14th August - Pied Flycatcher - Crofton Cemetery, Hampshire

The Pied Flycatcher is not a Hampshire breeding bird, they like the south west and western areas of the British Isles, typically breeding in holes in the oak woodlands of Wales and the west country.  Every year though one or two will turn up on spring passage, if you are lucky a smart male in its black and white plumage.  The autumn passage though is a little different and adults and juveniles passing through, but unfortunately in the brown plumages but still with dark wings and a white wing bar

What is fascinating is that the Pied Flycatchers turn up in the same locations year after year.  Maybe over two to three years they are the same birds but any longer and they would be offspring.  The two hot spots for the Pied Flycatcher sightings are Hayling Island around the paddocks of Northeney and for some reason the cemetery at Old Crofton church in Stubbington.

One was reported yesterday and then again this morning.  I had made my mind up to go to Titchfield this morning so a short diversion to the cemetery was not a problem.  As I entered the gates it wasn't hard to be taken by the short yellow grass.  The Pied Flycatchers seem to like the area around a large Lime tree, conifer and Yew tree.  It didn't take long to locate it in a small elderberry bush close by.  The bird was highlighted by the sun against a lovely black background.

From the sunshine it dropped to perch close to a bunch of elder berries.

It showed very well.

It then flew across my head and into the Yew Tree, perching above me.

Flycatchers can be very frustrating as they perch on high points to allow them to look out for insects, this doesn't make the photography subject perfect.

Eventually it perched on the outside of the tree, before flying into the Lime tree and out of sight.

Last year I managed my first county Pied Flycatcher and that was at Hayling, I have always missed birds here at Crofton so it was nice to catch up with what is an early bird on passage, maybe there will be a few more moving through those hot spots here in Hampshire.