The Year in Numbers

Here's a few numbers to indicate progress with Little Oak Group in 2023 using a triple bottom line framework; Economic, Natural and Social Capital to measure growth indicators in our projects and concerns HERE. Unlike previous years I've stripped out some details and also focusing more on our family stake in the group in line with the focus on this blog.  

Highlights included a pretty big haul of bird and moth rarities this year, preparing to move to a coastal homestead, economic targets met on the commercial ventures, good progress on the Bulgaria project and an epic birding trip to Corvo in the autumn.  

ECONOMIC CAPITAL

Income/Profit for 2023

Approx. 25% profit across handled contracts from Little Oak Tree Care and income from property portfolio and other investments. 

Net assets 

Land, properties, enterprise values and holdings in green stocks, bonds and cryptocurrency. NAV approx. £1.5 million.  

NATURAL CAPITAL 

Land (not including property) owned and directly managed

Approx. 2 acres (3/4 acre in Sussex in progress and one acre and a bit in Bulgaria) 

Land managed indirectly/ contribution to management

Little Oak Tree and Garden care service over 500 private gardens and communal blocks equal to approx. 64 acres not including nature reserves and public spaces (large areas over 500 hectares).   

Project Species Inventory Totals 

The Old Vicarage: 1030 species (including priority species) all time (after I-record re-classifications), 469 species of moth in 2022 and 633 moth species all time

Beddington Farmlands: 2000+ species (including priority and red data species) all time. (See reports/website) 

Bulgaria : 336 species of moths and butterflies here and 167 bird species here

Natural Capital Monitoring Effort Indicators

Ebird checklists in 2023: 220 (approx. 500 hours)

Irecord checklists in 2023: approx. 121 (approx. 250 hours)

Bird Species recorded in 2023: 344 HERE

Moth species recorded in 2023: Approx 750-800: 469 at the Old Vicarage, 272 in Bulgaria HERE and a few more at Portland, Beddington, Corvo and Gran Canaria.  

Rarities found: Birds: Steppe Gull (Az), Wood Thrush, Grey Catbird (with David), Surf Scoter, Philadelphia Vireo, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Common Yellowthroat, Swainson’s Thrush, Grey-cheeked Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Red-eyed Vireos (Azores), Little Bunting (Bulgaria). Moths: Black-and-white Dart and Candlestick Dart (Bulgarian rarities), Beautiful Marbled, Scarce Bordered Straw, Convolvulus Hawkmoth, Dark Crimson Underwing at the Old Vic , Cydia interscindana in London, Luperina rubella and Cervyna ceravago were first for Bulgarian I-Nat project

Carbon Accounts

Need to actually work out some metrics on these.

Carbon sequestration assets: Land, managed green spaces, planting projects in 2023, habitat improvements in Bulgaria project.

Carbon Credit Investments: Shares in Carbon capture projects

Net Biodiversity Gain Accounts 

Need to actually work out some metrics on these too. 

Biodiversity Net Gain Projects: Owned land, impact on land we manage and land we campaign for. 

SOCIAL CAPITAL 

Facebook Pages Metrices

Beddington Farmlands: 4.2 google stars, 1.9K followers

Thee Bryans: 1.2K followers

Blog Views

267,000 views in 2023, 2.05 million all time for Non-stop Birding (the Corvo blog gets another 14K or so mainly in October) 

Publications in 2023

Portuguese Rarities Committee Report (1), Azores Local Reports (1), Birdguides Article (1), Trip Reports (5 on Ebird). 

Total Number of Project Publication Reads on Research Gate

18293 reads (all time) 125 research interest (which is 68% higher than average on this platform) 

Other social media metrics

Present on Twitter and Facebook in personal capacity and comfortably engaged. 

Personal bird and moths lists  

World bird list: 3189 (Bubo) 20 lifers in 2023 mainly due to taxonomic changes. 

WP bird list: 724 (River Warbler, Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch, American Bittern, Catbird, Chaffinch splits etc) (Netfugl ranking 92)

False WP list: 934 (Netfugl ranking 47)

WP mammal/cetacean list: 101 (Kept in Aulagnier et al plus Cetaceans from Wikipedia, added Steppe Mouse and Goitered Gazelle, omissions from 2022) 

WP Moth List (mainly UK so far) : Approx. 1000, 633 at the Old Vicarage, 50+ elsewhere in UK, approx. 300 in Bulgaria and a few scattered elsewhere) 

Azores Bird List: 255 (Ebird) Two new this year. Number 2 ranking on Ebird.

Bulgaria Bird List: 288 (Ebird) Twelve new this year. Number 23 ranking on Ebird. 

Beddington Farmlands Bird List: 224 (nothing new). Number 1 ranking on Ebird. 

Oxfordshire Bird List: 172 (Two new this year)

Surrey Bird List: 243 (Nothing new) 

The Old Vicarage Bird List: 97 (Two new ticks this year)  

LITTLE OAK GROUP