The Bullfinches locally have a rather static number, ie 2-3 at the Rayleigh site and 3-4 at the Benfleet Downs site with no obvious population increases despite male and female birds present at both locations. Coal Tits are present on Hockley Woods (2birds) and at a wood in Thundersley (probably only 2-3 birds). Hockley Woods birds can be difficult to locate but they do favour a section of the wood but Belfairs and other woods are pretty much lost their pairs.
Nuthatch was having a population increase and range expansion a few years ago from their strongholds in Hockley and Belfairs to surrounding woodlands and Benfleet Downs but for some unknown reason this expansion retracted a few years later and the healthy populations in Hockley and Belfairs crashed. Gone are the days of walking around Belfairs and the Golf Course and finding numerous calling birds. I have now not seen a bird at all locally this year, failed to see the lone remaining Hockley Woods car park bird. It is on the verge now of becoming a locally extinct species.
Other once fairly common or widespread species have declined and not limited to woodland birds. Yellowhammer is now scarce with only a couple of sites where you stand a chance of getting one or two, even in winter, Bowers, Wallasea Island etc. Gone are the days of flocks of wintering buntings, I remember winter flocks of Yammers at Eastwood well into three figures. Corn Bunting still fairly numerous in strongholds, Wallasea Island, Paglesham, Fleet Head at Wakering but Two Tree Island no longer has wintering flocks, the occasional bird may get seen but not the 20's and 30's that used to be present.
It's an unknown why some of these species decline across a range of habitats and locations, especially some of those that are managed properly, and it is worrying that other commoner species here like Reed Bunting, Mistle Thrush and Song Thrush for instance are becoming fairly uncommon.
I now make a note of any Song Thrush I get in the garden as it struggles to have a yearly score of more than 3 or 4 sightings, down from near weekly sightings only 6 years ago.
