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Oldest pied flycatcher on record found in Denbighshire!
Last modified: 15 August 2012
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A female pied flycatcher that was ringed as a chick at RSPB Lake Vyrnwy on 22 June 1996 has been found alive and well sitting in a nest box near Clocaenog, Denbighshire.
The bird was found by British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) ringers over 34km from RSPB Lake Vyrnwy in a local forest near Clocaenog in May this year, 16 years since it was ringed! According to the BTO the previous holder of the title was nine years and seven days old.
Peter Bache has been ringing birds at RSPB Lake Vyrnwy for over 25 years on behalf of the BTO. He says: “I ringed this bird back in 1996, and can’t believe she is still going strong and still breeding, an amazing accomplishment for such a small bird.”
The pied flycatcher is a small, flycatching bird, slightly smaller than a house sparrow. The male is mostly black on the upperparts and white underneath, with a bold white patch on the folded wing. Females are brown in colour and usually visit Wales in the summer months, they spend the winter in West Africa.
The valleys and hillsides of Wales are a good place to look for breeding Pied flycatchers in summer and RSPB Lake Vyrnwy has a good population. For more information about the reserve please visit www.rspb.org.uk/reserves or call 01691 870 278 and follow us on facebook at RSPB Lake Vyrnwy and Twitter RSPB Mid Wales.
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