Nuthatch Sitta europaea
Breeding distribution change
Common and increasing resident
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Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2013
Atlas species lists
- Breeding distribution 1995–2000
- Summer abundance 1995–2000
- Winter distribution 1995–2000
- Winter abundance 1995–2000
- Breeding distribution 2007–2012
- Summer abundance 2007–2012
- Winter distribution 2007–2012
- Winter abundance 2007–2012
- Breeding distribution change
- Summer abundance change
- Winter distribution change
- Winter abundance change
More Nuthatch maps
- Breeding distribution 1995–2000
- Summer abundance 1995–2000
- Winter distribution 1995–2000
- Winter abundance 1995–2000
- Breeding distribution 2007–2012
- Summer abundance 2007–2012
- Winter distribution 2007–2012
- Winter abundance 2007–2012
- Breeding distribution change
- Summer abundance change
- Winter distribution change
- Winter abundance change
Map explanation
This map shows where changes occurred in the breeding season distribution of the species in Wiltshire between 1995-2000 and 2007-2012, as revealed by the fieldwork for Birds of Wiltshire (Wiltshire Ornithological Society 2007) and the shared fieldwork for Bird Atlas 2007-2011 (BTO 2013) and for Wiltshire Tetrad Atlas 2007-2012.
Gains and improvements
Status
Nos tetrads
Absent to present
93
10%
Present to breeding
55
6%
Absent to breeding
48
5%
No change
Status
Nos tetrads
Present in both
73
8%
Breeding in both
61
7%
Losses and declines
Status
Nos tetrads
Present to absent
57
6%
Breeding to present
60
7%
Breeding to absent
29
3%
Nuthatches are found right across the northern palearctic from Morocco and Iberia to Kamchatka and Japan, south to Turkey, Iran, the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia. In Europe they are absent from Ireland, much of northern Scotland, Fenno-Scandia and northermost Russia.
In Britain they are widespread in Wales, most of England and southern Scotland. The most striking feature in their distribution has been their steady northwards expansion. Breeding in Scotland was first confimed only as recently as 1989. Bird Atlas 2007-2011 recorded a 35% range expansion since the 1968-72 Breeding Atlas, almost all of which occurred in northern England and southern Scotland. BBS returns showed an 82% population increase in England between 1995 and 2010 and a 52% increase in Wales in the same period. There was also a substantial increase in Scotland but there are insufficient data to quantify it.
In Wiltshire they are common, and have been since at least since the mid 19th century, in the well-wooded areas of the west, southwest and southeast of the county, and in the areas around Marlborough and Braydon Forest. Birds of Wiltshire recorded them in 336 tetrads with breeding in 150. WTA2 found them in 390 tetrads with breeding in 164.
References
The following references are used throughout these species’ accounts, in the abbreviated form given in quotation marks:
“1968-72 Breeding Atlas” – Sharrack, J.T.R. 1976: The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. Poyser
“1981-84 Winter Atlas” – Lack, P.C. 1986: The Atlas of Wintering Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. Poyser
“1988-91 Breeding Atlas” – Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. & Chapman, R.A. 1993: The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988-91. T. & A. Poyser
“Birds of Wiltshire” – Ferguson-Lees, I.J. et al. 2007: Birds of Wiltshire, published by the tetrad atlas group of the Wiltshire Ornithological Society after mapping fieldwork 1995-2000. Wiltshire Ornithological Society.
“Bird Atlas 2007-2011”-– Balmer, D.E., Gillings, S., Caffrey, B.J., Swann, R.L., Downie, I.S. and Fuller, R.J. 2013: The Breeding and Wintering Birds of Britain and Ireland. BTO Books.
“WTA2” – ("Wiltshire Tetrad Atlas 2 ") the present electronic publication, bringing together the Wiltshire data from “Birds of Wiltshire” and “Bird Atlas 2007-11”, together with data from further fieldwork carried out in 2011 and 2012.
"Hobby" - the annual bird report of the Wiltshire Ornithological Society.