Spotted Flycatcher, Doddington, June 2024

The Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata, is a small migratory bird found in the UK during the summer, with an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 breeding pairs. This translates to around 70,000 to 80,000 individual birds. They migrate to the UK from sub-Saharan Africa in late spring and return in the early autumn. These birds favor woodlands, parks, and gardens for breeding, where they catch flying insects.

There have been a pair of Spotted Flycatchers in our local churchyard for the last few years.  It took me a few tries to find them this year, but I was pleased to eventually catch up with them. They were busiest in the Church environs in the afternoon.










Updated with pictures from August.








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