Next Term’s Birds, 5: Spotted Flycatcher

 

Of all the species which have declined since 1970, the one which has plummeted most obviously to me personally is the Spotted Flycatcher.  It hasn’t got the bright plumage of either the Redstart or the Yellow Wagtail, in fact it may qualify as the most drab ‘common’ summer migrant, however it has an eye-catching feeding technique, which endears it to anyone who watches it catching its prey.  The Spotted Flycatcher is brownish above and paler below.  It isn’t even spotted, it has a few streaks on its breast, but immature birds are more spotted.  

Spotted Flycatchers will often sit on a prominent bare branch or twig from which to watch for passing insects.  It then launches itself into the air chasing a bug, and twists and turns and performs aerial gymnastics as it attempts to ensure its capture before returning to its vantage point.  In 1970 there were c.145,000 breeding pairs, but the most recent estimate (2020) was as low as 41,050.  This is probably the 'best' example of illustrating just how broken is our eco-system.   In the 1970s we had at least 2 pairs and sometimes three pairs breeding in our cemetery.  Now we do not seem them at all.  We had a large suburban cemetery, but virtually every rural cemetery also contained a pair.  Now all the rural cemeteries are also completely devoid of this species.  

In the last 20 years we did have one immature bird briefly passing through on its autumn migration, but that was the only sighting in three decades.  However, sometimes surprises take place. Approximately, ten years ago a lady on the course had a pair, which nested in her Winestead garden and successfully raised at least two chicks.  Unfortunately, they never returned.  In recent years we have seen single individuals at Millington Wood, Wharram Percy, Pocklington Canal, Skipwith Common and Brockadale, but we hardly ever see one at the same location in consecutive years.  For this reason I cannot say every group will encounter a Spotted Flycatcher, but at least one group should be able to watch them twisting and turning after its prey.