The Winter Bird Population of The King's Forest

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THE WINTER BIRD POPULATION OF THE KING'S FOREST A . J . LAST

Introduction BIRD populations of woodlands in winter have been little studied. The present paper summarizes work carried out in The King's Forest, north-west Suffolk, between November, 1975, and March, 1976, with a view to establishing the composition of the winter bird Community of the area, the relative abundance of the species present, and the population level during the winter. The Habitat The plantations of The King's Forest cover an area of 2,185 hectares (5,399 acres). The Forestry Commission acquired the area in 1935, planting commenced the following year, and 99% of the planting had been completed by 1952, so that at the time of the study the area was a mature forest, consisting of 53% Corsican pine, 25% Scots pine, 2% larch, 3% other conifers, and 17% broad-leaved species (largely birch, oak, and beech). The broadleaved species, especially birch and beech, were planted in narrow belts along the rides and the public roads within the forest. The dense canopy of the pines and the litter of the pine needles on the ground virtually exclude other forms of Vegetation except grasses, and only along the rides and margins of the forest are grasses and bracken prominent. The Transect The winter bird population was sampled by making counts along a transect route 8.25 kilometres (5.1 miles) in length between November, 1975, and March, 1976. The transect route followed existing forest rides, mainly intersecting the mature pine plantations, but also crossing the birch belts at several points and abutting on one area of young pines approximately six feet in height. 14 counts were made, as follows: weekly counts during November and December; fortnightly counts during January, February and March.* Each count took approximately 2 hours 45 minutes, and all the counts were made within the period 1000-1400 hrs. G.M.T. during fairly calm and dry weather. Species Composition and Relative Abundance The Table, which is based on the 12 winter counts (November-February), shows the species composition of the winter • I n view of the length of the transect, fortnightly counts during the whole period would have been sufficient for the purpose of the study: more frequent counts were made during November and December only because more time was available to the observer during those two months.


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