Rhossili Birds
Following the rave reviews[i] and rapturous reception for the first instalment of the Reluctant Rhossili Bird Blog I am pleased to be able to announce to an unsuspecting world:
The Reluctant Rhossili Bird Blog Part 2
Keen readers may recall that part 1 of this blog established the credentials of the author, set the overall context for consideration of Rhossili birds (global declines reflected in falls in the number of species and general abundance of birds in Wales), listed the various habitats and reflected that we were lucky in this parish to have a relatively high number of regularly occurring bird species (about 90). The blog then identified those species that are resident, or at least can be seen throughout the year in Rhossili and mentioned a few of the summer visitors that had started to arrive. Here, I will look at the summer visitors – i.e. those that visit us primarily to breed and then return to the areas where food is more abundant for them for the rest of the year. I’ll identify the birds that breed in the parish (i.e. some of the summer visitors and residents) and have a look at some of the species that just pass through (passage migrants) on their way to, or from, the other ends of the earth (or places in between).
As with the previous blog the first (or main) time a species is mentioned I’ll indicate its conservation status as defined by the Birds of Conservation Concern Wales which categorises all the regularly occurring species in Wales under 3 broad groups: Red (of most conservation concern); Amber (of concern); Green (stable or increasing). The assessment criteria include a number of factors relating to the distribution, abundance and breeding population in Wales in conjunction with its status globally, within the EU and in the UK. A red-listed bird is of the greatest concern from a conservation viewpoint and this categorisation might for example indicate an at least 50% reduction in breeding or wintering population within the last 25 years.
Rhossili Summer Visitors
Our summer visitors come from a wide variety of different places. The Lapwing, for example, may just be popping over to Rhossili having spent the winter, with much larger flocks of Lapwing, feeding on the marshes of North Gower in the Burry Inlet. Kittiwakes will have spent the winter far out to sea on the Atlantic Ocean whereas the Swallows are likely to have spent the winter in South Africa. ‘Our’ House Martins also migrate to Africa although exactly where they winter is as yet unknown.
The summer visitors to Worms Head comprise a special group of sea birds and include Kittiwake, Razorbill and Guillemot. Gannets might be seen at any timefishing along the coast and if you are very lucky you might see a Puffin – a species that once bred on the outer Head of the Worm.
First of the (inland) summer visitors, for me at least, was a Chiffchaff on 21st March followed by Swallow, House Martin, Swift, Wheatear, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Cuckoo and Lapwing. In some years Shelduck and Mallard may be present.
It’s difficult to know how to characterise the Cuckoo nowadays. Obviously they are migrants, arriving in the UK from mid-April to early May, but do they stay in the parish, or are they just passing through? I’ve included them as summer visitors, rather than passage migrants, more in hope than from recent experience. As far as I’m aware the song of a male Cuckoo (and I assume it was two different birds) was heard in the parish twice this year, the first on 20th April in Upper Pitton, the second on 7th May at Middleton and they are no longer heard every year. The Pitton bird was persistent, for a day at least – calling periodically from early in the morning until the evening, but without any answering call. I didn’t hear him again the next day (it was a male, as only the males sing ‘cuckoo’; the females have a bubbling call) and assume he wandered off in search of a mate, or more suitable territory.
Most Cuckoos arrive in Wales from Africa in mid-April and, as they parasitise the nests of other species and have no house-building, brooding or parental cares, most adults will have left by the end of July, barely 3 months later. (The juveniles have to make their own way to Africa a few weeks later.)
It seems to me one of the wonders of evolution that a species (indeed a group of species, as there are approximately 50 ‘brood parasite’ species, within the family Cuculidae) should evolve such an extraordinary, not to say morally outrageous[ii], approach to reproduction.
The benefits to the adult Cuckoo are huge in terms of energy saved, but the risks are high – i.e. putting all your eggs in someone else’s basket – as are the costs to the host species, which will lose the opportunity to reproduce that year unless it recognises and rejects the foreign egg. If she doesn’t, the Cuckoo’s egg is likely to hatch first and eject the other eggs (or chicks) from the nest. Remarkably, in what is known as an evolutionary ‘arms race’, so as to make rejection less likely, Cuckoos have evolved to lay eggs that mimic the appearance of the host species’ eggs. Particular female Cuckoos target the nests of a particular species. In Britain, 50 species have been found to be targeted although it is mainly one of five birds – Reed Warbler, Meadow Pipit, Dunnock, Robin and Pied Wagtail – and a particular female Cuckoo (and that bird’s female offspring) will target one particular species. In Wales the main host is the Meadow Pipit and most ‘Welsh’ Cuckoos will therefore lay eggs similar in appearance to that of the Meadow Pipit.[iii]
Cuckoos are categorised as of most conservation concern in Wales due to a severe decline in the UK population (between 1995-2018 there were declines of 71% in England and 29% in Wales[iv] – although there has been an increase in Scotland) and because the winter population (in Africa) is also in severe decline.
As so often there are multiple reasons for this. It had been thought to be caused by a reduction in available food (primarily the caterpillars of larger moth species) and by declines in their favoured host species (Meadow Pipits for example, are also red-listed) but recent innovative research carried out by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) using tracking devices fitted to adult Cuckoos suggests another reason. UK summering Cuckoos spend the winter in the Democratic Republic of Congo and migrate via one of two main migration routes. Most Cuckoos breeding in England migrate via Spain and then over the Sahara desert to their wintering grounds in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Other Cuckoos choose a route via northern Italy. It seems that a statistically significant proportion of the birds that migrate via Spain die before completing their journey to the Congo.
For me Cuckoos are fascinating and evocative birds, a cultural lodestone whose song – described by Tim Dee as ‘the sonic touchstone of spring’[v] – has been celebrated in European literature for thousands of years. The earliest known reference in Welsh Poetry is in the 9th century poem Claf Abercuawg and there are also references in early Old English poems such as The Seafarer. They are a harbinger of summer in the 13th century Cuckoo Song (‘Summer is i-cumen in/ Loud sing Cuckoo’). If we lose the song of the Cuckoo, then we also lose that direct cultural link back to the thinking of our forebears.
If I don’t hear a Cuckoo call locally in the spring the summer feels incomplete. Norman MacCaig captures this sense of loss perfectly in the last stanza of his poem ‘A Voice of Summer’, actually about the Corncrake (lost from West Glamorgan by 1950), but which applies equally to the vanishing song of the Cuckoo as to the crake of the Corncrake:
Summer now is diminished, is less by him.
Something that it could say cannot be spoken –
As though the language of a subtle folk
Had lost a word that had no synonym.[vi]
Rhossili Breeding Birds
Just as the range of different habitats within the parish means we are lucky to have a wide number of different species throughout the year, Rhossili has a wide range of breeding birds, including species that are nationally rare.
The list below includes all the species (that I know of at least) that have bred (or in some cases probably bred[vii] indicated by (P) in the list) within the last 15 years or so. Species I know to have bred successfully in the parish this year have 2023 in brackets after the reference.
Buzzard (2023), Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Tawny Owl, Barn Owl, Raven, Carrion Crow (2023), Jackdaw (2023), Chough (2023), Jay (P), Magpie (2023), Starling (2023), House Sparrow (2023), Coal Tit (P), Great Tit (2023), Blue Tit (2023), Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch (P), Treecreeper (P), Chaffinch, Goldfinch (2023), Bullfinch, Yellowhammer, Skylark (2023), Meadow Pipit (2023), Rock Pipit, Pied Wagtail (2023), Wren (2023), Dunnock, Robin (2023), Stonechat (2023), Wheatear (2023), Blackbird (2023), Song Thrush (2023), Mistle Thrush (2023), Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat (2023), Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Linnet (2023), Swift, Swallow (2023), House Martin, Green Woodpecker (2023), Great Spotted Woodpecker (2023), Guillemot, Razorbill, Kittiwake, Herring Gull (2023), Great Black-backed Gull, Fulmar, Shag, Stock Dove (P), Woodpigeon (2023), Collared Dove (P), Pheasant (2023, sadly[viii]).
Birds that used to breed, but no longer do so: Puffin, Little Owl, Tree Sparrow, Lapwing, Greenfinch (as far as I know, but I would like to be wrong on this) and Spotted Flycatcher.
There was what might be described as a ‘nearly-bred event’ involving Lapwing on Rhossili Down this year. Lapwing, like the Cuckoo, is a red-listed species – indeed they have been red-listed since the first use of these classifications at a national level in 2002 and they have continued to decline – but were once a common and widespread farmland and moorland bird.
The Atlas of Breeding Birds in West Glamorgan shows they bred in the parish in the mid to late 1980s, but since then there have only been isolated records, the most recent being of breeding on arable land at Paviland Farm in 2007. Within the parish I was really only aware of them as a very welcome arrival in winter when snow fell, or temperatures were below freezing for sustained periods. At these times there would be an influx of Lapwing to the coastal fields and to Rhossili Down as the birds sought out unfrozen ground for feeding. One might be alerted to their arrival by their ‘peewit’ calls or just suddenly see and hear loose flocks rising from the fields when disturbed.
I hadn’t seen any ‘summer’ Lapwing in the parish until May 2020 when I saw two displaying over the fields to the north of Keenmoor Farm (Pitton Cross). This was repeated the following year with a maximum of 3 birds seen in the same area. In 2022 I saw the Lapwings earlier in the season (2nd April), this time a maximum of 5 birds and, following the widespread illegal fires on Rhossili Down that year, the Lapwing could be seen feeding amongst the charred gorse. The birds displayed but I didn’t see any other evidence of breeding.
This year the Lapwing arrived earlier and 5 were seen on Rhossili Down from w.c. 12th March onwards. This time the birds displayed and showed strong territorial behaviour over a section of the down raising an exciting prospect – would they attempt to breed? And if so, would they be successful? Could we buck the trend of national decline?
By mid-April it did appear that the birds were nesting – perhaps 2 of the 5 were sitting on nests, whilst 2 other birds acted as sentinels, determinedly mobbing any crows, buzzards or kites that came close by.
Were they successful? Sadly, it seems they were not. It’s hard to be sure what happened. It’s important not to disturb nesting birds, so I wasn’t able to determine definitively if they did attempt to breed. Given their behaviour, their loyalty to a particular section of the moor and their strong territorial defence of that area, none of which I’d observed in earlier years, I’m pretty certain that they did attempt to breed but similarly sure that they were unsuccessful. There was no evidence of chicks or young birds being fed and my last sighting was of single bird on 17th June, after which they were gone. Hopefully they return and try again next spring. Lapwing nest on the ground and so are very vulnerable to predation, disturbance from people and dogs, or to eggs being destroyed due to trampling by livestock. They nest semi-colonially and the larger the colony the more likely they will be able to deter predators. With only five birds being present on the Down their chances of success were probably low. As with the Cuckoo there appear to be a number of reasons for the Lapwing’s decline, but the primary causes are habitat loss and changes in agricultural practices through drainage, pesticide and fertilise use and earlier and more frequent mowing. Without determined intervention it seems that Lapwing will continue to decline and that successful breeding will be limited to nature reserves.
The bird life on our coastal cliffs has also seen sad, not to say bewildering decline, over the last twenty years or so, with Kittiwakes deserting their old nesting cliff at Devil’s Truck, Cormorants disappearing from the ledges at Thurba and the number of breeding Fulmar, Herring Gull and even Jackdaw greatly diminished at Thurba, and Fall Bay. On the brighter side Chough, which returned to breed in 1990 after an absence of nearly a century are still doing pretty well with at least one successful brood reared this year.
On the outer Worm, the colony of nesting Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwake also seemed to be doing well with over a 150 Guillemot on the cliff face or in little rafts of birds (not literally!) on the sea, approximately 50 Kittiwakes and about 6 Razorbill also present with each species seemingly nesting on the cliff ledges. (My observations were hindered due to technical issue with the telescope tripod!) Devastatingly though by 13th July reports began to be made of significant numbers of dead guillemots being found on Rhossili Bay, Mewslade and Fall Bay – presumably due to bird flu. We can only hope that sufficient numbers of birds did manage to breed successfully and the colony is still present next year and that the birds begin to build a resistance to the disease[ix].
Rhossili Passage Migrants
Passage migrants are species that pass through on migration, in spring or autumn, some of which may stop to rest or refuel for a short period, on route either to the places they will breed or where they will stay in winter. Some of these species may previously have bred in the parish but don’t appear to do so now. Migrants passing through the parish in spring or autumn might include Whimbrel, Spotted Flycatcher, Black Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Turtle Dove, Hawfinch, Wryneck, Yellow-browed Warbler. It’s a particular disappointment to me that the Spotted Flycatcher no longer appears to hang around the parish. I t was previously recorded as breeding in the Atlas of Breeding Birds in West Glamorgan (1984-89)[x]. I usually see them now only in late spring or late summer/early autumn where one or maybe two birds will stay for a couple of days, perched visibly in often dead branches at the top or edge of a tree or hedge, on the look out for larger flies. In the autumn these birds will be returning to Africa, some as far south as Namibia and in the spring they may be nearing the end of their journey, perhaps at the RSPB Cwm Clydach reserve.
Welsh Whimbrel[xi] on the other hand, on their Spring passage are likely to be on route to Iceland – where as many as 500,000 birds breed – and those seen in August or September will be returning to sub-Saharan West Africa to see out the winter, before making the return trip in the spring. Hawfinch are impressive looking finches (described by BTO as having the shape of a ‘rotund starling’) with a massive beak (Collins Bird Guide describes them as a ‘flying pair of nutcrackers’) capable of cracking open seeds and kernels of fruit, such as cherry stones. In truth, it is a pretty rare passage migrant to Gower let alone to Rhossili, so its inclusion in this blog might be considered a bit of a stretch. I have included it as, it’s my blog (see also Starling not included as a Garden Bird in part 1) and, by a happy chance, I had a single Hawfinch visit my garden on 12th April 2016. And then again, 6 years to the day and almost to the hour another Hawfinch in the garden on 12th April 2022. I now have 12th April in my diary as Pitton Hawfinch Day, but it may be I have to wait another 6 years to see my third bird, as despite repeated scanning of the garden and nearby trees on the appointed day, 2023 passed without another sighting. Could the 2016 and 2022 sightings have been the same bird? I think both birds were male (although I’m not certain) so, while highly unlikely it’s not absolutely impossible; the oldest Hawfinch recorded under the BTO ringing scheme was just over 10 years old.
Rhossili Wintering Birds
In the winter the resident bird population will be supplemented by additional species, some of which will have come here after breeding in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe, such as Snipe, Redwing, Fieldfare, Brambling. Large flocks of Common Scoter may be seen in Rhossili Bay and Sanderling can be seen dodging the tide-line on Rhossili beach. Oystercatcher can be seen on the Causeway and at Fall Bay while Brent Geese, Great Crested Grebe, Red-throated Diver and Northern Diver may be seen around the coast. Black-headed Gull augment the winter gull population. Small flocks of (beautiful, piping) Golden Plover may be present on Rhossili Down and with luck a Hen Harrier, (and if you are very lucky) Short-eared Owl and even occasionally a Snow Bunting may also be seen. Cold weather will bring in large numbers of birds, moving to the coast where temperatures and the ground will be slightly warmer, including species that are not normally here otherwise such as Woodcock and Grey Wagtail.
A big thank you to readers who have got this far (unless you skipped bits to get here). If you think it was a hard read, please spare a thought for the author and his proof reader who had to read it several times (all the errors are her errors). In the next part of this reluctant blog I will (eventually) take a look in a little more detail at the areas in the parish that are designated for protection of wildlife, what these designations mean and how successful the protections are in practice. I will consider whether the oft-repeated proposition that Britain is ‘one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world’ is a conspiracy theory propounded by eco-zealot, activist, Remoaner, lefty, socialist fanatics who hate our country and want to stop you mowing your lawn, or whether, in fact, it has a more respectable origin and may quite possibly be true.
Francis Morgan
All images: Francis Morgan
[i] ‘I quite enjoyed this blog although there was, perhaps, a little too much about birds’. Anonymous reviewer. ‘Best blog I’ve ever written’. The Author
[ii] W. H. Auden remarks not wholly seriously ‘our most hardened crooks are sincerely shocked by your nesting habits’ in his Short Ode to the Cuckoo
[iii] The Birds of Wales. Pritchard, Rhion; Hughes, Julian; Spence, Ian M.; Haycock, Bob; Brenchley, Anne, 2021, Liverpool University Press
[iv] These declines were measured in the British Trust for Ornithology’s Breeding Bird Survey see The Birds of Wales, Pritchard et al, Liverpool University Press 2021
[v] The Poetry of Birds, Edited by Simon Armitage & Tim Dee, Penguin, 2009, p307
[vi] The Poetry of Birds, Edited by Simon Armitage & Tim Dee, Penguin, 2009, pp77-78
[vii] Some of the ‘probably bred’ will almost certainly have bred – it’s just that I don’t know for sure and haven’t found a formal record of breeding
[viii] Loyal and Attentive Readers will recall that I am not a big fan of pheasants as part of our local fauna and I am sorry to say that, after keeping a low profile through June and July, on a fateful day in August I was greeted by the sight of 10 pheasants (at least 7 well grown chicks), rampaging across my lawn …
[ix] Scientists have established that some birds are able to survive after infection with bird flu – Gannets observed to have black (rather than the normal blue-grey) eyes were found to have been previously infected.
[x] An Atlas of Breeding Birds in West Glamorgan, Gower Ornithological Society, 1992
[xi] Whimbrel seen on passage on the east coast of England are more likely to be travelling to see my brother in Sweden
Really good bird blog 🙂 🙂 We watched the Lapwings from afar through binoculars and sometimes saw them launch skywards to fend off an unwelcome intruder. Hope they have better luck next year.