As we wave goodbye to 2024, here’s a summary of how the Warwick 100 team fared over the last twelve months. My personal year of birding was thwarted somewhat with a pelvic fracture, following a nasty fall from a bucking horse. So, there were a good few weeks of from-the-sofa birding for me, relying on the rest of the team to pick up the slack.
We finished the year with a respectable total of 110 bird species, all seen within a 2 mile radius of St Mary’s Church, in Warwick. Our little urban ‘patch’ contains a racecourse, small areas of woodland, some great floodplain meadows, the River Avon, some farmland, maintained parks and a lot of housing. Our team consists of a range of enthusiasts - some birding regularly, some once-in-a-while, but all friendly, honest and brilliant fun!
The year started with a bang, with two firsts for the team in quick succession – a Cattle Egret found on the 25th January, near the Saxon Mill, and a fine example of a Ferruginous Duck (pic credit Mark Smith) spotted on the racecourse reservoir on the 27th. Sadly, they were to be our only new species records of the year, although Great White Egret, Osprey and Grasshopper Warbler were good to see again. 2024 has unfortunately been as notable for its absences as its sightings. There were blanks drawn for species that used to be guaranteed, or at lease regular, ticks. We haven’t seen a Golden Plover, Little Ringed Plover or Pintail for three years, Spotted Flycatcher or Woodcock for two. We missed out on Wheatear this year, the first time since our records began! There have been positive signs, however. Avon Wood, a maturing private woodland by the river, is becoming a great site for wildlife. There are growing flocks of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll, good numbers of Snipe, Little Egret and regular sightings of Otters. It’s an exciting spot that we hope will start to produce some of our missing ticks in the coming years.
The Warwick 100 team would like to wish everyone a very happy New Year and are looking forward to the list being set back to zero and here’s to another 12 months of fun birding as a team and, hopefully, some more patch gold!
