Flycatchers In Decline
These are the only breeding Spotted Flycatchers I have encountered this year. They have young that are about to fledge and it is sad that one of the most charismatic birds of Summer has now disappeared from many of its former breeding sites.
During the week I have spent many more hours in a hide trying to film the male Merlin. So far the total is twenty eight hours and I have yet to see him! On some days the female has only fed the young once in five hours and the fact that there are only two young has stacked the odds of my seeing the male heavily against. Still I shall continue to wait, weather permitting!
The four young Kestrels of last week have now flown from the hole and are flying around in pursuit of the adults when they arrive with food. Very soon they will be on their own having to find food for themselves and it will be a steep learning curve to survive.
In the hills it was good to find that a pair of Ring Ouzels have fledged their second brood of young. The period in between first and second broods was so short that the female must have settled on the second clutch of eggs whilst the male was still feeding the first fledged young.
In the garden was the first Comma butterfly of the Summer so lets hope there are many more to follow.
Gordon Yates
July 12, 2009
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