Following his article, 'Breedon Hill Flycatcher Gang' which first appeared in the RSPB' s 'Birds' magazine, Summer 2002 edition, John Clarke has kindly provided us with some exclusive updates about his Spotted Flycatcher monitoring project.
In April 2006, John told us:
Last year, the first Spotted Flycatcher turned up on 1st May — much earlier than in previous years but the season did not really get going until late May. The breadth and depth of the survey had to be reduced, but nevertheless 22 pairs were located and all studied. 38 nests were located and monitored — of which 24 were in 'boxes'.
Overall average clutch size was one of the lowest in five years and nest failure rate was again higher than the national average but this was offset by the second highest fledging rate. Ten pairs attempted second broods (after one success) — much higher than usual — but only five were successful.
There is a huge variation in fledging success between villages (22.2%–62.5%), with so far no clear reason why. Fledging success varies even more between pairs — sometimes only 100 metres apart (from nil to nine young in 2005).
24 of the 38 nests found were in 'boxes' and where they are available the birds clearly prefer them to alternative, natural sites. However, the design does not appear to have improved nest success rates so before the 2006 season some will be modified to provide just the bare coconut shell.
I'm still getting information in from elsewhere in the country — and occasionally from Africa — and would be glad of more if anyone would like to send it to me at jclarkekem@btinternet.com.
In January 2005, John told us:
2004 was a bad breeding year for Spotted Flycatchers. Bad weather during migration affected the birds' condition and arrival dates. Then two spells of wet and cold weather during the breeding season caused a shortage of flying insects and the loss of seven broods of young chicks.
The survey located 37 pairs of which 33 were studied and 56 nests of which 54 were monitored. Despite a high predation rate many nests were successful and 75 young are known to have fledged so the 33 pairs managed an average of 2.27 young each. As usual, much more data was collected, including details of clutch and brood sizes at various stages of the season. In addition, many observations on the birds' behaviour have been collected.
The information has been passed to the British Trust for Ornithology Nest Record Scheme and also, because this survey is very similar to theirs, for the second year we were able to contribute to the BTO Constant Nest Monitoring Scheme - in which individual breeding pairs and their breeding attempts within a given area are monitored throughout the breeding season.
Because the survey requires so much time, it is likely that a reduced scheme will operate in 2005, covering smaller areas and at a lower intensity. During the past year, a number of Spotted Flycatcher groups and individuals from around the country have contacted me and we are slowly getting organised in exchanging data and observations.
Meanwhile, in response to local demand I have been busy writing a small book about the project. It will contain much of the information that we have collected over the past four years but is just as much about the people who took part and the villages. It also contains many collected observations about the birds and human reactions to them and to the researcher who came knocking on their doors!
In October 2004, John told us:
The 2004 arrival period was protracted with some pairs not arriving in territory until after the first week in June. Provisional results are that we found 36 pairs of which we were able to monitor 32. Of the 58 nests located I monitored 57. The three periods of wet/windy weather each lasting several days probably led to the death of 7 broods of small young — something that didn't happen in the first three years of the study. This pushed the nest failure rate up towards 40%. Consequently, as I tried to maintain 'constant monitoring' of each pair, the time spent in the field increased dramatically. Many pairs made a second attempt and a few had three attempts. One or two pairs gave up after the first attempt. Very few managed two successful broods. Most birds had left the villages by the middle of August and virtually no sightings were reported after that. One family group (still feeding young) turned up in a garden on 12 September and 2 birds were seen in a hedgerow on 30th.
I've been contacted by other Spotted Flycatcher enthusiasts from around the UK and so far they are reporting a disastrous year - in several cases the birds failed to arrive.
In April 2004, he added:
Despite the disastrous year for insectivorous birds and a related drop in breeding pairs in 2003 we still found 30 pairs (43 nests) of which 28 pairs (39 nests) were monitored. I included all nine villages as 'plots' in the BTO Constant Nest Monitoring Scheme. We managed to have in place 40 trial boxes, of which 19 were occupied. They didn't appear to improve breeding success but saved a great deal on nest material/building, which should have helped the birds. We hope to have 50 in place for 2004.
The BTO recommended that I compare my study here with Spotted Flycatcher breeding elsewhere, so I asked around and a number of people have offered to send in data - either as existing recorders or as 'novices'. So far I've got contacts insix areas of the UK - in two of them, small local flycatcher studies have been organised.
If anyone wishes to contribute this year they can contact me at jclarkekem@btinternet.com. I've designed a recording form that I can send out.
In November 2002, John told the West Midland Bird Club:
I did continue the project in 2002 and have yet to pull it all together, but this year more then 100 people took part and I monitored 44 nests. I'll be talking to the BTO about writing something up for the two years' surveys. Following a small pilot scheme in 2002, in 2003 I'm hoping to move on to a larger nest box trial.
![[link to large image of the 'The Spotted What!?']](../../images/biblio/SpottedWhat.jpg "The Spotted What!?")
John has also written a book, 'The Spotted What!?', about his experiences.