Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.
In days gone by on summer family holidays in Wales I sometimes came across pied flycatchers in the woodlands where they breed but I have never seen one since. And yet in most years there is at least one report at Pulborough Brooks and all the ones I’ve heard about have been in the autumn when birds are more likely to linger as there is no imperative to find a mate and get on with the all-important task of raising the next generation.
However, this all changed on Monday 5th April when I was able to see a smart male pied flycatcher occupying an area between the gate at the top of Green Lane and the viewing area behind the Hanger on the South side of the main trail. It seemed to be spending most of its time around the viewing area, making occasional fly catching sorties particularly from a perching point on the barbed wire fence.
Sometimes it would go into the bushes behind, where there would presumably have been insects on the bark.
This bird was first spotted on Saturday 3rd April and was clearly passing through on its spring migration. It was still there on Wednesday 7th which is very surprising as spring migrants are usually in a hurry to return to their breeding grounds. It is thought that most often pied flycatchers will cross the English Channel and fly on to their breeding grounds in one hop so there are very few spring records in Sussex. This means that to see one at this time of year at Pulborough is extremely unusual. Maybe this bird has been held back by the strong cold northerly wind that set in this week.
Pied flycatchers winter in West Africa south of the Sahara and some will come to the UK to breed where they favour mature broadleaved woodland in upland areas. This means they are mostly found in the west, breeding in Devon, Wales, the Peak District, NW England,and SW Scotland.
Pied flycatchers are particularly attracted to oak trees as they provide holes for nesting and hold a plentiful supply of insects and caterpillars on the bark to supplement the diet of flies. The mature oaks in Green Lane and near the Hanger would provide an attractive location for a refuelling stop at Pulborough Brooks. My impression is that most of the autumn migration sightings on the reserve tend to be in this area.
The UK summer breeding population of pied flycatchers is quoted by the RSPB website as 17,000 – 20,000 pairs but a little research suggests a more complicated picture as some males have been observed to mate with more than one female. So, one pair could actually be a threesome! When this happens, it seems that once the first mated female is incubating a clutch of eggs the male will set up a new territory a few kilometres away to look for another female. However once mated again he will then return to the original female and help to raise the brood, usually leaving the 2nd female to fend for herself. Not surprisingly she will be much less successful in raising fledged birds. Several theories have been advanced for this behaviour but there is no clear answer.
By the time this article is published it is likely that the recent bird will have moved on, but it will be worth keeping an eye out in the same area in August and September for returning pied flycatchers.