Nuthatch (Wood Nuthatch)
Sitta europea
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Distribution Britain 1,270 (+8.2%) Ireland 0
Numbers breeding: Britain 130,000 Ireland 0 European status: 7,000,000 (2% in Britain and Ireland) British population trend: increasing and expanding (+82% CBC){+118%} How likely are you to record it? 634 squares (14.1%) Ranked 56 |
A hundred years ago Nuthatches were commonest in the well wooded counties of the southern half of England and in the eastern parts of Wales. They were probably absent from the westernmost parts of Wales and did not breed north of Lancashire and Yorkshire (they had been in Durham 50 years before). A gradual expansion north and west took place over the first 30 years of the 20th century but they then retreated south again. However about 50 years ago the gradual spread north started again and is clearly continuing apace. Between the first and second Breeding Atlases much of lowland Cumbria and Northumbria was colonised and the birds were first proved to breed in Scotland in 1989 and the total has increased to about 20 pairs. There are no records from Ireland. The CBC may have increased three-fold since the mid-1970s and the five-year BBS was up 30%. All indications are that this attractive species has plenty of suitable woods to colonise in Scotland.
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead