Spotted
Flycatcher |
Pied
Flycatcher |
SPOTTED
FLYCATCHER
Muscicapa striata.
Fairly uncommon migrant breeder/passage visitor.
Never a common bird in the area, the reporting of birds from only eleven locations this year indicates a downward trend, after an upsurge in records and numbers in 2002, and, to a lesser extent, in the two subsequent years.
The first arrival was on the fairly typical date of 7th May, and most of the local summer residents seem to have been noted in this month and in June and July, with St. Ives and Strid Wood having the majority of the records. Birds seen after that were probably mostly on passage, and most reports came from Paul Clough, where the year’s maximum count of six birds was made on 8th August.
Breeding took place at St. Ives, where adults with young were seen in July, and Howgill Wood, where, after predation of the first nest, a female was sitting on eggs in another a month later. Juveniles accompanying parents were also noted at Paul Clough, during the return migration period, and, intriguingly, there was a remarkably late record of a bird collecting food at Bolton Abbey on 6th September, this being the year’s final sighting.
PIED
FLYCATCHER
Ficedula hypoleuca.
Common migrant breeder/ uncommon on passage.
Most of the information supplied relates to breeding or related activity, with few other records.
The first sighting was of a bird at Dob Park Bridge on 12th April, one of the earliest dates on record, and within a month there were many reports from the regular breeding sites. Singing males were also noted at Low Wood, where a male was seen flying to a nest-box (but without proof of breeding), Hanging Wood, Middleton Woods, Hirst Wood and St. Ives.
Proven breeding came only from the woodlands where nest boxes have been provided, without which it is probable there would be little breeding activity and very few birds. The breeding summary for the principal locations is:
Dob Park/Snowden Area : 54 young ringed from eight nests
Folly Hall Wood : 43 young ringed from ten nests
Strid Wood : 24 young ringed from ten nests
Swinsty Reservoir : 4 young ringed from one nest
At Nell Bank, a female found dead on the nest had been ringed at Strid Wood two years previously. It will be noted that the success rate at Strid Wood is considerably less than at the three other sites.
Passage migrants of this species are not often seen in the recording area, so three birds found in Paul Clough on 7th August were notable. This was the final, and rather early, record.