Reed Bunting

Emberiza schoeniclus

One or two pairs breed annually at Woodberry Wetlands (Stoke Newington Reservoirs) - their only known breeding site in Hackney.

In 1986, after the site became a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, reedbeds on the east basin began to develop . It is thought they first bred here during the late 1990's, however limited access at the time meant it took until 2001 to confirm.

Over 50% of Reed Bunting chicks are not fathered by the pair male, but are the result of an adulterous liaison, the highest recorded rate of any bird.

Number in Britain: 230 thousand Territories (Summer)

Status:

in London: fairly common but declining breeding resident, passage migrant and winter visitor. In Greater London 150 to 200 pairs breed annually.

in UK: Resident breeder, Passage/Winter visitor

Habitat: Reedbed, riverine scrub

Diet: Seeds, also invertebrates in breeding season, among sedges, reed, rushes etc

Data from the London Natural History Society (LNHS) and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)

• Systematic list (BTO/BOU) of the Birds of Stoke Newington Reservoirs / Woodberry Wetlands