Record days plots for selected bird species 2013 onwards
Record days plots
The plots shown here summarise occurrence data for 48 species for the 13 years to 2025.
These plots are updated every few days using an R script.
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To see the plot for a given species, click on the numbered button underneath the graphic.
Alternatively you can use the left and right arrows to step through the plots.
Species numbering
| number | species | number | species |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | barn owl | 25 | little owl |
| 2 | blackbird | 26 | long-tailed tit |
| 3 | blackcap | 27 | mallard |
| 4 | blue tit | 28 | marsh tit |
| 5 | bullfinch | 29 | mistle thrush |
| 6 | buzzard | 30 | moorhen |
| 7 | chaffinch | 31 | pied wagtail |
| 8 | chiffchaff | 32 | red kite |
| 9 | coal tit | 33 | redwing |
| 10 | cuckoo | 34 | reed bunting |
| 11 | dunnock | 35 | reed warbler |
| 12 | fieldfare | 36 | robin |
| 13 | goldcrest | 37 | sedge warbler |
| 14 | goldfinch | 38 | song thrush |
| 15 | great spotted woodpecker | 39 | sparrowhawk |
| 16 | great tit | 40 | spotted flycatcher |
| 17 | green woodpecker | 41 | starling |
| 18 | greenfinch | 42 | stock dove |
| 19 | grey heron | 43 | swallow |
| 20 | house martin | 44 | swift |
| 21 | jackdaw | 45 | water rail |
| 22 | jay | 46 | whitethroat |
| 23 | kestrel | 47 | woodcock |
| 24 | linnet | 48 | wren |
Trends with some species
- Chiffchaff (8) arrival and departure dates vary across years but the overall duration of records is steady. There is little evidence of over-wintering. The records in November and December 2015 occurred in unusually mild months.
- Cuckoo (10) has begun to appear regularly from 2017 onwards. The late record in 2020 was of a fledged juvenile
- Linnet (24) records are increasing
- The season for reed warbler (35) appears to be expanding and this species is now well-established
- Spotted flycatcher (40) has been recorded in every summer (2014 onwards) and may still struggle on as a breeder somewhere close by.
- Starling (41) is almost absent in the summer and occurs mainly as a spring and autumn migrant. However, a few records in April 2020 suggest the possibility of breeding in the future, perhaps reflecting local land-use changes.
- Water rail (45) is present only in the winter half year of the year. Arrivals begin at the end of October and most have gone by the end of February. None appeared in winter 2019/20.
- Woodcock (47) is also a wintering species here. The first arrive at the end (last week) of October and most have gone by the end of February or early March. In some years a few linger to start some territorial behaviours but none seem to stay to breed.
Explanation
On the plots, a black bar indicates that a given species was recorded on or close to the Hillside House plot for the corresponding date.
Red dashed lines divide the years into months.
The plots were constructed using the R package lattice.