A Pied Flycatcher First

Over the years our Group has ringed 11,557 Pied Flycatchers mainly as part of our RAS in the Lune Valley. We have had many recoveries and controls but a recent recovery was our first on spring migration in Britain. It had been ringed as a nestling in June last year and was caught on 21st April this year at Eccles -on-Sea Norfolk 315 km.ESE.It was a male.

Our only other spring report away from the breeding area was one caught in the Netherlands on May 5th 1991. Amazingly this bird was found nesting in Denmark the following June. I suppose the reason for so few spring recoveries is that   the spring movement is so quick. It  will be interesting to see if the bird caught in Norfolk turns up in our nest boxes in the RAS study. We are just starting to to ring nestlings and catch males. To date they have done well with good sized broods but the recent cold wet weather may not have helped.

A Cetti's Warbler we ringed as a juvenile in September was caught in May in Merseyside . This is the third Cetti's to move south after ringing, the most amazing one was ringed in March 2010 and caught just over a year later in Farlington Marsh Hampshire 389 km SSE.

Another interesting movement was  a colour ringed Grey Wagtail from our study at Heysham and Middleton. It was breeding in East Lancashire to the 51 km SE  of our autumn  ringing site. The third record  we have had of birds to the SE of our passage ringing site. Thanks to Craig Bell for the photo.

John

Pied Flycatchers in Potts Wood

Following on from John's post, I paid my first trip to the nest boxes in Pott Yeats, Littledale today.  There are 43 boxes there that have held small numbers of Pied Flycatchers in recent years, 2018 was typical with 5 pairs all successful.  Today nine nests were found with eggs in all and females incubating in three of them (One nest contained 10 warm eggs).

Two further Redstart nests were found with incubating females in place.  Interestingly, both nests were in boxes with ‘normal’ circular entrance holes.  The small number of boxes with ‘shuttlecock’ shaped holes intended for Redstarts have never attracted any of that species over the last few years but one of this year’s Pied Flycatchers has occupied  a ‘shuttlecock’ box.

Blue Tit and Great Tit numbers this year so far are about average. 

Alan

Pied Flycatcher Study gets Underway

With a couple of visits to most of our woodland sites in the Lune valley we are getting first impressions of this years Pied Flycatcher population. Last year we had 108 pairs in nest boxes in our 16 woods providing a RAS study. First impressions are that population are similar or in  5 cases slightly up on last year and it is still early days. The one exception has been our 12 nest boxes in a mainly alder wood. There has been clear felling of larch right next to the site and two boxes right next to the conifers in Oak which have always been occupied by Pied Flycatchers were empty this week but a male was singing close by. In some other years we have had a second later arrival, so lets hope. Similar on a visit today to the site with the smallest population there were two females incubating and a male singing round empty nest boxes.

First impression for other nest box species is that Great Tits are about normal but Blue Tits are well down. Both species have broods hatching and appear to be doing well but the next two weeks will reveal all.
John