Whitethroat parity

A quick perusal through the Heysham NR/Middleton NR ringing totals so far this year sees Lesser and Common Whitethroat both registering at 32 new-ringed birds each. I'll produce a graph of the Whitethroat ratios at Heysham over the years when I get some time, but it will almost certainly show a general trend of significant increase in the numbers of Lesser Whitethroat in relation to Common Whitethroat. In this respect, the ringing totals so far this year seem to be a reflection of local breeding birds & offspring with any 'pure' spring passage birds appearing to be non-existent (Common Whitethroat)and less than five (Lesser Whitethroat). This seems to be an especially good year for Lesser Whitethroat, notably on the Heysham NR CES where it has almost been the commonest bird!