An Excellent Breeding season

Judging by my nest boxes it has been an excellent breeding season. Tits have done well with  little predation and  only one  dead young in the 90 occupied boxes I have checked and brood size has been quite high.This week ends ringing produced 21 young Blue Tits  also the first young Reed Warbler and Willow Warblers, ten days earlier than last year. Of the 20 Pied Flycatcher nests two still have young to  ring and two were lost to predation. Of the others, brood size was good  averaging 6.8.
The other woods in our Pied Flycatcher RAS report similar findings although two have experienced heavy predation probably by weasels.

Over the next few months  will be working on our Bearded tit and Reed Warbler RAS. So far have caught 46 adult Reed Warbler and 16 adult Bearded Tits.
John