They are Back!
A male Pied Flycatcher singing in the early morning sunshine - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/200s, ISO 280
The Pied Flycatcher returns to Dartmoor. This week the first of these summer visitors arrived from western sub-Saharan Africa. These little birds weighing a mere 13 grams have just completed a 3000 miles journey across Sahara through Europe and have landed back in the same oak wood as the previous year. Incredible.
A female Pied Flycatcher - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/200s, ISO 1800
The Pied Flycatcher is a scarce breeder in mostly UK’s westerly upland areas, with a particular stronghold in Wales. It seeks shady mixed and deciduous woodland, ideally with mature oaks. The number of UK breeding pairs reduced significantly around 1995-2000 and as a result the bird was put on the UK’s Amber list. Current estimate is around 20,000 breeding pairs in the UK.
A male guarding its territory - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/1000s, ISO 1600
Here on Dartmoor they will partner up, nest and breed, before returning to Africa in September and October to escape the English winter … who can blame them ;-). A great place to spot these expert fly catchers on Dartmoor is in Yarner Wood. Natural England has a programme there to support the Pied Flycatcher with an extensive distribution of nesting boxes. This bird has proven particularly good at taking advantage of this ‘ready made’ nest.
A female Pied Flycatcher as the sun starts to warm up a cold day - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/640s, ISO 800
When they arrive in April - the male first - they will explore nest boxes and pick their territory. The male can often be found in a tree close to a nest box singing away. Interestingly the male can be a bigamist, having a primary and secondary mate. Once the primary mate lays eggs the male will establish a second territory and attempt to attract a new mate.
A male Pied Flycatcher in low dawn light. Note the ring: It seems many of them have been ringed and tracked - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/200s, ISO 2000
I spent quite a few early mornings last week in Yarner Wood, a beautiful woodland area on eastern Dartmoor, and with patience and the long reach of the Nikon 800mm lens I managed to secure a few images I was happy with. One more bird on my 2024 target list covered ;-)
A pair of Pied Flycatchers discussing the ‘feng shui’ of this particular Yarner Wood nesting box specifically put up for the fly catchers
Now I can concentrate my next efforts on tracking down the much rarer and elusive Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Rumour has it that it can be found on Dartmoor ;-) This is the smallest of the three UK based woodpeckers and is a tricky customer to find … let alone being able to get some good images of. Let’s hope that will be my next blog entry!
A male in the late afternoon sun - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/800s, ISO 280
A female Pied Flycatcher - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/250s, ISO 1000