Woodlands Forever Wild View in the Classroom

1 April – 30 June

Last spring proved to be very difficult for a number of our nesting birds. Our miniature wildlife cameras recorded many blue tit nests abandoned with the chicks starving when the adult birds failed to find enough food. This seemed to be a trend throughout the country with national surveys showing the worst year for blue tit productivity ever recorded. The long dry periods in April followed by the prolonged wet weather in May and June may have been a contributing factor.

Happily, the nest box cameras we donated to six local schools enjoyed a little more success. Miniature wildlife cameras were installed inside nest boxes placed around the school grounds and images of nesting activity were relayed back to the classroom for the children to study. Only one school recorded an empty nest box; the remaining five all had blue tits. Most fledged successfully and created much interest and excitement for the schools involved.

We plan to take our Wild View Festival on the road again this spring and increase the number of schools involved. To extend our understanding of the nesting habits of our native bird populations, each school will take part in the National Nest Box Challenge, a joint British Trust for Ornithology and BBC project.

Camera ready nest boxes will be installed throughout the Wakehurst estate and you can follow this year’s nesting season on the Wild View monitors at the Visitor Centre.

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