Find out about our work to help wonderful Whinchats.
With a striking white strip above the eye, a peach-orange breast and streaky brown upper plumage, Whinchats are eye-catching little birds. A member of the chat family, they’re closely related to Stonechats and weigh around 13g.
Despite their small size, these birds are a titan of travel; UK-breeding Whinchats migrate nearly 6000km from West Africa through April and early May. Once here, they can be seen perching atop tall moorland vegetation.
Sadly, the sight of these colourful commuters is becoming increasingly rare. Today, the species is mainly found in the edges of upland moor and farmland in western and northern Britain.
Historically, Whinchats were widespread across grassland habitats in the UK and still are in other areas of the world. However, declines have been recorded since the early 20th century, and the birds are now largely absent from lowland landscapes.
In recent decades the species has continued to decline, with populations falling by 64% between 1995 and 2024 in the UK. The Whinchat was added to the Red list of UK Birds of Conservation Concern in 2015.
To get to the bottom of the species’ continuing decline, the RSPB, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and University of St Andrews have conducted a considerable amount of research, revealing the following likely causes:
Post-war intensification of the management of grassland has meant that substantial areas are no longer suitable for breeding Whinchats.
As a result, the species is now largely absent as a breeding bird from the lowlands and confined to the edges of upland moors and grasslands. However, the quality of this remaining habitat isn’t always good enough to support the species.
Afforestation (the practice of creating forests in landscapes that haven’t previously been forested) in important Whinchat breeding areas also reduces the amount of suitable breeding habitat. While providing some good habitat initially, afforested landscapes become unsuitable in the long term as the trees mature.
We also know that a reduction in breeding success is probably causing the Whinchat’s continued decline. Therefore, we need to work out how to manage Whinchat breeding habitat to provide the right conditions, such as appropriate food availability, to maximise breeding success.
We teamed up with the BTO in an ambitious project to track the migratory journeys of Whinchats. The goal was to increase our understanding of where the birds go and the challenges they might face outside of the breeding season in the UK.
To achieve this, a team of RSPB and BTO scientists fitted Whinchats with geolocators. These tiny trackers showed that the birds spent the winter spread across a wide area of West Africa. In autumn, the birds migrated south via Iberia and the western edge of the Sahara Desert and in spring they returned to the UK via a more direct route, in what is known as a loop migration.
This research has helped us to focus conservation actions on the Whinchat’s breeding grounds, which is where the birds are most likely facing the challenges currently limiting population recovery.
To help us understand the Whinchat’s continuing decline further, we ran a long-term monitoring and ringing project at RSPB Geltsdale, which is now a stronghold for the species.
We also worked with Dartmoor National Park Authority, Exmoor National Park Authority, and the Exmoor Society/MacEwen Trust to research the habitats used by the birds. This highlighted the importance of semi-natural grassland and other open habitats to the UK’s breeding Whinchats.
For example, upland valley landscapes containing a mixture of grassland and Bracken are important in spring and summer. These areas are likely to offer the best opportunities to conserve the species, and where practices such as inappropriate grazing and afforestation should be avoided.
To find out more about the early-life conditions influencing the Whinchat’s fledging success, read the paper here.
To find out more about the early-life conditions influencing the Whinchat's fledging success, read the paper below.
Now that we have a better understanding of the Whinchat’s habitat requirements, we need to identify and trial potential conservation actions to help their numbers recover.
We work with brilliant farmers, land managers and other conservation partners to understand and try out solutions in some of the species’ key breeding areas. These include RSPB Priority Landscapes such as the Forest of Bowland, North Pennines and Dales, and Antrim Plateau.
We’re also developing guidance so that the Whinchat’s habitat needs are considered in future afforestation plans, new woodland proposals and wider habitat management advice.
Whinchats are ground-nesting birds and breed on the edges of upland grass and moorlands. During the spring and summer, you can help to minimise disturbance and damage to the birds’ nests by keeping dogs under close control while in these areas.
As a charity, our efforts to help conserve and restore populations of priority species like Whinchats, rely on external funding and the generosity of our brilliant members and donors. By making a one-off donation, you could empower us to take action.
To ensure we can support Whinchats as effectively as possible, we’ve designated them one of our 100 RSPB priority species. This means we’re focussing our efforts on researching and helping their populations recover.
We use the species recovery curve to track our progress. Currently, our work to help Whinchats is at the ‘Diagnosis’ stage of the recovery curve. That means we’re working to diagnose the causes of the Whinchat’s decline as well as looking for, and testing, conservation solutions.
Find out more about our work with threatened species by visiting Protecting species under threat.
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We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Dartmoor National Park Authority, Exmoor National Park Authority, the Exmoor Society/MacEwen Trust, BTO and University of St Andrews. Their collaboration and expertise have proven invaluable as we work to research and reverse the Whinchat’s decline.
We’d also like to thank our amazing RSPB members and volunteers. Without your incredible support, our efforts to help conserve, restore and campaign for threatened species like Whinchats simply wouldn't be possible.
Together we fly.