In my last blog I mentioned that Kevin and Gareth Clements had some great news for us. Gareth will report soon via this blog; but here's Kevin's message.....
Last year we completed a comprehensive habitat assessment and breeding bird survey of farmland at Patshull. A detailed report, with a number of recommendations and action plans for key species we thought could be attracted to the site, was submitted to the new estate owners.
One target species that breeds not to far away and we hoped could be encouraged to nest in the substantial tracts of broadleaved woodland across the site was the Pied Flycatcher.
With permission from the owner, Kevin, Gareth and family erected some 25 nestboxes in three locations during the spring.
Here's the happy band getting youngsters involved at an early age, with a wheelbarrow full of boxes.
The first check of the boxes was only a couple of weeks later revealed only Blue Tits showing any interest. Undaunted, Kev checked again a couple of weeks later in May to ring the nestlings. 36 Blue Tit chicks were ringed and unusually a brood of 9 Coal Tits. While Kevin was ringing one of these broods, he became aware of a bird visiting another box, out of the corner of his eye. Finishing off the brood, he paid a bit more attention to the other box and was ecstatic to see a male PIED FLYCATCHER enter the box.
Although they are only black and white, males Pied Flycatchers are stunning birds.
Here is a link to a short video of the bird returning to the box:-
Was he a lone male though, or was there a female or even young? Once the male had flown off a quick check of the box revealed six young--fantastic!! Our efforts had paid off in the very first year. The young were too small to ring at that visit.
These are the six chicks from Kevin's first visit--too small to ring--but they grew quickly in the good weather and he ringed them a few days later. A further check in early June found that the chicks had all successfully fledged, and as they usually do, they had moved away from the area.
Pied Flycatchers are one of the most studied species in Britain, partly because they readily take to nest boxes. On average about 13,000 Pied Flycatchers are ringed each year, about 90% of which are chicks. They are summer visitors to us, wintering in Central Africa. Studies have shown that about one third of the chicks survive their first year and they usually return to their natal area to breed.
To have successfully encouraged this species to breed at Patshull in the first year of the nest box scheme is tremendously encouraging and bodes well for the future. We shall be putting up many more boxes over the coming year and we are already looking forward with anticipation to some of this year's chicks returning to set up home next year!
Well done Kev and Gareth say all of us in the group.
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