Eleven days earlier than the eleven-year mean, and the trend is now clear
This year
First birds on the nests on the fourth of February. The eleven-year mean is the fifteenth and the earliest previous was the eighth.
The trend
About nine days earlier across eleven years. That is consistent with the county record and with what two other recorders nearby have found.
What it does not show
Anything about breeding success, which is what actually matters and which nobody local is recording. That is the gap.
