REED BUNTING

Reed Buntings primarily inhabit wet and marshy areas with rank vegetation, and are resident in Britain .

The male’s characteristic song carries a considerable distance in still conditions, but he is more likely to be seen singing from a prominent sprig, or a tree, on the edge of the marsh, rather than from the shorter vegetation within it. He has a black head and throat, white collar and underparts, and chestnut brown back and wings. Females are rarely seen, except when feeding young in the nest, but they have a brown and buff head and breast, and no white collar. They are slightly larger than Robins.

The nest is an open cup, usually on the ground. The first clutch, usually of 4-5 eggs, is most frequently laid in May. Incubation takes 12-14 days, and the young leave the nest 10-13 days later. Two, and occasionally three, broods may be raised.

In Shropshire, the distribution map from The Atlas (1992), shown on the previous page, shows that the vast majority of breeding Reed Buntings were found in the lowland river valleys north and east of the River Severn, with only a few breeding records from the upland rushes and bogs. The more recent map shows the same broad distribution. As the birds are highly sedentary, they are likely to breed in the same areas where they are seen outside the breeding season.  Most records from other times of the year have corresponding breeding season records, but a few do not. Such records are shown on the 2000 – 04 Map as small blue dots.

These lowland areas have been subjected to agricultural intensification for many years, leading to a massive long-term decline in the Reed Bunting population over the same period. This is attributed to land drainage, and also loss of winter food supplies (grass and herb seeds) as a result of increased use of herbicides on farms, and the switch to autumn cereals.

The population decreased nationally by an estimated 53% between 1970 and 1999, resulting in the species being added to the Red List in The Population Status Of Birds In The UK : Birds of Conservation Concern: 2002–2007. However, the population has been reasonably stable at the lower level for the last 10 years, partly as a result of the more recent reduction in land drainage activity.  

Reed Buntings have also disappeared from many upland areas in the west and north of Britain , and suffered a reduction in density in the same areas. They leave the uplands in the autumn, returning in spring, so they will have been affected by the reduction in winter food on farmland, and land drainage over the last 30 – 40 years in many parts of the Shropshire hills will have contributed to the decline, but the species still survives where their habitat has not been removed. Recent surveys found around 50–60 pairs on the Long Mynd (1998) and 5 pairs on The Stiperstones (2004-05). The Long Mynd probably now accounts for 5–10% of the County population.

As the lowland areas have continued to be subjected to similar agricultural intensification as that which led to the decline in the Reed Bunting population prior to 1990, the estimated County population of 570–1900 pairs (an average of 3–10 pairs per occupied tetrad) in The Atlas (1992) is likely to be too high now.

back to Reed Bunting maps