Declines are linked to changing farming practices, mechanised farming, pesticide and herbicide use, habitat loss, hunting on migration, disturbance and climate change.
We have over the years lost a few while some hang on by a thread. My records/information maybe incomplete so any further information welcomed.
Most notable of these are:
Corncrake: Decline started in the late 19th century with the advent of mechanised farming and subsequently loss of suitable habitat and subsequent pesticide use.
Spotted Crake: once common along riverside meadows and now absent. The last record being in 1957. Hunting in the 18th & 19th century along with other factors put paid to this species.
Northern Lapwing: One species hanging on by a thread but probably not for much longer. Back in the 1960’s I recall myself and Brian Wyatt collecting chicks for Bill Campbell (Cholsey School headmaster) to ring and then releasing them back where we found them in fields next to Bunk bridge along Church road.
A few still nest near the Bunk line but that area has been designated for gravel extraction so that habitat will be lost. They are still regular as winter visitors.
Common Snipe: once common on wet meadows and marsh land, their drumming courtship flight could be heard over Cholsey Marsh (1970’s & 1980’s) and the marsh land between Cholsey and Aston Tirrold (1960’s). Change in land use (drainage) and disturbance are some factors in its demise. Seen regular in small numbers now as a winter visitor.
European Nightjar: never common but a few pairs used to breed on Cholsey Downs back in the 1960’s. Changes in land use and disturbance have played a part in this species now being absent.
European Turtle Dove: again a regular summer visitor in Cholsey. You could hear its purring song on still summer days up until the 1970’s. The bird is so rare in Oxfordshire now that reports are now not publicised. I used to see flocks arriving in spring on the east coast and autumn gatherings as near as Dorchester of 100+ birds but alas no more!
Hunting around the Mediterranean region and intensive agriculture are 2 of the main reasons this species is in rapid decline throughout Europe.
Lesser-spotted Woodpecker: once a regular species in Cholsey into the 1980’s. There were 3 pairs I was aware of along my river walk back then plus several more around the village. According to the BTO, competition and predation by Great-spotted Woodpecker and the decline of small bore dead wood suitable for foraging are a few causes of its rapid decline. This species is in decline across Europe
Nightingale: An enigmatic species that was a regular summer visitor to Cholsey. Its decline was well underway by the turn of the 20th century with habitat loss and it never recovered.
Marsh Tit: once regularly encountered along the river near Winterbrook and Bow Bridge but yet again this species disappeared during the 1980’s. there have been records of one or two breeding pairs present in the 1990’s and apart from the odd sightings of individuals with Tit flocks recently no further records in Cholsey.
Red-backed Shrike: A scarce but regular breeder in Cholsey up to the 1960’s. I recall Bill Campbell showing me a breeding pair near Westfield road in 1963 and that was possibly the last sighting of this species in Cholsey. This species is now virtually extinct as a breeding species in the UK. Habitat loss and prey species decline has had a major effect on this species.
Tree Sparrow: another species that was once common in Cholsey with 10+ breeding pairs and good numbers wintering on farmland. Between the 1970’s and 1990’s The UK population then crashed by 93% and this was reflected in Cholsey with just a handful of records in the last 20 years.
Loss of hedgerows and planting of winter cereals contributed to its downfall.
Cirl Bunting: another regular species breeding in Cholsey up until the mid-1960’s.
One of the last pairs bred not 200 metres from where I now live and Tony Williams recalls seeing one close to his garden.
Back in the 1930’s it was a common species of lowland farmland and known as the “Village Bunting”. Changing farming practices, habitat loss and pesticide use has played a significant part in the disappearance of this species throughout the UK.
Remarkably the RSPB launched a conservation program for Cirl Buntings and a small self-sustaining population now exists in Devon and are rarely seen elsewhere.
Cirl Bunting (courtesy Tom Stevenson)
Lesser-spotted Woodpecker
Turtle Dove
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