The Status of Cookham’s Birds

The Status of Cookham’s Birds

(updated November 2008)

Birds are among the more obvious examples of wildlife and as such attract more attention. As a result, there are often more records of birds than other creatures, and data goes back further.

Trawling the available historic, and more recent data enables us to list the status of all species seen in the Cookhams and the following chart outlines this information.

We will endeavour to keep this list up to date. If you have any details you would like to contribute to the list, do let us know.

	Species	Status	Breeding
0002	Red-throated Diver
0003	Black-throated Diver
0004	Great Northern Diver
0007	Little Grebe	Occasional on Thames
0009	Great Crested Grebe	Regular on Thames	Has bred on Widbrook
0010	Red-necked Grebe	Once recorded near Boulters Lock
0011	Slavonian Grebe
0012	Black-necked Grebe
0022	Fulmar	Recorded once, over Thames, Sep 1989
0046	Manx Shearwater	Recorded once, over Widbrook during storms, 9 June 1970
0052	Storm Petrel
0055	Leach's Petrel
0071	Gannet	(none here yet, but 1 on a Wokingham lake in 2008 indicates the possibilities)
0072	Cormorant	Movement over Cookham between Marlow and Summerleaze roosts.
0080	Shag	Once Ray Mill Island.
0095	Bittern	Not recorded for 100 years
0104	Night Heron
0119	Little Egret	Once on Thames, Cockmarsh	Bred in Berks for the first time on 2007
0122	Grey Heron	Regular on Cockmarsh
0124	Purple Heron	Nearest record - White Waltham Sep 1861
0134	White Stork
0136	Glossy Ibis
0144	Spoonbill	One record - Cockmarsh May 11th 1969. An immature was at nearby SGP 10th Oct 1986
0152	Mute Swan	Up to 30 over-winter nr Widbrook	Usually 3 pairs (Widbrook, Strand Water, Odney)
0153	Bewick's Swan	Once on Widbrook - winter of 1962
0154	Whooper Swan	Group of 5 recorded in 1855.
0157	Bean Goose	Once on Cockmarsh
0158	Pink-footed Goose
0159	White-fronted Goose	Once on Cockmarsh 1986 - also feral individual
0161	Greylag Goose	Up to 300 feral birds
0162	Bar-headed Goose	Max 8 Switchback and Cockmarsh
0163	Snow Goose	Escaped individuals only
0166	Canada Goose	Large numbers (500+) Cockmarsh, Switchback and Summerleaze GP (where over 1000 counted once in 1980's)	Just one or two pairs have bred
0167	Barnacle Goose	Escapes only
0168	Brent Goose	Only record - 1 shot in winter of 1866/7
0169	Red-breasted Goose	One record – over-flying individual 24th December 1981
0170	Egyptian Goose	Max 171 Switchback (Oct 087)
0171	Ruddy Shelduck	Local escapes, one regular Switchback with other species autumn 2008.
0173	Shelduck	Occasional on Thames. Juv with geese on Switchback Sep 07
0177	Wood Duck	1 SGP December 1984
0178	Mandarin	Odney and Thames towards Boulters	Use Tawny Owl nest boxes, Quarry Wood - 22 eggs highest brood. Breeds in boxes along Thames at Cliveden.
0179	Wigeon	Occasional at SGP or on Thames
0180	American Wigeon
0182	Gadwall	Occasional on Thames
0184	Green-winged Teal
0184	Teal	Occasional on Thames
0186	Mallard	Regular on all waters
0189	Pintail
0191	Garganey	Pair recorded SGP 1980's
0192	Blue-winged Teal
0194	Shoveler	Regular nearby at SGP
0196	Red-crested Pochard	Recorded once on Summerleaze Lake
0198	Pochard	Occasional on Thames
0200	Ring-necked Duck
0202	Ferruginous Duck
0203	Tufted Duck	regular on Thames,	Sometimes along Strand Water
0204	Scaup
0206	Eider
0212	Long-tailed Duck
0213	Common Scoter	One shot during winter of 1865
0215	Velvet Scoter	One shot on Thames winter 1866/7
0218	Goldeneye	Sometimes at SGP
0220	Smew	Sometimes at SGP
0221	Red-breasted Merganser	One killed in 1860's
0223	Goosander	Sometimes at SGP
0225	Ruddy Duck	Sometimes at SGP
0231	Honey Buzzard	Passage overhead only (11 birds over Cookham in 2000)
0239	Red Kite	Huge increase in daily sightings. Max 46 together Strand Lane Sep 2008	First bred, along Bradcuts Lane, 2005 and 2006
0240	Black Kite	1 seen by Bucks birdwatchers over Cockmarsh 8th May 2003.
0243	White-tailed Eagle
0260	Marsh Harrier	1 shot nearby at Bisham Aug 1970. Over Quarry Wood, 2003
0261	Hen Harrier	Along Thames, Cockmarsh, 2004
0263	Montagu's Harrier	Nearest record - 1 killed at Hall Place Oct 1870
0267	Goshawk	One or two sightings - most recent was over Cookham Rise 1st Mar 2004, but becoming more regular in Marlow area.
0269	Sparrowhawk	Two or three pairs	Annual
0287	Buzzard	Rapid increase in recent sightings – up to 10 haunt the village and its surrounds.	Bred along Bradcuts Lane and Widbrook 2005 and 2006
0290	Rough-legged Buzzard	Nearest record - 1 shot Culham Court during 1890's
0293	Spotted Eagle
0296	Golden Eagle
0301	Osprey	Whilst one was shot in Oct 1864, the first 20th-century record for Berks was over Cookham Sep 1938. Another flew over Quarry Woods 2004
0304	Kestrel	Regular but declining	Probably 3 pairs
0307	Red-footed Falcon	One flew over Cockmarsh from Marlow summer 2007.
0309	Merlin	Occasional	Winter Visitor only
0310	Hobby	Once very rare, increase in records in last 5 years	Bred 4 years running in old Crows nest in Widbrook area
0318	Gyr Falcon
0320	Peregrine	Almost annual sightings
0332	Black Grouse
0355	Chukar
0358	Red-legged Partridge	Released in large numbers for local shoots.	Breeds ferally
0367	Grey Partridge	Almost gone completely after decade of rapid decline	Maybe 1 pair
0370	Quail	Extremely scarce in last 50 years. Cat brought one into a Station Hill home Jan 2000 and another was calling off Long Lane July 2008.
0394	Pheasant	Fewer pairs than one might assume	Perhaps 10 pairs
0396	Golden Pheasant	Female seen Broomhill 1998 - presumed escape
0397	Lady Amherst's Pheasant
0407	Water Rail	2 or 3 pairs along Whitebrook	Very secretive, but most likely breeding
0408	Spotted Crake
0409	Sora
0411	Baillon's Crake
0421	Corncrake	Widespread until 1950's. No county records since 1983.
0424	Moorhen	Once common in large numbers along Strand Water - eradicated by Mink from 2004. Present on Strand Pool
0429	Coot	Regular on Thames
0433	Crane	Nearest record - over Bray Jan 1987
0442	Little Bustard
0446	Great Bustard
0450	Oystercatcher
0455	Black-winged Stilt
0456	Avocet
0459	Stone Curlew	1^st record for East Berks – in field off Long Lane 10^th May 2007	A few of UK’s 400 pairs breed on Berks Downs
0467	Black-winged Pratincole
0469	Little Ringed Plover	Very scarce recently	Used to breed SGP
0470	Ringed Plover	Very scarce recently	Used to breed SGP
0474	Killdeer	Nationally scarce - only Berks record nearby at Holyport GP March 1984.
0477	Kentish Plover
0482	Dotterel
0485	Golden Plover	Up to 100 some winters
0486	Grey Plover
0491	Sociable Plover
0493	Lapwing	Up to 300 over-winter	Maybe only 5 pairs stay to breed.
0496	Knot	Regular elsewhere in Berks. Only Cookham record, 1 shot 1865
0497	Sanderling
0501	Little Stint
0502	Temminck's Stint
0504	Least Sandpiper
0507	Pectoral Sandpiper	Annual in UK - nearest record SGP July 1985.
0508	Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
0509	Curlew Sandpiper
0510	Purple Sandpiper
0512	Dunlin
0514	Broad-billed Sandpiper
0517	Ruff	Occasional at SGP
0518	Jack Snipe	Flushed Marsh Meadow 2002
0519	Snipe	Over-winter behind Strand Park Mobile Home Park	Used to breed base of Winter Hill
0520	Great Snipe	Nationally rare - 1 shot Cookham c1860.
0529	Woodcock	A few records from Quarry Wood.
0532	Black-tailed Godwit
0534	Bar-tailed Godwit
0538	Whimbrel	2 seen feeding in fields adjacent to Long Lane 1998
0541	Curlew
0545	Spotted Redshank	V scarce in Berks - 1 Cockmarsh Dec 1992
0546	Redshank	Occasional Cockmarsh	Used to breed base of Winter Hill
0547	Marsh Sandpiper
0548	Greenshank	Recorded once along Switchback
0549	Stone Curlew	Spent a day in fields along Long Lane on May 10th
0551	Lesser Yellowlegs
0553	Green Sandpiper	Recorded once along Switchback
0554	Wood Sandpiper
0556	Common Sandpiper	Infrequent on Thames near Cockmarsh
0561	Turnstone
0563	Wilson's Phalarope
0564	Red-necked Phalarope
0565	Grey Phalarope	One killed autumn 1867 on Thames, Cookham by gamekeeper with rowing oar!
0566	Pomarine Skua
0567	Arctic Skua
0568	Long-tailed Skua
0569	Great Skua	Nearest record - Holyport, Jan 1984.
0572	Raven	Most recent was Widbrook Jan 2008
0575	Mediterranean Gull	1 SGP Feb 1987. More regular at Little Marlow pits across Thames.
0578	Little Gull	One in over-wintering gull flock Widbrook 2003
0579	Sabine's Gull
0582	Black-headed Gull	Regular in good numbers
0589	Ring-billed Gull
0590	Common Gull	c 150 over-winter Alfred Major park and self-pick areas.
0591	Lesser Black-backed Gull	Pre-roost gatherings only, in winter
0592	Herring Gull	Pre-roost gatherings only, in winter
0592	Yellow-legged Gull
0598	Iceland Gull	Nearest record - Holyport Nov/Dec 1976
0599	Glaucous Gull
0600	Great Black-backed Gull	Occasional
0602	Kittiwake
0606	Caspian Tern
0611	Sandwich Tern
0614	Roseate Tern
0615	Common Tern	Seen along Thames in summer	Sometimes breeds on artificial rafts SGP
0616	Arctic Tern
0624	Little Tern	Only record - 1 shot c1860
0627	Black Tern
0628	White-winged Black Tern
0634	Guillemot
0636	Razorbill
0647	Little Auk
0654	Puffin
0663	Pallas's Sandgrouse
0665	Feral Pigeon	Common	Regular breeder around buildings
0668	Stock Dove	Max c125 White Place Farm 2004	Uses owl nest boxes regularly
0670	Woodpigeon	Flocks up to 1000 in winter – 3500 on Switchback October 2008.	Common breeder
0684	Collared Dove	First Berks record was of 1 bird on Widbrook, 1960. Now common.	Probably c20 pairs?
0687	Turtle Dove	Not recorded for some time	Was once regular breeder in the Dean
0712	Ring-necked Parakeet	First recorded in Berks 1971. Up to 20 regularly recorded around the Cookhams, all from 8000-stong roost in Esher	Up to 10 pairs in gardens and along Strand Water
0724	Cuckoo	Fast declining summer visitor	Once annual breeder, probably utilising Dunnock and Reed Warbler mostly.
0735	Barn Owl	Only 400 pairs left in UK. Handful of sightings annually in Cookhams	First known to breed in modern times on Marsh Meadow 2005. (failed 2006)
0757	Little Owl	Fluctuating population with stronghold on White Place Farm	c50 nest boxes in place of which c10 used regularly.
0761	Tawny Owl	Mostly in Quarry & Bisham Woods but also hunts on Winter Hill golf course.	c 40 nest boxes, up to 5 used many years.
0767	Long-eared Owl
0768	Short-eared Owl
0770	Tengmalm's Owl
0778	Nightjar	Heard churring nr Odney during moth trapping event 2004	Not since clearance of heathland up to 100 years ago.
0795	Swift	Regular in summer over the 3 villages	Probably in the Dean and near Lower Rd Post Office
0798	Alpine Swift	2nd for Berks discovered nr Furze Platt 2006 and subsequently Little Marlow GP - must have over-flown Cookham.
0831	Kingfisher	Regular on Thames, ditches and around Odney	Nested Strand Pool 2002, Cookham Lock area some years. Too many berthed boats on Thames bank these days
0841	Roller
0846	Hoopoe	One reported Cookham in 1860's. Another was in Dec 1961. Next nearest modern record, Courthouse Lane, Maidenhead, 1990
0848	Wryneck	Not recorded for many years	Once regular breeder in local orchards with 8 to 10 pairs in 1945.
0856	Green Woodpecker	Increasing population, esp on short grasslands such as Winter Hill golf course	Breeds commonly
0876	Great Spotted Woodpecker	Increasing population	Breeds commonly - perhaps 12 pairs
0887	Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	Remains scarce, though annual records	Probably 3 territories: Quarry Wood, Strand Lane and Widbrook areas.
0968	Short-toed Lark
0974	Woodlark	Recorded once in 1990 near Widbrook
0976	Skylark	Over-winters in flocks up to 100 strong in fields south of Strand Lane and in those abutting Long Lane	Very few nesting opportunities these days - mostly south of the village
0978	Shore Lark
0981	Sand Martin	Returns every summer, but in reducing numbers	Sand banks at Long Lane and SGP not used since 2004. Pairs do nest in overflow pipes in Odney wall above Thames ditch
0992	Swallow	Regular but declining summer visitor	Occasional in Dean paddock areas
0995	Red-rumped Swallow	Nearest record (and Berks only 2nd) - Bray GP May 1996.
1001	House Martin	Summer visitor in reducing numbers	Used to be c30 nests on Broomhill - none for last 4 years. Only 2 nests reported for whole village in 2008!
1002	Richard's Pipit
1005	Tawny Pipit
1008	Olive-backed Pipit	Only 1 Berks record – in Bracknell
1009	Tree Pipit	Once familiar in surrounding scrub	Not for over 50 years
1011	Meadow Pipit	Over-wintering flocks in varying numbers Long Lane and near Widbrook.
1012	Red-throated Pipit
1014	Rock Pipit
1014	Water Pipit
1017	Yellow Wagtail	Passage numbers dwindling year on year. Max were c125 Sewage Treatment works, Marsh Meadow 1990-ish	Possible pair bred nr Widbrook 1999-ish
1019	Grey Wagtail	Regular on Thames and at Odney	Young seen most years
1020	Pied Wagtail	Roost nr Winter Hill dispersed a few years ago.	Young seen most years
1020	White Wagtail	Recorded on Widbrook at least once.
1048	Waxwing	Recorded about every 5 or so years when influxes from Scandinavia occur..	One ringed bird caught in Cookham Rise March 2nd 1966 had been ringed in Farnham the previous December.
1050	Dipper	One record, at bottom of Quarry Wood Rd, a few decades ago,
1066	Wren	Common throughout	Regular breeder
1084	Dunnock	Common throughout	Regular breeder
1099	Robin	Common throughout	Regular breeder
1104	Nightingale	W H Hudson describes several breeding pairs in the Dean a century ago	Not bred or even been recorded, for several years.
1106	Bluethroat
1121	Black Redstart	First record for all Berkshire was at Formosa in 1861. Not recorded in Cookham since!
1122	Redstart	Seen Cockmarsh autumn 2006
1137	Whinchat	Regular along Marsh Meadow ditch and behind mobile home park.
1139	Stonechat	Most winters along Long Lane or beyond Widbrook
1146	Wheatear	Occasional passage birds on Cockmarsh.
1186	Ring Ouzel	1 shot Cookham Dean spring 1867.
1187	Blackbird	Common Resident	Regular
1198	Fieldfare	Common winter visitor
1200	Song Thrush	Common resident - max 51 singing males in the Cookhams spring 2002.	Regular
1201	Redwing	Common winter visitor. Highest Berks count to date (2500) was at nearby SGP Oct 1989.
1202	Mistle Thrush	Fairly common	Few pairs
1220	Cetti's Warbler
1236	Grasshopper Warbler	Not recorded for c100 years	Once regular breeder on Cookham's heathland
1238	Savi's Warbler
1242	Aquatic Warbler
1243	Sedge Warbler	Regular summer visitor	Breeds along Strand Water
1250	Marsh Warbler
1251	Reed Warbler	Regular summer visitor	Breeds along Strand Water
1253	Great Reed Warbler
1259	Icterine Warbler
1260	Melodious Warbler
1262	Dartford Warbler	First county record was at nearby Maidenhead Thicket c1906. One over-wintered beyond Widbrook 2002
1274	Lesser Whitethroat	Occasional	Uncertain status
1275	Whitethroat	Regular summer visitor	Breeds in most open countryside
1276	Garden Warbler	Recorded most summers	Not confirmed, but likely
1277	Blackcap	Both summer and winter visitor	Several breeding pairs
1300	Yellow-browed Warbler
1307	Western Bonelli's Warbler
1308	Wood Warbler	Once common, just one record in last 10 years, along Bradcutts Lane for just one day.	Used to breed regularly in Quarry Wood where there were at least 8 nests in 1935.
1311	Chiffchaff	Regular summer visitor - few over-winter	Few pairs in scrub areas
1312	Willow Warbler	Regular in spring	No confirmed breeding recently
1314	Goldcrest	Common around conifers, and in mixed feeding flocks in winter	Annual breeder in small numbers
1315	Firecrest	Nearest recent records – Ray Mill Island, 2001, but Strand Lane 2008.	Bred nearby Cliveden in 2008
1335	Spotted Flycatcher	Declining summer visitor - not even recorded annually	Most likely site is Odney Club
1349	Pied Flycatcher	One record in 1980's
1364	Bearded Tit	Nearest record - 8 Bray GP Nov 1972.
1437	Long-tailed Tit	Common resident	Regular breeder
1440	Marsh Tit	Occasional in Quarry/Bisham Woods	Not recently
1442	Willow Tit	Used to be present in Quarry Wood
1461	Coal Tit	Mainly recorded around conifers in Quarry Wood, Cookham Dean and Odney Club	Possibly 10 breeding pairs only
1462	Blue Tit	Very Common	Annual breeder
1464	Great Tit	Very Common	Annual breeder
1479	Nuthatch	Several pairs in Quarry Woods and at Odney. Occasional along Strand Lane	Annual breeder
1486	Treecreeper	Mainly in Quarry and Bisham Woods - occasional at Odney	Annual breeder in small numbers
1490	Penduline Tit
1508	Golden Oriole	Nearest record - 1 Ashley Hill May 13th 1971.
1515	Red-backed Shrike	Once common, with 6 to 8 pairs between Cookham and Maidenhead during 1940's. Now absent. No recent records	Once bred in local orchards
1520	Great Grey Shrike	First 20th-century record for all Berks was 1 Cookham Dean Jan-Mar 1934. None here since.
1523	Woodchat Shrike
1539	Jay	Common	Regular
1549	Magpie	Common and increasing in gardens	Regular
1557	Nutcracker
1559	Chough
1560	Jackdaw	Common and increasing. Large numbers heading north-west at dusk each evening	Regular. Has used Tawny Owl nest boxes in Quarry Wood
1563	Rook	Common on farmland in winter. No Rookeries for some time. But ‘new’ Rookery recently discovered on Saches island.	1 pair nested nr Mobile Home park 2004.
1567	Carrion Crow	Common	Several nests
1567	Hooded Crow
1572	Raven	Recorded in Quarry Woods 5th Feb 1837, once in Long Lane Sep27th 2000 and 3 times in 2008.	Now breeding in South Bucks
1582	Starling	Gradual decline. Largest flocks now c300 rather then 3000 of the past	Fewer nesting opportunities on new and modified houses.
1584	Rose-coloured Starling
1591	House Sparrow	Seriously declining	Probably 12 nesting colonies?
1598	Tree Sparrow	Occasional winter records of ones or twos, especially on set-aside along Long Lane
1636	Chaffinch	Common	Regular
1638	Brambling	Regular winter visitor, esp in Quarry Wood and White Place Farm
1640	Serin	Only 4 county records - nearest was Holyport 8th Sep 1986
1649	Greenfinch	Common and increasing	Regular
1653	Goldfinch	Common	Few pairs in rough grassland areas
1654	Siskin	Small numbers some winters in Quarry Wood or along Mill Lane	Doubtful
1660	Linnet	Fluctuating winter numbers, seemingly in decline locally	Few pairs near pick-you-own and near Widbrook
1662	Twite
1663	Lesser Redpoll	Occasional in winter
1663	Mealy Redpoll
1665	Two-barred Crossbill
1666	Crossbill
1668	Parrot Crossbill
1679	Scarlet Rosefinch
1699	Pine Grosbeak
1710	Bullfinch	Serious declines in last century	Perhaps one or two pairs
1717	Hawfinch	One record only in last decade.	Used to breed here c1900
1847	Lapland Bunting	One for 2 days near Widbrook Common 2005.
1850	Snow Bunting	One reported shot c1868.
1857	Yellowhammer	Serious declines in recent years. Max c150 Long Lane	Possibly just 2 or 3 pairs
1858	Cirl Bunting	Lost to our area about 50 years ago. Last county record 1981.	Once bred regularly in surrounding fields. Recorded by W H Hudson 1983.
1866	Ortolan Bunting	Report of 3 shot in early 1860's.
1874	Little Bunting
1877	Reed Bunting	Over-winters along Long Lane (game cover patches) - max c100. Occasional roost in Strand Water reedbed.	Perhaps 5 pairs
1882	Corn Bunting	Used to be common nr cricket pitch (typically 10).	Lost as breeder 10 years ago. Just 1 singing male in last 5 years (west of Long Lane 2006)

	NOTES	SGP = Summerleaze Gravel Pit