Monday 12 June 2017

Cudworth Common & the Symphony enclosure

The fenced area around the Symphony factory at Cudworth Common gives a good illustration of what birds could be breeding if predators, dogs and human disturbance are either removed or kept to a minimum. The following are all breeding within the confines of this fenced area;-
Greylag Goose 2 broods.  Lapwing 13 pairs with another pair on the Common - early broods do not appear to have fared well with most young perishing, however, many birds are again sitting on eggs and a few broods are appearing again. Ringed Plover 8 pairs with some young already fledged, a few broods of chicks and at least 1 pair still sitting on eggs. Little Ringed Plover 2 pairs present. Redshank 2 pairs with another pair with chicks on the Common. Skylarks are common in the area as well as over the Common (there are very few places Skylark could be classed as common around the Barnsley area).
Unfortunately the ponds on the adjacent Cudworth Common have been badly disturbed this year. Low water levels has seen much of the water areas dry up and has made the islands easily accessible to dogs and humans. Trail bikes, quad bikes and even 4WD vehicles have been driven all over the site and very little wildlife is on there this summer. Mute Swans have still hatched 5 cygnets though and a pair of Redshank  have chicks.
Unfortunately the 

1 comment:

Geoff Carr said...

Interesting stuff Graham and a good comparison with other areas which are open and suffer from human intrusion and dogs.