Durham Bird Club at 50
The county avifauna, The Birds of Durham (Bowey and Newsome, 2012) records that “A public meeting in late 1974 at Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery to discuss bird watching and recording was well-attended. This was followed on 8 January 1975 by another meeting and enrolment for membership of the Durham Bird Club began shortly afterwards.”
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We shall be organising various projects and events during the year to commemorate this special anniversary. These include a "Bird of the Week" feature, appearing below.
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Bird of the Week - Week 18
Pied Flycatcher – A Woodland Sprite of Spring
​​(Photo by Mark Harper)​​​
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The Pied Flycatcher is a spring arrival from West Africa, returning to nest in upland woodlands. Neat, monochrome males are back in upland oak woods, in April, showing neat black-and-white plumage, while the more subtly marked females follow soon after. Their rhythmic and melodious song and white flashes brighten upland woods just before the trees come fully into leaf - a narrow seasonal window that suits their nesting needs perfectly.
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They favour mature oak woods and areas with natural holes or nest boxes. County Durham holds a modest but regionally significant breeding population, especially around Tunstall Reservoir and the Upper Derwent Valley and its wooded gorges.
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Look for them flitting between branches or flying out to catch insects in mid-air. Nest box schemes have helped support their presence and breeding success in the county.
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Have you seen Pied Flycatchers this year or noted any interesting behaviour or changes in local sites? We’d be interested to hear more.
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More information on Pied Flycatchers​
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E-mail: admin@durhambirdclub.org.uk
Social media tags: #DBC #DBCat50 #DurhamBirdClub #BirdOfTheWeek
#Durham #Birding #SpringMigration #BirdwatchingUK
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