Capercaillie71 said:They are very much a bird associated with western oak woods and become scarcer the further east you go. I think they have also declined in numbers in recent years. Here is their breeding distribution from the 1976 and 1993 bird atlases:
http://blx1.bto.org/atlases/WO-comp.html
My guess would be a range contraction (though no idea why)... in Norfolk, they used to be a regular scarce breeding bird until about ten years ago. The habitat's still there, but they're now a pretty tricky bird to catch up with on passage in the county.Adey Baker said:There's quite a noticeable reduction there below a line from the Severn to The Wash - I wonder, is the habitat becoming unsuitable or is this just a general contraction in range concentrating them back into their 'core' area?
Ruby said:I've had cause to look up the occurence of Wood Warblers as Spring passage migrants in Kent, and they seem to average out of about 10 sightings per year over the years 1996 - 2003. I'm unaware of any breeding sites - there either aren't any these days, or they're kept pretty quiet....
Jane Turner said:Wood Warbler is one of those species that mostly seems to bypass coastal watch points and just turns up miraculously on breeding grounds!
Andrew Whitehouse said:Very true, although growing up in the Midlands I used to get Wood Warblers on spring passage most years. Probably at least as regular migrants in those areas as say Redstart or Pied Fly.
Also, a couple of years ago we had some big falls in August after some particularly severe weather. I think I saw 3 or 4 Wood Warblers at Fife Ness then - they were even commoner than Greenish Warblers (and I suspect from the same sorts of areas)!