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A big day out searching locally for migrants


 

Pied Flycatcher
With a lovely sunny day forecast for this Wednesday I decided to have a long day out searching for migrants. I visited 4 sites, Wyre Forest, Clee Common, Grimley and Cleeve Hill in that order.


First stop then was Wyre Forest at dawn. I’ve set myself a little project this spring to visit the Wyre Forest at least once a week during spring to monitor and enjoy the progression of migrants coming in. First in a month or so ago was a big influx of  Chiffchaffs going from none to them singing from almost every bush within a week. There was then a bit of a lull until the first Willow Warblers came in around two weeks ago.

 

Today I parked in the Hawkbatch car park and walked slowly through the forest and down the hill towards xxx brook. It was immediately obvious that the Willow Warblers had arrived on mass since my previous visit a week ago with their characteristic song serenading me as I walked through the forest.

 

My big target today was Pied Flycatcher as I had seen the first report of two the previous day. I made my way to a spot with three or so nest boxes which is always good for them and even from some distance away I saw a male prospecting one of the boxes. This was my earliest Pied Flycatcher record by 7 days. Given that there are numerous boxes in the forest I’m not sure what it is about this particular spot but there were again two males arguing over the real estate as I have seen in previous years. One of the three boxes was occupied by nesting Blue Tits so there were just two left unoccupied in this particular spot to argue over. I had been chatting to a volunteer a couple of weeks back while watching the Dippers on the brook and she told me that they had plugged some of the boxes to stop the tits taking them all before the Flycatchers returned.

    










The male Flycatchers are always the first in followed by the females ten days or so later. Males tend to  leave the first territory once his primary mate has laid her first eggs and bogs off to create a second territory in order to attract a secondary female to breed. If he succeeds in acquiring a second mate, he will typically return to the first female to exclusively provide for her and her offspring leaving the second mate and her young to fend for themselves. A true cad of the avian world!

 

Being insectivores they are migratory spending the winter in Africa. They are one of four closely related black and white flycatchers in the western palearctic, the other three being the Collared, Semi-collared and  Atlas Pied Flycatchers. Our Pied flycatcher breeds in Western Europe, the Collared in Eastern Europe, the Semi-collared in South-eastern Europe and Southwest Asia and finally the Atlas in Northwest Africa. Hybridisation occurs where our Pied Flycatchers range meets the Collards’  but the resulting offspring are  said to be usually weak and don’t survive the first winter and the females are thought to be infertile. I believe I’m right in saying that, apart from our Pied Flycatcher, the Collared Flycatcher is the only other one to have been recorded in the Uk with 59 records. I have one on my UK list courtesy of a bird at Spurn in 2024. It was always distant but the distinctive collared can be seen in this photo.

Collared Flycatcher, Spurn, May 2024

During the 4 hours I walked the forest I also had my first Tree Pipit of the year and a heard only Redstart which again would have been my earliest ever record.

 

Next  I drove up to Clee Common and enjoyed the stunning view from the car park at the top of the hill while having my sandwich lunch. This site has been very productive for Ring Ouzels and Wheatear in the past with the Wheatears favouring the ruined quarry workings and buildings. I spent an hour or so after lunch but didn’t see any Ring Ouzels, I suspect that, with the clear overnight sky, they had moved on towards the northern breeding grounds. As I was about to leave a couple of Wheatear flew in, my first of the year, very obvious in flight with their characteristic white rump.

 

Then it was off to Grimley to see if any new warblers were in. I walked the length of the bank up to the far causeway and up to the road by the pub but apart from Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers the only Warbler I “saw” was a Cetti’s. Saw is a bit of an exaggeration   as it was sulking as per its normal modus operandi in the hedge.

 

On the walk back I heard some Reed Warbler sub song from deep within the reeds and it took me a good 30 minutes to lay eyes on it sulking at the base of the reeds. They always seem to be heard rather that seen when they first come it but once they are feeding young they are much more visible.

 

My final stop of my long day out was Cleeve Hill which again can be a good spot for Ring Ouzels and other migrants. When I visited this very exposed hilltop site in the past it has always been windy and bitterly cold. What a contrast in the beautiful warm evening sun this time. Again there were no Ring Ouzels, good job I had great views in Malvern a few days back, see here, but I had another Tree Pipit and lots of Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers.


Willow Warbler


Come 19:00 and having walked some 15 km in the day represented by a 30K step count I decided it was time to head home. What a truly wonderful day spring birding, the sort of day I had longed for all winter!


 Footnote – my blogs are posted with sometimes rather imaginative spelling and grammar due to my extreme dyslexia!    

 


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