Missing? - A personal view on three summer migrant
species.
by Pete Woodruff.
Reporting the birds we don’t see is becoming increasingly
more important than those we do now we have reached the 21st century.
Having been asked recently if I was finding the Whinchat more
difficult to find on my travels, I have decided to note the scarcity of this and
two other species, namely the Spotted Flycatcher, and the Wood Warbler which, of
the three, is probably the cause of most concern.
In my area of Lancaster and district I am confident - void of
guarantee - in claiming that just one Wood Warbler was reported in May, and
would be even more confident in claiming it is probably going to be the only
bird recorded in 2005, a pretty serious state of affairs.
In the East Lancs area I have seen very few posted on the
website which I visit daily, and if you are one of those who have seen the bird
this year then count yourself lucky because most of us won’t have including
me, not for the want of trying as I have visited a few locations where I have
seen this bird in the past including a woods near Lancaster where I recorded the
bird in five consecutive years from 1999 but not since.
In the case of the Spotted Flycatcher, I personally was a
little late this year in finding my first which was at Clapham in N Yorks on
June 3, then as if to contradict what I am saying here, I found three birds
along the avenue of trees towards the Langden Intake on June 8. However, the
fact remains that this bird, along with the other two, is in decline for reasons
we will leave the experts to discover in due course.
I think in truth, the Whinchat is probably to be regarded as
the healthiest species of the three in terms of numbers. That said, it is not an
easy bird to find these days and I know of only a handful of areas where the
bird should/could be found but sadly often isn’t.
Along with the Stonechat, and given that I am in the right
habitat, the Whinchat is always a target bird on my regular birding
‘outings’ but is extremely hard to find but I was delighted to see three
birds at Cross of Greet on June 10, and have possibly seen four over my last
three visits here in the past few weeks. For the record, all four were just
outside the East Lancs area above the cattle grid beyond Cross of Greet Bridge.
As proof that all is not yet lost, the following are my
records for the Whinchat to date this year.
Whilst not an impressive list it includes four adults
together on passage which should be regarded in ‘twitching’ terms as a MEGA!
All this goes to remind us to take note
and record the birds we are not seeing just as keenly as those we do.
4 May. Barbondale.
Male.
9 May. Rusland.
Two male/two female.
12 May.
Cross of Greet. Male.
3 June. Cross of Greet.
Male.
10 June.
Cross of Greet. Pair/female
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Pete Woodruff. 11
June 2005.