East Dales Ringing Group

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Strid Wood straddles the River Wharfe in a deep sided valley cutting through the Milstone Grit and Carboniferous Limestone of the Skipton Anticline between Bolton Abbey and Barden. Situated at an altitude of 110 metres, the woodland covers some 146 hectares and contains the largest area of acidic Oak woodland and the best remnant Oak wood pasture in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1985, the woodland has long been noted amongst naturalists for its botanical interest, including lichens, and the diversity of its birdlife.

The mist-neting of Wood Warblers at Strid Wood, using taped birdsong, has been undertaken for a number of years now. The results for the period 2000 - 2008 are shown in the table below.

Adults Ringed	Pulli Ringed	Re-trapped	Controlled	Recovered	Total
27	0	7	0	0	34

The population of Wood warblers in the main part of the wood, from Cavendiah Pavilion upstream to the Barden aqueduct, remains relatively small with the maximum number of 10 singing males being recorded in any one year. However in 2008 only 2 to 3 pairs were recorded. With the narrowness of the wood, however, it is often difficult to be certain that all the singing males are different individuals, as some males appear to have territories which span the river. Trapping results for 2004 provided to be very interesting: six singing males initially took up territory within the wood on the west bank and appeared to be well established, being present over a period of a few weeks. These birds were eventually trapped; four of them were unringed and two were retraps. Two singing males were later discovered on the east bank of the river two weeks later and were found to be birds which had moved territory from the other bank. Trapping adults over a longer time span may help establish whether the number of males have been overestimated in the past.

It is not always possible, even using tapes, to entice some singing males in to nets, as many appear very wary. Unringed birds are most easily netted and may often be in the net within a matter of seconds after the tape recording commences. Ringed birds will often approach close to the net but fail to be caught.