Migrant numbers down in 2014
06 Dec 2014![Blackcap reporting rate Blackcap reporting rate](https://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/styles/300_width/public/shared_images/birdtrack/news/2014-12/2014-12-11-blackcapreporting.jpg?itok=hQnyUO5t)
Migrant numbers were down in 2014 but it was a generally good breeding season for songbirds: these are two messages coming out of the preliminary report on the 2014 breeding season in Britain and Ireland. The report was compiled using data from the Nest Record Scheme and Constant Effort Sites ringing scheme.
BirdTrack figures show that after a noticeably late arrival in 2013, short-distance migrants Blackcap and Chiffchaff returned on more typical dates this year (if anything, slightly earlier than the historical average). Many species nested early in 2014; these two warblers, for example, both laid their first clutches earlier than in any year since 1966!
There was good news for Barn Owls, with many reports of a bumper breeding season.
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