My second day of data collection for bird species richness across Reading took place in Madien Erlegh Nature reserve, not surprisingly in Earley Reading. The Reserve sits in the heart of a residential area, surrounded on all sides by housing. The reserve consists of ancient and secondary woodland, grassland, a lake and surrounding wetland habitat. The reserve is monitored and managed by the Earley town council, and it uses traditional woodland management techniques such as coppicing. It is 14.1 aces in size, compared to the campus wilderness 12 acres, but the woodland is much denser and with less footpaths running through, meaning the birds had a better chance of hiding from me!
In total, I managed to identify 11 bird species whilst surveying, and a further 6 from the voice recorder, including again a nesting pair of Sparrowhawks much like on campus, and also heard a Spotted Flycatcher, which are common summer visitors to the region. In alphabetical order, the birds surveyed at Madien Erlegh were:
- Blackbird (Turdus merula)
- Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
- Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)
- Carrion Crow (Corvus corone corone)
- Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
- Dunnock (Prunella modularis)
- Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)
- Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
- House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
- Jay (Garrulua glandarius)
- Long Tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
- Magpie (Pica pica)
- Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
- Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
- Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
- Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)
- Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Also, this little beauty was spotted, but alas I have no clue what it is! Any ideas?
Any Ideas?
