With summer almost officially over and autumn knocking on the door, I’ve been thinking about the perilous journeys all migratory birds have to make either back home or as they make their way here to us at Lake Vyrnwy for winter. One of my favourite spring/summer migrants has to be the pied flycatcher. They are small, flycatching birds, slightly smaller than a house sparrow. The male is mostly black on the upperparts and white underneath, with a bold white patch on the folded wing. Females are browner. They can be found in mature woodlands mainly in the western regions of the UK but not in Northern Ireland. The valleys and hillsides of Wales are a good place to look for these breeding birds in summer and we’ve had a record number here at Lake Vyrnwy this year; with 115 nest attempts and 525 chicks ringed as part of an ongoing research project, which is fantastic as unfortunately these beautiful birds are on the red list – with a decline in population over the last 25 years by almost 50%. These research projects are really important so that we can understand their habits and find a way to help them if we can.
Male pied flycatcher at Lake Vyrnwy
These charming little birds have now left us here at Lake Vyrnwy and have most likely started their migration journey back home for Winter (a trip of 6750 km)! In August and September, Pied flycatchers make a non-stop flight to northern Spain and Portugal mixing with other Pied Flycatchers from within Europe; all refuelling in preparation for the next part of their flight to Africa; a flight full of challenges for these wonderful little creatures.
So, I thought I’d set ourselves a similar challenge here on the reserve and I’m hoping you, our wonderful visitors will help. At the beginning of October, we’ll be launching our first challenge in The Steps Series. The Steps Series is a set of challenges that everyone can help us with by walking or running the same distance as a migratory route of one of our wildlife visitors, or even distances to other places - all your steps can count!
Visitors walking one of our trails
For our first challenge, and a massive challenge I must admit, we are going to try as a whole reserve to walk the equivalent of a Pied Flycatchers’ migration route from Lake Vyrnwy to Africa (3750km or a massive 9,227,900 steps)! But we need your help - can you help us keep up with this magnificent bird?
Borrow one of our pedometers, use your smart phone, or if you have Fitbits, Garmins, Tomtoms, Apple watches, Samsung gear or other trackers, use those to record your steps (perfect for those trying to reach their daily steps goal)! One loop of our waterfall trail (which looks spectacular at this time of year) is about 4400 steps! Clock up your steps on your walk or run from the 1st October and then report back to us at the RSPB Shop to log them! Let’s see how quickly we can complete our own migration! I’ll keep you updated through our blogs, social media pages and of course through some visuals in-store!
Getting yourself outdoors and active is great for both your physical and mental health; something all the family can do together and it’s a great way to explore Lake Vyrnwy and get closer to nature along the way!
Sioned Jones, Visitor Experience Manager
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