Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata

Spotted Flycatchers lack any striking features. They are grey-brown in colour with an off-white breast, streaked with darker grey and a streaked forehead. Young birds are very spotted with pale brown on the back and head. Spotted Flycatchers have a thin, squeaky song and call which is distinctive but not very noticeable. They are long-distance migrants; spending the winter in southern Africa and arriving back in the UK to breed in mid-May.

Spotted Flycatchers prefer natural habitats, particularly open woodland with large clearings and prominent perches. They readily adapt to parks, cemeteries and gardens, which provide similar feeding opportunities. When it is colder and the abundance of flying prey is low, they forage high in the tree canopy, hovering by the leaves and moving about in the very top of the trees. On warmer days they feed on flying insects which they catch by pursuit, especially Flies, Aphids, Beetles, Ants, Bees and Wasps. Spotted Flycatchers are rarely seen on the ground but will occasionally hop to pick up food.

Spotted Flycatchers build their nests on ledges or in a sheltered hole with a good view, often against a wall supported by creepers. The nest of twigs, moss and grass is usually lined with hair, wool and feathers. Spotted Flycatchers will also readily occupy open-fronted nest boxes or other artificial sites. One or two clutches of pale buff eggs with reddish brown blotches are produced. The young are fed by both parents, mainly on small flies. Poor weather can often cause them to starve to death as it can make insects very scarce.

Current Status

The Spotted Flycatcher is a common and widespread summer visitor across mainland Europe, except northern Scandinavia and densely forested, arid or mountainous areas. Numbers are fluctuating in some countries, such as Sweden and The Netherlands and there is evidence of recent declines in others including Finland, Germany and Spain. The Spotted Flycatcher breeds throughout the UK, although it is scarcer in the far north and west and is almost absent from the Western and Northern Isles. The bird has been in decline since the early 1960s. The Common Bird Census (CBC) data show it suffered a 62% decline in woodland areas and a 70% decline on farmland between 1968 and 1991, though the range had reduced by only 6.6% in the same period. The UK population is estimated to be 130,000 breeding pairs.

The Spotted Flycatcher has been placed on the RSPB's Red List of 'Birds of Conservation Concern'. The species also appears on the UK Biodiversity Steering Group (UKBSG) 'Middle List of Globally Threatened/Declining Species'.

The Spotted Flycatcher was once a fairly common summer visitor to Hull but the decrease in the British population has affected the number of Spotted Flycatchers visiting the City. Recent breeding has been recorded in East Park and several of the cemeteries. One or two pairs have been recorded breeding in the grounds of Holderness House, and they also breed in the Newland Park area and the Avenues. It is likely that they breed elsewhere in gardens and other suitable habitats.

Current Factors Affecting Spotted Flycatchers

• The weather appears to be important and could affect populations if long-term climate change occurs. The key factor appears to be summer weather conditions as more birds breed early if temperatures are higher. A study also found that clutch sizes are larger when there is more sunshine.
  
  
• Drought in the Sahel region of Africa has been implicated in the decline of a number of trans-Saharan migrants. The Spotted Flycatcher passes through the Sahel region on its way to wintering grounds in southern Africa. Changes in conditions in the Sahel or the wintering areas could be a factor in the bird's decline but no clear link has been established.
  
  
• There is growing evidence that changes in agricultural practices, which lead to low invertebrate availability in summer, may affect the range of birds found on lowland farmland.
  
  
• Many Spotted Flycatchers nest in large trees and there has been a large-scale loss of these in woodland, parks and hedgerows (especially following Dutch Elm disease).

Current Action 

Legal Status

The Spotted Flycatcher is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). Under the Act it is illegal intentionally to kill, injure or take any wild bird, intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built or intentionally take or destroy the eggs of any wild bird. The Spotted Flycatcher also receives protection under the EC Birds Directive (1979).

Management, Research and Guidance

The UKBSG has produced a national Spotted Flycatcher Species Action Plan. The plan seeks to halt or reverse the decline in numbers of the bird by the year 2003 and see a sustained recovery in numbers by 2008.

Until recently the Spotted Flycatcher was not regarded as a species of conservation concern, therefore little direct conservation work has been carried out. However, some aspects of broad-leaved woodland management, particularly the creation and maintenance of clearings and wide rides, will have benefited the bird. Provision of nest-boxes for other species will also have helped Spotted Flycatchers, particularly in areas where natural nest sites have been lost in the past.

Several individuals/groups within Hull record sightings of Spotted Flycatchers, which are useful in monitoring its breeding numbers in the City.

Action Plan Aims

1. To monitor Spotted Flycatcher populations in Hull.
2. To improve links between woodland sites.
3. To increase the tree cover in Hull.
4. To encourage provision of Spotted Flycatcher bird boxes.
5. To encourage environmentally friendly gardening practices.

What We Are Going to Do

What We Can All Do

• Put up a Spotted Flycatcher bird box. Details of nest box designs for various bird species are available from the RSPB or BTO.
  
  
• Let the Hull Biodiversity Partnership know if you see Spotted Flycatchers in Hull.
  
  
• Avoid using chemical pesticides as Spotted Flycatchers are entirely dependent on insects for food.
   

Links With Other Action Plans

This action plan should be considered along with those for Trees, Scrub and Hedgerows, Gardens and Allotments and Parks, Cemeteries and Golf Courses.

References

Broughton, R.K. (2002) Birds of the Hull Area. Kingston Press, Hull.

Gibbons, D.W. (1993) New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988-1991. Poyser, London.

Gregory, R.D., Noble, D.G., Cranswick, P.A., Campbell, L.H., Rehfisch, M.M. and Baillie, S.R. (2001) The State of the UKs Birds. RSPB, BTO and WWT, Sandy.

RSPB (1996) Birds of Conservation Concern in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. RSPB, Sandy.

RSPB (2001) Wild Birds and the Law. RSPB, Sandy.