As has been the practice in recent years, John Elwell led a series of nest box inspections from mid-April to early June as part of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Nest Record Scheme (NRS), operating under licence from Natural England. All observations have been submitted to the NRS database, thereby contributing to the national picture of the phenology of the species concerned. As usual, boxes were occupied by Blue Tit and Great Tit, with about twice as many of the former. The vast majority of nests were successful, fledging 6 young on average. This is the third successive year that has produced good results, after some mixed years previously. Weather is the key factor, and this year we were spared excessive rain at the wrong time, and mercifully the cold snap a couple of weeks ago seemed to have little impact. Thanks to those who assisted on different occasions: Barry, Ian, Leo, Tim, Edwina, Simon (twice), Chris and Andrew.
