2024 – Year of the Wheatear
Wheatear – Pembrokeshire 2024
As we approach the end of the year I always give some thought to my most memorable wildlife encounters and experiences of the past 12 months and 2024 has had some stand out moments. From probably my best and most intimate sighting of Goshawk, to watching a pair of Hobbies raise a family to fledging (from a distance) and enjoying the relatively rare sight of Black Redstarts both at home and away (Malaga) this Autumn. But one species has stood out for me this year – the Wheatear.
Northern Wheatear is a strikingly elegant member of the chat family (the same family as Stonechat, Redstart and our familiar garden favourite the Robin), its upright stance, bandit mask and white rump (its this feature that lends it its name – Wheatear a polite changing of name from the Old English ‘White-arse’) catching the eye whenever you encounter this ground loving passerine. This is a bird of dry-stone walled, upland sheep pastures and limestone cragged valley sides. It breeds quite widely in the Peak District as well as turning up quite regularly on both Spring & Autumn migration in lowland areas – where its attracted to grassy areas, stony tracks and manure heaps! Its one of our first breeding migrants to return to the county from its wintering ground in central Africa with British males often back on territory by late March or early April. The Wheatear is no rarity but its charismatic good looks mean every encounter is one to savour and this belter has been recorded in my note books no fewer than 13 times this year.
Migrating Wheatear, Pride Park 2024 – birds can turn up at regular urban sites
My first encounter of the year was particularly pleasing as it took place not far from home. The Sanctuary on Pride Park is a small urban grassland reserve that was once a hotspot for migrating Wheatear but with years of neglect leading to the reserve ‘scrubbing up’ and low observer coverage the species has not been recorded for a few years so, on the 23rd March, it was great to find four birds moving between the cover of the reserve to the open grass verges of the neighbouring car park and showing delightfully as they foraged for insects in the short grass. More migrants (a male and female) were enjoying an insect rich manure heap at Locko Park on the 4th April and from mid April I started to encounter birds back on territory in the Peak District – most notably on the 20th April when whilst leading clients in the White Peak we encountered a settled pair (including a singing male) and a separate group of 8 birds feeding together in a sheep field.
Sightings went up a gear in May on a family holiday to Pembrokeshire with local breeding birds regularly encountered on walks along the coastal path and two striking males showing brilliantly towards the top of Foel Eyry in the Preseli’s. A day trip by boat to RSPB Ramsey Island was the high water mark for this species with a conservative personal count of 32 birds on a walk around this fantastic place. Ramsey must be a Wheatears idea of heaven – plenty of short cropped, insect rich pasture to feed in and lots of choice of nesting sites with the island peppered with rabbit burrows (which they will often use) as well criss-crossed with stone walls. In fact a conversation with one of the seasonal staff while waiting to leave indicated there might be as many as 100 pairs on the island!
Male Northern Wheatear in the White Peak 2023
In comparison to spring and early summer, autumn birds have been a little bit thinner on the ground with no birds appearing on my local patch of Locko Park this September but two October sightings were a nice way to finish with a showy juvenile/female bird keeping us company for a short while on a Red Deer walk at White Edge and the last sighting being another juvenile flycatching from a breakwater at Saltcoats harbour on the west coast of Scotland on the 7th.
Roll on March!
