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| Spotted Flycatcher - chilling |
A couple of days around the Upper Neath Valley, during the last week has been very enjoyable. Some real brighten-up-your-day birds have been on show. The reason for the real sense of satisfaction felt when watching these birds (certainly in my case) lies partly in their individual characters, but also sadly because of their apparent steady decline at the national level!
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| Nightjar - in territorial dispute |
Spotted Flycatcher, a rather laid-back bird in my opinion and certainly not going to be rushed into fly-catching, has returned a 81% decline in population in the 25 year period up to 2009;
Nightjar, exuberant and seemingly fearless at times (I've been known to duck on more than one occasion in their presence over the years!), has shown a 51% decline in range;
Tree Pipit, with a wonderful song that goes on all day that makes me wonder whether the male birds do anything else other than sing, has returned a 70% decline in population in the 25 year period to 2009;
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| Tree Pipit - parachuting while singing |
Luckily in our recording area there are still reliable places to see these birds, where they breed. In the case of the 3 shown above, interestingly, all were making use of artificially created habitats, more by accident than design, and promisingly there were concentrations/hotspots of each species. Other highlights from today included a fairly late male Cuckoo and 3 Crossbills, including a stunning brick red male.
Ref. - Eaton MA, Brown AF, Noble DG, Musgrove AJ, Hearn R, Aebischer NJ, Gibbons DW, Evans A and Gregory ND (2009) Birds of Consevation Concern3: the population status of birds in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
British Birds 102, pp296-341
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