Birdwatch: Mystery of migrating whinchat numbers

Autumn migration is gathering pace and one bird to look out for as it moves away from breeding sites is the whinchat.

They have been seen all along the east coast and inland as their long journey back to winter quarters south of the Sahara gets underway.

There was a record count for the reserve of 18 whinchat at North Duffield Carrs, part of Natural England’s Lower Derwent Valley reserve between York and Selby. Two of them were caught and ringed.

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The male in breeding plumage is an attractive bird with an orange breast and honey-brown patterned upperparts while both sexes have an easily seen broad white stripe above the eye.

Whinchats were once a very common bird over the whole of Britain, nesting on any available patch of rough ground, even railway embankments.

But now they have disappeared as a breeding bird over huge swathes of southern England apart from isolated breeding colonies on Exmoor and Dartmoor and Salisbury Plain.

They have also left some of their sites in the Pennines and their remaining strongholds are in Wales, North West England and Scotland where they frequent stands of gorse – whin is the Old English name for this plant.

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In Yorkshire, I have seen them at Fen Bog, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve just off the Pickering to Whitby road at Fylingdales Moor.

In this country there are no obvious reasons for the continued decline.

The whinchat, like many other birds that migrate to Africa, seems to be experiencing problems either on migration or after its arrival back in Africa.

The stonechat, the whinchat’s closest relative has trebled in numbers since 1995 while the whinchat has declined by 45 per cent.

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The difference is that stonechats do not migrate as far. Some spend the winter in this country. Others migrate southwards but only to the Mediterranean, avoiding the hazardous crossing of the Sahara.

Skua numbers have been building up along the Yorkshire coast with all four species reported, including a pomarine skua seen from the RSPB cruise from Bridlington on Saturday, and pomarine and long-tailed skuas seen off Spurn. An Arctic skua was seen 15 miles inland at Hutton Cranswick near Driffield,

More sooty shearwater have been moving down the East Coast with sightings off Flamborough and Filey and Spurn where a Cory’s shearwater was also reported.

An adult Sabine’s gull was seen off Flamborough, Kilnsea and Spurn.

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More waders have been passing through, with curlew sandpipers in many places including nine at Sunk Island on the Humber on Bank Holiday Monday, two at Nosterfield Quarry, North Yorkshire and five at Swillington Ings, Leeds. Three curlew sandpipers and three little stints were seen at Fairburn Ings while a pectoral sandpiper was seen at the RSPB’s Saltholme reserve on Teesside.

There were also three curlew sandpipers at the Blacktoft Sands reserve. Other waders included 17 spotted redshanks, 25 ruff and a wood sandpiper.

A ringtail hen harrier has been coming in to roost at Blacktoft with the reserve’s marsh harriers while a merlin and two hobbies have also been seen. A Cetti’s warbler is also back on the reserve.

At least one osprey continues to be seen around Hatfield Moors, South Yorkshire while three have been seen around the Fairburn Ings and Swillington Ings reserves. Two whooper swans were seen at Wykeham Lake near Scarborough.

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Michael Flowers’ birdwatching classes start on Monday and several will be held at Yorkshire coastal locations. A few places are still available. For booking contact [email protected] or phone 07946 625688.