I'm afraid we don't have any information on future access to the bird hides at the moment. We will communicate any updates with bird hide key holders as and when we can.

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