FINGLE WOODS BREEDING BIRD SURVEY · 2020. 2. 7. · The Breeding Bird Survey has been carried out at Fingle since 2014. For the first four years the survey work and reporting was

FINGLE WOODS BREEDING BIRD SURVEY

2019 RESULTS

TOM WILLIAMS

Contents 1 – Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1

2 – Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 2

3 – Results by species – list in taxonomic order ..................................................................................... 3

4 – Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 17

5 – Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 18

6 – Appendices ...................................................................................................................................... 20

Appendix 1 – Named areas referred to in this report ...................................................................... 20

Appendix 2 – Survey areas and Rivermead addition ........................................................................ 20

Appendix 3 – Compartments excluded from survey due to nesting Schedule 1 birds ..................... 21

Appendix 4 – Survey dates and weather conditions ........................................................................ 21

Appendix 5 – Pied Flycatcher Nest-box Schemes ............................................................................. 22

Appendix 6 – Willow Tit Survey ........................................................................................................ 23

Appendix 7 – Long-eared Owl Survey ............................................................................................... 24

Appendix 8 – Survey Data ................................................................................................................. 25

References ............................................................................................................................................ 27

Cover photograph ©Tom Williams 2019

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1 – Introduction

Fingle Woods covers an area of approximately 339 hectares on the north-eastern boundary of Dartmoor National Park. The site is composed of three smaller woodlands, Fingle Wood, Halls Cleave Wood and Cod Wood, which are separated by minor roads. Fingle and Cod Woods are positioned on the steep southern slopes of the River Teign gorge, while Halls Cleave surrounds a tributary stream.

The primary habitat is conifer plantations, either on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) or former agricultural land, although there are several areas of surviving semi-natural ancient woodland. Recent outbreaks of the larch pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, as well as felling around the Scheduled Ancient Monument at Wooston Hillfort, have led to the creation of several clear-felled areas.

Fingle Woods was previously managed for commercial forestry and Pheasant shooting, however the site was purchased in 2014 by a Woodland Trust/National Trust partnership. Their long-term objective is a gradual restoration of the site to native broad-leaved woodland through a program of conifer thinning, allowing natural regeneration from the existing seedbank with supplemental planting where required.

The Breeding Bird Survey has been carried out at Fingle since 2014. For the first four years the survey work and reporting was carried out by Rob Macklin. I was asked to take over the project at the start of 2018, and wherever possible have used an identical methodology to keep the results as consistent as possible. In spite of this the change in surveyor will no doubt lead to some variation in the results so caution should be used when making comparisons between pre- and post-2018 survey data.

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2 – Methodology

In order to break the site into manageable survey areas the woods were divided into five sections – Fingle Wood West, Fingle Wood East, Halls Cleave Wood, Cod Wood and the newly acquired Rivermead (see Appendix 2 for a map of these areas). Two sections were surveyed in a single day (Fingle East and West or Cod and Halls Cleave). Covering such large areas meant that survey work often extended into the middle part of the day when birds are less active so the order in which the sections were visited was alternated to ensure that each area received a number of early morning visits.

Several compartments were excluded from the survey routes to avoid any risk of disturbance to nesting Schedule 1 species (see Appendix 3 for details). Any territory records for these areas relate to birds seen or heard from outside the boundary of the excluded areas, and as such territorial density for those areas is low compared to the rest of the site.

An experienced surveyor made seven morning visits to each part of the woodland, with each visit starting no earlier than 30 minutes after sunrise. A visit was made in mid-March to increase the chances of locating early nesting species such as Lesser-spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), with the remaining six visits conducted between mid April and late June. Additional night-time visits were made in June and August to look for Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) and other nocturnal species. See Appendix 4 for dates and weather records.

Survey methodology was based on the British Trust for Ornithology’s Common Bird Census (BTO CBC). Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) and Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) were excluded from the survey to maintain consistent methodology with the original surveyor. All other birds seen and/or heard were recorded on large-scale site maps, along with symbology denoting territorial or nesting behaviour. Following completion of the fieldwork the data was entered into QGIS mapping software v3.8 and analysed to generate locations of probable breeding territories, again using techniques developed for the BTO CBC, which require at least two observations of territorial behaviour at least ten days apart in order to register a territory.

Two additional pieces of survey work were carried out, to investigate the possible presence of Willow Tit (Poecile montanus) and Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) within the site. The methodology and results of these surveys are detailed in Appendices 6 (Willow Tit) and 7 (Long-eared Owl).

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3 – Results by species – list in taxonomic order

Small circles indicate individual sightings (with shading from blue to red indicating date of sighting, blue = mid-March and red = late June), red squares indicate the centre of probable breeding territories. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Schedule 1 (WCA Sched. 1) protected status and “Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds” (BoCC4) amber/red list conservation status indicated where relevant.

Grey heron – Ardea cinerea A single bird was seen feeding on the River Teign in Hore Wood on June 18th.

Canada Goose – Branta canadensis A single bird was seen on the wing over Cod Wood on March 19th.

Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos – 1 recorded territory BoCC4 Amber List Species

A breeding territory was located on the River Teign at Rivermead, with several additional sightings of individuals or groups at other points on the river.

Goosander – Mergus merganser No breeding evidence, but individuals were seen along the River Teign on several occasions. A pair was seen below Wooston Castle on April 8th and May 10th, and another in Cod Wood on March 19th.

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Goshawk – Accipiter gentilis – 2 recorded territories WCA Sched. 1 Species

Two active nests were recorded by a licensed surveyor. Calling adults were noted in the vicinity of both nests on a regular basis. One brood are believed to have fledged successfully, but the other nest collapsed during the incubation period leading to the loss of the brood.

Sparrowhawk – Accipiter nisus No evidence of breeding but a single bird was seen in flight over the River Teign in Butterdon Ball Wood on June 3rd.

Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo – 4 recorded territories Regularly seen on the wing throughout the site. Activity suggesting breeding territories was observed in Hore Wood, Hitchcombe Wood and Cod Wood above Ross Meadow. An occupied nest was located in Seamans Borough on June 18th.

Woodcock – Scolopax rusticola BoCC4 Red List Species

A single bird was flushed from cover in the Marsh Tit Plot in Houndsmoor Wood on March 11th.

Common Pheasant – Phasianus colchicus – Not surveyed As in previous years this species was excluded from the survey methodology but is now present only in low numbers, with just a handful seen or heard during the survey work.

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Herring Gull – Larus argentatus BoCC4 Red List Species

Single birds were occasionally seen in flight over the site, with 9 recorded from the Coleridge Wood/Mardon Down boundary area on June 20th.

Stock Dove – Columba oenas BoCC4 Amber List Species

Two records of singing birds, one from Houndsmoor Wood on May 21st and one from Cod Wood on June 6th.

Woodpigeon – Columba palumbus – Not surveyed As in previous years this species was excluded from the survey methodology but is widely distributed across the site.

Cuckoo – Cuculus canorus – 1 recorded territory BoCC4 Red List Species

A male was heard singing on two occasions in the upper part of Coleridge Wood. This is believed to be a bird which shares its territory between Fingle Woods and the adjacent Mardon Down.

Tawny Owl – Strix aluco – 5 recorded territories BoCC4 Amber List Species

Two night surveys were carried out on May 25th and August 5th. Calling pairs were located in Hore Wood, Butterdon Ball Wood, Willingstone Plantations and Houndsmoor Wood, along with a calling juvenile in Cod Wood during the August visit.

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European Nightjar – Caprimulgus europaeus – 1 recorded territory BoCC4 Amber List Species

A previously unrecorded species for the site. An “AudioMoth” static recorder, placed on the edge of the large wind-blow area in Coleridge Wood, recorded Nightjar calling on several evenings in late June/early July. This is most likely a bird which holds a territory centred on Mardon Down but also encompassing the open wind-blow area. No other birds were located within the site during the night surveys on May 25th and August 5th. On both dates a single bird was heard calling from a failed conifer restocking just across the western boundary of Cod Wood.

Swift – Apus apus BoCC4 Amber List Species

Three small groups were seen feeding over Coleridge Wood on June 6th, and a single bird was over Rivermead with a mixed flock of Swallow and House Martin on June 19th.

Kingfisher – Alcedo atthis WCA Sched. 1 Species/BoCC4 Amber List Species

Previously only recorded on winter surveys, there were five records of birds on the wing from Rivermead and one from Upperton Weir.

Great Spotted Woodpecker – Dendrocopos major – 6 recorded territories Commonly seen or heard throughout the site, with 4 territories confirmed in Fingle Wood and 2 in Cod Wood. An occupied nest was located in Hitchcombe Wood on June 3rd.

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Lesser Spotted Woodpecker – Dryobates minor – 3 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

As in 2017 and 2018 a single territory was recorded at the south-western corner of Hore Wood. Two additional territories were located this year, both in Oak woodland in the Cod Wood area.

Green Woodpecker – Picus viridis Two records from Rivermead and one from Ross Meadow.

Hobby – Falco subbuteo WCA Sched. 1 Species

A single bird was flushed from a perch in Cod Wood on May 12th.

Swallow – Hirundo rustica Occasionally seen on the wing over the site. A large mixed group of Swallow and House Martin were feeding over Rivermead on June 19th.

House Martin – Delichon urbicum BoCC4 Amber List Species

Occasionally seen on the wing over the site. A large mixed group of Swallow and House Martin were feeding over Rivermead on June 19th. Evidence of nesting at Clifford Bridge and Willingstone Cottages, just outside the site boundaries.

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Tree Pipit – Anthus trivialis – 3 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

One of only a handful of species to show a decline from the 2018 survey, with a 50% reduction to just 3 territories. This is possibly due to the gradual regeneration of clearfell areas reducing the amount of suitable habitat. Two territories were located around Wooston Hillfort and one in the larch clearfell in Coleridge Wood.

Grey Wagtail – Motacilla cinerea – 6 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

Three territories along the Teign in Fingle Wood, with another in Cod Wood and two in Halls Cleave.

White-throated Dipper – Cinclus cinclus – 5 recorded territories BoCC4 Amber List Species

An increase from 3 to 5 territories this year, with an additional 2 pairs along the River Teign in Fingle Wood.

Wren – Troglodytes troglodytes – 216 recorded territories Easily the most numerous breeder within Fingle Woods, widely distributed across the site and at home in all habitats.

Dunnock – Prunella modularis – 10 recorded territories BoCC4 Amber List Species

A species more associated with hedgerows and gardens, the scrub areas of Coleridge Wood continue to be a stronghold. This year an additional 2 pairs were located in Rivermead and 2 along the Willingstone Plantations boundary.

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Robin – Erithacus rubecula – 174 recorded territories The second most numerous breeder within Fingle Woods (after Wren), widely distributed across the site and at home in all habitats.

Common Redstart – Phoenicurus phoenicurus – 9 recorded territories BoCC4 Amber List Species

An Oak specialist like the Pied Flycatcher and found in similar areas. 4 new territories were located this year – at Wooston Hillfort, Halls Cleave and additional territories in Cod Wood.

Blackbird – Turdus merula – 61 recorded territories Widely distributed throughout the site, particularly in stands of Douglas Fir.

Fieldfare – Turdus pilaris BoCC4 Red List Species

A single bird was seen in flight over Cod Wood on April 12th.

Redwing – Turdus iliacus BoCC4 Red List Species

A single bird was heard calling near Wooston Castle on March 11th.

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Song Thrush – Turdus philomelos – 43 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

Distributed throughout the site, most often in Douglas Fir stands.

Mistle Thrush – Turdus viscivorus – 13 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

Found throughout the site, with the highest numbers in the area around Wooston Hillfort and Hitchcombe Wood.

Common Whitethroat – Sylvia communis – 3 recorded territories Another scrub and hedgerow species which is unsurprisingly scarce within the woods. 2 territories were located in the scrub around the small parking area where Coleridge Wood meets Mardon Down, with a new territory appearing in the wind-blow slightly to the north.

Garden Warbler – Sylvia borin – 1 recorded territory Occasional records from the upper boundary of Coleridge Wood, but the only recorded territory was in Rivermead.

Blackcap - Sylvia atricapilla – 159 recorded territories An exceptionally good year for this species, found in scrubby areas throughout the site, particularly along the tributary stream valleys and the upper extent of Coleridge Wood. The newly-acquired Rivermead is also a stronghold, supporting 31 territories.

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Wood Warbler – Phylloscopus sibilatrix BoCC4 Red List Species

Sadly the rapid decline of this broadleaf woodland specialist continues, from 15 recorded territories in 2014 to just a single record of a singing male from Clifford on April 21st. This was the earliest record from Dartmoor for 2019.

Chiffchaff – Phylloscopus collybita – 72 recorded territories Predominantly associated with open and scrub areas throughout the site, although occasionally found in more open stands of Douglas Fir. 8 territories were located in the newly-purchased Rivermead.

Willow Warbler – Phylloscopus trochilus – 30 recorded territories BoCC4 Amber List Species

A bird of scrubby woodland, reflected by its distribution in Fingle, with several territories around Wooston Hillfort and the rest largely divided between Coleridge Wood and Cod Wood. Another species which seems to have done very well in 2019 compared to the previous year.

Goldcrest – Regulus regulus – 168 recorded territories Common across the site in both deciduous and coniferous woodland, and one of the only species to make use of some of the denser conifer stands.

Spotted Flycatcher – Phoenicurus phoenicurus – 4 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

One of our latest arriving migrant breeders with all records dating from the last three surveys of the season. One territory was located in the mature Oak woodland near Willingstone, one in the remnant Oak woodland within the Coleridge Wood Larch clearfell, one near the wind-blow area in Coleridge Wood and one in the Oak woodland in Cod Wood. Several additional birds were seen elsewhere in the site.

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Pied Flycatcher – Ficedula hypoleuca – 22 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

A species of mature Oak woodland, which is reflected in its distribution at Fingle. The species has bounced back remarkably from a quite low number of territories (10) in 2018, and was found in almost every area of suitable habitat within Fingle Woods. Several of the recorded territories are associated with the two Pied Flycatcher nest box schemes within Fingle Woods – see Appendix 5 for a summary of results.

Long-tailed Tit – Aegithalos caudatus – 10 recorded territories A sociable and highly mobile species, three territories were found in Fingle Wood, one in Coleridge Wood and four in Cod Wood. Two groups were also found in the newly-acquired Rivermead.

Marsh Tit – Poecile palustris – 10 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

Following a poor year in 2018 with only two territories located, 2019 has been a great improvement. Most of the recorded territories were along the River Teign, with one in Hitchcombe Wood and two in the Willingstone Oak woodland.

Coal Tit – Periparus ater – 115 recorded territories As a species at home in both coniferous and deciduous woodland, Coal Tits are numerous throughout the site.

Blue Tit – Cyanistes caeruleus – 39 recorded territories Found primarily in mature broadleaf woodland. In spite of numerous sightings across the site, very few singing males were heard, hence the low number of recorded territories in comparison to the number of sightings (down from 60 in 2018). A similar situation was observed at other sites this season, however nest box monitors reported good numbers of broods at these sites, so there are likely a significantly higher number of breeding territories at Fingle.

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Great Tit – Parus major – 7 recorded territories Not a particularly common species at Fingle, but evenly distributed across the site, and associated with broadleaf trees and edge habitat.

Woodlark – Lullula arborea WCA Sched. 1 Species

Previously unrecorded at Fingle. Two records (presumably relating to the same bird) of a singing male near the Cod Wood/Coleridge Wood boundary on June 6th.

Skylark – Alauda arvensis BoCC4 Red List Species

A single bird was singing over Wooston Hillfort on April 21st.

Nuthatch – Sitta europaea – 6 recorded territories Mainly associated with stands of deciduous woodland, two territories were located in Hore Wood, one in Houndsmoor Wood, one in Hitchcombe Wood and two in Cod Wood.

Treecreeper – Certhia familiaris – 2 recorded territories One territory in Hore Wood and one near Upperton Weir. Several other records from broadleaf woodland in other areas of the site.

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Jay – Garrulus glandarius – 7 recorded territories Distributed throughout the woodland, with three territories in Fingle Wood, two in Halls Cleave and two in Cod Wood.

Carrion Crow – Corvus corone – Not surveyed As in previous years this species was excluded from the survey methodology and was only occasionally seen.

Raven – Corvus corax – 4 recorded territories Confirmed nests were present in Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) along the powerline wayleave at Clifford and in Willingstone Plantations, with additional pairs observed near the Willingstone stream and in Coleridge Wood.

Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs – 42 recorded territories A species that has been slowly declining at Fingle since the BBS began in 2014, and this has continued this year with a 25% drop in recorded territories from 2018. Still fairly common throughout the site in edge habitat and some of the more open conifer stands.

Siskin – Spinus spinus – 11 recorded territories Unsurprisingly this conifer specialist was a very numerous species across the site with 161 individual sightings, however this only translated into 11 breeding territories – this may be down to the fact that they nest high in the tops of dense conifer where breeding activity is hard to observe.

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Linnet – Linaria cannabina – 2 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

A farmland and heathland bird and therefore uncommon in Fingle, but as in previous years two pairs were found in the scrub where Coleridge Wood meets Mardon Down. There were also several records of birds calling further down Coleridge Wood on the boundary with Cod Wood (where only a single bird was heard in 2018) which suggests a gradual colonisation of this area.

Lesser Redpoll – Acanthis cabaret BoCC4 Red List Species

Mainly a winter visitor to Fingle, but birds were seen on the wing over Houndsmoor Wood on March 11th and Cod Wood on April 12th.

Common Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra – 1 recorded territory WCA Sched. 1 Species

Commonly recorded in small groups throughout the site. Crossbill are often very early breeders, and combined with the nest locations high in the tops of conifers this makes them hard to survey. Based on a very high concentration of birds along the Halls Cleave/Cod Wood boundary, observed throughout late winter and spring and with birds recorded in song three times over the course of the breeding season, it is now considered highly likely that they are breeding in this area.

Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis No breeding territories recorded but this species was seen occasionally around the boundaries of the site.

Bullfinch – Pyrrhula pyrrhula – 13 recorded territories BoCC4 Amber List Species

An elusive species but regularly heard calling across the site.

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Greenfinch – Chloris chloris A species which has suffered drastic declines nationwide in recent years, in part due to the bird disease Trichomonosis. A single male was heard singing in the garden of Clifford Cottages on May 21st.

Yellowhammer – Emberiza citronella – 2 recorded territories BoCC4 Red List Species

Previously only recorded from the Coleridge Wood/Mardon Down boundary area, in 2018 a pair established a territory on a newly cleared part of Wooston Hillfort. This year a second territory was recorded nearby.

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4 – Analysis

A total of 5,220 records for 62 bird species were collected during the survey work. Following analysis, 1,293 territories were identified, associated with 41 species. Of these, 19 species are on the BoCC4 Red or Amber lists and 2 are WCA Sched. 1 protected species. For further data on individual species see Appendix 8.

When studying the results it is worth noting that for the first time this year the survey includes Rivermead, an 8ha meadow near Clifford Bridge purchased by the Woodland Trust in 2018. This incorporates both open ground and young woodland, predominantly birch (Betula sp.) and Alder (Alnus glutinosa). The site is particularly significant in the number of tit and warbler territories it supports, and so will have had a slight impact on the total number of territories for these species.

The spring of 2019 exhibited very changeable and sometimes poor weather. Unseasonably warm conditions in February and March gave way to lower than average temperatures during May, followed by a spell of wet weather in early June.

These changing conditions seemed to have the effect of subduing the territorial behaviours of some bird species. Very few singing tits of all species were observed throughout the survey period, however bird recorders who monitor nest boxes at nearby sites reported high numbers of Blue and Great Tit nests, and survey visits in June recorded good numbers of fledgling birds being fed by their parents. This suggests that the number of breeding territories for tit species may well be higher than the survey results show.

In spite of this there are very positive trends for many of the site’s bird species, with 26 showing gains in the number of territories over the 2018 season. Although this may in part be down to the surveyor gaining more knowledge of the site and the locations of territories from the previous year, as well as the addition of Rivermead, it is likely that the severely cold weather and snow falls in February/March 2018 had a negative impact on breeding numbers last year and a degree of recovery has occurred this year.

Three new species have been added to the Fingle breeding list – Mallard (a female with a brood was seen in the River Teign at Rivermead), Nightjar (detected in the Coleridge Wood wind-blow area with the use of a static recorder) and Crossbill, now present in large numbers in the Coleridge Wood area. Woodlark was added to the list on non-breeding species for the first time.

Only 7 species (Tawny Owl, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Mistle Thrush, Tree Pipit and Chaffinch) showed territorial declines from 2018. Wood Warbler, last recorded as breeding on the site in 2017, showed further declines with just a single sighting. 8 species remained at a stable number of territories and 26 showed an increase.

As observed by the previous surveyor, the areas supporting the highest number of species are the scrub areas (in particular Compartment 24a on the western side of Coleridge Wood which is excellent for warblers) and the stream and corridors. Rivermead has also proved to be a hot-spot, especially for warbler species. The Oak woodland, whilst not supporting a particularly wide range of species, hosts specialists such as Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, Pied Flycatcher and Redstart.

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Figure 1: Heatmap of territory density across site (all species)

The densest of the conifer plantations support few birds, especially towards their centres, with only Goldcrest and Coal Tit commonly being recorded. More mature plantations have undergone enough thinning to allow a shrub layer to develop and provide a much more diverse habitat. Of particular note in that regard is Compartment 19h in the northern part of Coleridge Wood, where there are Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs utilising the scrub growing beneath the thinned Norway Spruce, as well as Siskin and Crossbill high up in the conifer tops.

5 – Recommendations

Management The bird species found in Fingle can be roughly broken down into five groups depending on their habitat requirements:

Open ground specialists – birds which prefer recently cleared areas or very low scrub, often with scattered trees for perching, such as Nightjar and Tree Pipit.

Scrub specialists – including many of the warbler species, Yellowhammer and Linnet.

Conifer specialists – including Siskin, Crossbill and to a lesser extent birds such as Goldcrest and Mistle Thrush.

Broadleaf specialists – flagship species for Fingle being Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

Generalists – species such as Robin and Wren, common across the site in almost all habitats except the densest conifer plantations.

Management of the site should ideally balance the needs of all of these groups whilst working towards the overall goal of restoring the majority of the site to native broadleaf woodland.

The open ground specialists have benefited over the last few years from the clear-felling of certain areas, either for the removal of Larch infected with Phytophthora or the protection of the Scheduled

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Ancient Monument at Wooston Hillfort. With the majority of the Larch now removed from the site and the clear-felled areas beginning the process of regeneration towards broad-leaf woodland, the suitable habitat for these species will likely decrease. Controlling scrub encroachment in the Wooston Hillfort area will ensure this area remains available for the open ground specialists.

For the scrub specialists, ongoing felling and thinning work will inevitably create new areas of scrub, as the felled areas are colonised by young trees and bushes, either planted or growing from the existing seedbank. At the same time existing areas of scrub will continue their succession towards woodland, and it would be worth considering whether management should be applied to some of these areas to maintain them in a scrub state, particularly along the stream corridors and in Compartment 24a.

The conifer specialists will inevitably lose habitat as the restoration continues, although this is a longer term issue as the gradual regeneration process will ensure there is significant conifer cover on the site for many years to come. Possibly the species presenting the most immediate concern is Crossbill, which is predominantly associated with Scots Pine, Lodgepole Pine and Larch. With the first two of these tree species being relatively scarce within the site and the larch having been extensively logged due to Phytophthora infection the amount of ideal Crossbill habitat has decreased significantly. Assuming that the remaining areas of Japanese Larch may eventually need to be clear-felled for disease control it would be worth preserving the stands of Lodgepole and Scots Pine for as long as possible, and even considering including a certain amount of Scots Pine in native plantings to ensure continuity of coniferous habitat on the site.

For broadleaf specialists there will no doubt be a long-term benefit from the restoration of the conifer plantations to native woodland species. In the shorter term, if any management is being undertaken within areas of oak woodland such as thinning or the creation of clearings, care should be taken to avoid felling any trees containing obvious holes or cavities which may be nesting sites for Pied Flycatchers or Redstarts.

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6 – Appendices

Appendix 1 – Named areas referred to in this report

Appendix 2 – Survey areas and Rivermead addition

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Appendix 3 – Compartments excluded from survey due to nesting Schedule 1 birds Removed from public version.

Appendix 4 – Survey dates and weather conditions

Date Area Start Time Sunrise/set Time Temp Cloud Wind Precipitation 11/03/2019 Fingle Wood 08:25 06:38 2°C Clear Strong Breeze Dry 19/03/2019 Halls Cleave/Cod Wood 07:10 06:20 6°C Overcast Calm Dry 20/03/2019 Rivermead 07:04 06:18 7°C Overcast Calm Drizzle 08/04/2019 Fingle Wood 07:13 06:36 6°C Overcast Calm Mist 09/04/2019 Rivermead 08:11 03:34 7°C Overcast Calm Showers 12/04/2019 Halls Cleave/Cod Wood 07:27 06:28 2°C Overcast Calm Dry 21/04/2019 Fingle Wood 06:42 06:06 7°C Clear Calm Dry 23/04/2019 Halls Cleave/Cod Wood 07:35 06:05 6°C Overcast Light Breeze Dry 26/04/2019 Rivermead 06:45 05:59 7°C Overcast Calm Dry 10/05/2019 Fingle Wood 06:27 05:34 3°C Clear Light Breeze Dry 11/05/2019 Rivermead 09:45 05:33 11°C Clear Light Breeze Dry 12/05/2019 Halls Cleave/Cod Wood 06:26 05:31 4°C Clear Calm Dry 21/05/2019 Fingle Wood 05:49 05:19 7°C Clear Calm Dry 22/05/2019 Rivermead 06:00 05:17 5°C Clear Calm Dry 23/05/2019 Halls Cleave/Cod Wood 05:50 05:16 6°C Scattered Cloud Calm Dry 25/05/2019 Both sites (night visit) 21:16 21:10 16°C Broken Cloud Calm Dry 03/06/2019 Fingle Wood 05:45 05:06 10°C Clear Light Breeze Dry 06/06/2019 Halls Cleave/Cod Wood 05:49 05:04 7°C Clear Calm Dry 09/06/2019 Rivermead 05:59 05:03 5°C Broken Cloud Calm Dry 18/06/2019 Fingle Wood 05:37 05:01 8°C Overcast Calm Dry 19/06/2019 Rivermead 12:37 05:01 16°C Overcast Calm Drizzle 20/06/2019 Halls Cleave/Cod Wood 05:32 05:01 10°C Broken Cloud Calm Dry 05/08/2019 Both sites (night visit) 21:08 20:54 17°C Overcast Light Breeze Showers

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Appendix 5 – Pied Flycatcher Nest-box Schemes

Map showing approximate areas of Spotted Flycatcher nest-box schemes

There are two Pied Flycatcher nest-box monitoring schemes in Fingle – one covering Clifford, Hitchcombe Wood and Seaman’s Borough, and one covering Willingstone and Butterdon Ball Wood.

In the Clifford/Hitchcombe Wood/Seaman’s Borough scheme, 8 out of 30 boxes were occupied by Pied Flycatchers. 1 box failed due to the cold weather in early June, and 1 lost 3 nestlings, but the remaining 6 boxes fledged successfully.

At Willingstone/Butterdon Ball, 6 out of 46 boxes were occupied. 2 were abandoned before laying was completed, and 1 was predated. The remaining 3 boxes fledged 17 young between them.

Many thanks to R. Payne and J. Mockett for providing the data on these schemes.

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Appendix 6 – Willow Tit Survey

This survey was carried out to investigate the possible presence of Willow Tit (Poecile montanus) within the Fingle Woods site. Willow Tits have experienced a severe decline on a national level and particularly in southern and south-western England, with numbers dropping by 94% between 1970 and 2012.1

The methodology was based on that developed for the joint Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)/Rare Birds Breeding Panel (RBPP) 2019/2020 Willow Tit national survey.2

The national survey methodology is tetrad-based, however for Fingle this was adapted to cover all suitable habitat within the site. 82 survey points were selected, with the aim of having a survey point within 100m of all potential Willow Tit habitat within the site.

Each of these points were visited on March 5th, starting at 07:30. At each point, a two-minute MP3 recording of Willow Tit calls and song, supplied for the national survey, was played using an Anker SoundCore Sport XL Bluetooth speaker at a volume level that was audible 100m away. A further two minutes were spent listening for responses.

This methodology was repeated during the early BBS visits in mid-March at the areas deemed to have the highest potential for Willow Tit, as well as the areas where breeding territories were recorded in 2016/2017.

No responses to playback or other observations of Willow Tits were recorded, either during the Willow Tit survey or the wider BBS work, suggesting they are no longer present within Fingle Woods. The national survey extends to the 2020 breeding season so it may be worth repeating the survey work at Fingle next year.

1 (Willow Tit - Back From The Brink, 2017) 2 (Willow Tit National Survey Methods 2019/20, 2019)

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Appendix 7 – Long-eared Owl Survey This survey was carried out to investigate the possible presence of Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) within the Fingle Woods site. Long-eared Owls require either coniferous or mixed woodland for breeding and roosting, and adjacent open rough grassland for hunting.

A series of 20 survey points were selected, with the aim of having a survey point within 100m of all potential Long-eared Owl habitat within the site.

Each of these points was visited once over the course of two visits on March 20th and March 26th, starting at sunset and lasting for two hours. At each point, a 75 second MP3 recording of male Long-eared Owl calls was played using an Anker SoundCore Sport XL Bluetooth speaker at a volume level that was audible 100m away. This was followed by 75 seconds of listening for responses, and the process was repeated 4 times, giving a total survey time of 10 minutes at each point.

No calling Long-eared Owls were heard during this survey work or during the BBS night visits. On March 20th a large bird was observed overflying the playback speaker at a survey point on the western boundary of Coleridge Wood, however the fading light made identification impossible. A follow-up visit was made to that area on April 2nd, but no further sightings were recorded.

It is worth noting that male Long-eared Owls are less likely to respond to playback if Tawny Owls are present in the area.3 Tawny Owls were heard several times during the survey work. This, along with the sighting of the unidentified bird on March 20th, suggests that there is still potential for the species to be present within the site and further surveys in subsequent years may be worthwhile.

3 (Hardey, et al., 2013)

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Appendix 8 – Survey Data

Species Scientific Name Total Records (2019)

Recorded Territories (2018)

Recorded Territories (2019)

Territory Change 2018 - 2019

Canada Goose Branta canadensis 1 0 0 N/A Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 15 0 1 +1 Goosander Mergus merganser 10 0 0 N/A Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 5 0 0 N/A Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus 1 0 0 N/A Goshawk Accipiter gentilis 1 0 2 +2 Buzzard Buteo buteo 12 4 4 0 Woodcock Scolopax rusticola 14 0 0 N/A Herring Gull Larus argentatus 1 0 0 N/A Stock Dove Columba oenas 3 0 0 N/A Cuckoo Cuculus canorus 2 1 1 0 Tawny Owl Strix aluco 2 6 5 -1 Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus 2 0 1 +1 Swift Apus apus 4 0 0 N/A Kingfisher Alcedo atthis 6 0 0 N/A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dryobates minor 7 1 3 +2 Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major 109 6 6 0 Green Woodpecker Picus viridis 3 0 0 N/A Hobby Falco subbuteo 1 0 0 N/A Jay Garrulus glandarius 22 7 7 0 Raven Corvus corax 36 6 4 -2 Coal Tit Periparus ater 563 61 115 +54 Marsh Tit Poecile palustris 33 2 10 +8 Willow Tit Poecile montanus 0 0 0 N/A Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus 299 60 39 -21 Great Tit Parus major 36 8 7 -1 Woodlark Lullula arborea 2 0 0 N/A Skylark Alauda arvensis 1 0 0 N/A Swallow Hirundo rustica 7 0 0 N/A House Martin Delichon urbicum 8 0 0 N/A Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus 35 5 10 +5 Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus 107 13 30 +17 Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita 224 60 72 +12 Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix 1 0 0 N/A Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla 544 75 159 +84 Garden Warbler Sylvia borin 6 1 1 0 Whitethroat Sylvia communis 12 1 3 +2 Goldcrest Regulus regulus 488 78 168 +90 Wren Troglodytes troglodytes 695 158 216 +58 Nuthatch Sitta europaea 53 6 6 0

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Treecreeper Certhia familiaris 16 2 2 0 Blackbird Turdus merula 328 47 61 +14 Fieldfare Turdus pilaris 1 0 0 N/A Redwing Turdus iliacus 1 0 0 N/A Song Thrush Turdus philomelos 139 29 43 +14 Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus 67 15 13 -2 Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata 15 3 4 +1 Robin Erithacus rubecula 535 103 174 +71 Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca 77 10 22 +12 Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus 26 5 9 +4 Dipper Cinclus cinclus 25 3 5 +2 Dunnock Prunella modularis 37 4 10 +6 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 59 6 6 0 Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis 14 6 3 -3 Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs 214 56 42 -14 Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula 46 4 13 +9 Greenfinch Chloris chloris 1 0 0 N/A Linnet Linaria cannabina 12 1 2 +1 Lesser Redpoll Acanthis cabaret 2 0 0 N/A Crossbill Loxia curvirostra 59 0 1 +1 Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis 6 0 0 N/A Siskin Spinus spinus 161 6 11 +5 Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella 8 1 2 +1

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References Hardey, J., Crick, H., Wernham, C., Riley, H., Etheridge, B., & Thompson, D. (2013). Raptors: a field

guide for surveys and monitoring. Scottish Natural Heritage.

Willow Tit - Back From The Brink. (2017). Retrieved from Back From The Brink: https://naturebftb.co.uk/the-projects/willow-tit/

Willow Tit National Survey Methods 2019/20. (2019). Retrieved from Rare Birds Breeding Panel: http://www.rbbp.org.uk/downloads/Willow_Tit_national_survey_methods_2019.pdf