When is a site 'coastal'? (1 Viewer)

peter.jones said:

Good habitat

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I think this is a key variable. My guess is good habitat 2km from coast, that has lots of food and lots of common birds, could be just as good as a few stunted sycamores right on the coast.

MJB said:

Ross,
I've no relevant experience to answer your question, but the attached image, just east of your picture, obviously a private site, looks ideal for several nets just behind the boundary hedge and within the enclosed area near water and trees/shrubs.
MJB

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That definitely has potential, but the habitat is a bit ‘artificial’ and there’s generally farmerkers etc wandering about.

Ross Ahmed said:

Have you considered that expectation bias might be operating? You don’t expect to see these species inland, so you’re not looking for them and as a result you stand a lower chance of seeing them.

Attached is a map of all sightings of Yellow-browed Warbler 22 Sep-22 Nov 2017. Again, little evidence here of a concentration along the coast.

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If you had numbers rather than just locations the coastal bias would show up.

Steve

I guess a narrow bit of wood, such as you see around Waren Mill or along the Ross Links would be ideal as these could channel birds towards you, while being a reasonably broad "catchment area". Of course, access for you and lack of access for others may be issues!
There are some Dutch inland sites which manage to catch some amazing species – they all have some structure like that in place (either a long reedbed, a canal or a stream).

Xenospiza said:

There are some Dutch inland sites which manage to catch some amazing species – they all have some structure like that in place (either a long reedbed, a canal or a stream).

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Thanks Xenospiza. Could you provide more details of these please (map and what stuff they’ve recorded)?

I saw a spring migrant pied flycatcher in Hyde Park last year, and was informed this is a far from unusual occurrence. Just out of interest, I measured distances on Google Earth from my flycatcher site to the Dartford crossing (30km), nearest point on south coast (Brighton, 76km) and nearest headland sticking out into North Sea (Foulness, 79km).
Migration most likely happens on a broader front than records suggest, as it is certainly true that birders tend to concentrate on the coast, leading to the aforementioned confirmation bias. Clearly there are exceptions, and the large concentrations of goldcrests, redwings and blackbirds you get in autumn in places like Holy Island appear to be there because they needed to urgently land and feed after a long sea crossing.
The point made previously about suitability of surrounding habitat is a good one too though - urban parks will clearly concentrate migrants - Central Park NY is a good example too (although with the advantage of being truly coastal). There's not a lot of woodland in North Northumberland, so the nearest decent woodland to the coast could prove interesting?
I remember in my youth hearing about the ambitiously named 'World Bird Research Station' in Glanton (near Powburn, Northumberland) - not sure if they ever aimed to ring migrants there, it might have been more about breeding ducks, but they were 20km from the coast - did they contribute any records to the County bird list?

Ross Ahmed said:

Thanks Xenospiza. Could you provide more details of these please (map and what stuff they’ve recorded)?

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