Nightingales rise in East Anglia
7 June 2000
Nightingales rise in East Anglia
NIGHTINGALE numbers in parts of East Anglia have bucked the national trend and increased dramatically
Nartionally over the past two decades the singing male population has fallen by 8%, with big gaps emerging in areas of the Home Counties and the Midlands.
But a new census by the British Trust for Ornithology and Anglian Water in a small area of the eastern Fens reported a 10-fold increase in numbers.
Researchers discovered the area supported 205 singing males, compared to 20 recorded in 1980.
Now further research will try to discover the reasons for this increase, reports the BBC Radio 4 Farming Today programme.
Researchers will undertake a detailed vegetation survey and produce a leaflet telling farmers and landowners how to create suitable nightingale habitats.