Spotted Flycatcher
Muscicapa striata
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Distribution Britain 2,378 (-2.3%) Ireland 728 (-18.2%)
Numbers breeding: Britain 120,000 — Ireland 35,000 European status: 7,800,000 (2% in Britain and Ireland) British population trend: declining very seriously (-78% CBC){-68%} How likely are you to record it? 441 squares (9.8%) Ranked 64 [57=] |
The Spotted Flycatcher needs a good supply of flying insects and perches to sally forth and catch them, so it is absent from really open countryside. At the end of the 19th century they were breeding over the entire mainland of Britain, and the Inner Hebrides, and Ireland. About 50 years ago they started to breed on the Western Isles and now they also nest sporadically in Orkney. Between the two Breeding Atlases there were losses — especially from the west of Ireland. There were reports of declines in the 1950s later confirmed by the CBC. Initially down by about a third they have declined by 78% over the 25 years 1972-96 and the BBS (1994-98) shows a significant drop of 23%. Global warming would, one would have thought, have been good for a species like this so the problem may stem from the areas they use on migration or in the winter. They migrate as far as South Africa. Will there be no end to the decline? Can we do anything about it? Both answers may be no.
UKBAP English Nature / Countryside Council for Wales RSPB.
The following Bird On! sketch is available:
Spotted Flycatcher
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead