Releases were completed in 2003. Activity in 2005 has concentrated on monitoring the expanding population and liaising with an increasing number of landowners, gamekeepers and farmers, onto whose ground the birds have spread. The considerable assistance willingly provided by all concerned is gratefully acknowledged.
The most encouraging aspects of this year's breeding performance were the increases in the numbers of territorial pairs located (48%), successful pairs (47%) and the increasing geographical distribution compared with 2004. It was somewhat disappointing that the number of young raised (+18%) did not show a similar increase. This was largely due to 75% (21/28) of the successful nests being recorded as raising only one or two young compared with 53% (10/19) in 2004. A partial explanation for this could be that 12 of these nests involved first-time breeders. Moreover, the pairs raising larger broods tended to be more experienced pairs which bred earlier, during better weather, suggesting that conditions could also have been a factor in the lower brood sizes of the later breeding pairs.
The overall figures for known pairs in 2005 (2004 figures and % increases in brackets) are:
Territorial pairs located: 40 (27 (48%))
Breeding pairs: 33 (24 (37.5%))
Successful pairs: 28 (19 (47%))
Young raised: 52 (44 (18%))
Average young/breeding pair: 1.58 (1.8)
Average young/successful pair: 1.85 (2.32)
